Most manufacturing enterprises use enterprise resource planning (ERP) as their main business system. It has always been assumed is that companies strive to have one single ERP system to unify all their parts and processes, but a survey shows that the average manufacturing company has 1.9 separate and distinct systems. This paper looks at how overall ERP strategy relates to companies’ performance.
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Lean is not an overnight quick-fix; it is an unending commitment. As lean thinking has evolved and the concepts broadened, lean advocates have come to recognize that enterprise resource planning (ERP) and lean work together very well. In this paper, read about how five lean principles are supported and enhanced by comprehensive information control and the management tools that one end-to-end enterprise software suite delivers.
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Newly available software platforms known as governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) technologies can help your business stay on top of the myriad procedures, tasks, and behaviors that bear upon compliance. This paper discusses the drivers behind the growing awareness of GRC information technology, introduces the elements of an effective automated GRC system, and suggests a low-risk, high-impact approach to launching GRC automation.
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To assure customer satisfaction, aviation, space and defense organizations must produce, and continually improve, safe, reliable products that meet or exceed customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. The globalization of the industry has complicated this objective. Read about the SAE Aerospace Standard AS9100:2009 Revision C, set to be enforced globally on July 1, 2012, and know how to be compliant.
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Recent trends in the distribution industry are forcing companies to continually re-evaluate their processes and value propositions and strategically chart new courses. This report contains support from a number of thought leaders for three resolutions that wholesale distributors can't afford to ignore.
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NetSuite Wholesale Distribution Edition v11.2 is now TEC Certified for online evaluation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions for distribution in the ERP Evaluation Center. The certification seal is a valuable indicator for organizations relying on the integrity of TEC research for assistance with their software selection projects. Download this report for product highlights, competitive analysis, product analysis, and in-depth analyst commentary.
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An ERP system is a major investment for any business, particularly a smaller one. A well-planned and implemented ERP system can change the way you do business and significantly improve profitability. But there are pitfalls if you have not prepared properly. In this white paper, Pronto Software outlines critical questions you need to consider in the search, evaluation, and implementation of an ERP solution for your business.
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Though product recalls are never desired, they do happen. Your company’s response can make the difference between being the role model and losing market share or even being displaced from the market. In this white paper, PM War Stories, in collaboration with Pronto Software, examines how to effectively manage a product recall to mitigate liabilities, protect your brand and turn the crisis into an opportunity. Read more.
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To increase profits, many companies are turning to imported goods and materials due to lower manufacturing costs. However, purchasing products from other countries contains many hidden costs. In this paper, PM War Stories, together with Pronto Software, examines how to effectively track the total cost of goods shipped to aid managers and executives in making faster, better sourcing decisions and improving profitability.
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Many companies don’t have adequate metrics or information technology systems to see how well growth strategies and activities perform in real time. This white paper addresses the lack of supply chain synchronization: the ability for a manufacturer to cost effectively respond to changes in demand and then signal everyone in the supply chain. Synchronization closes the gaps in a supply chain that lead to costly wastes.
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A strategic planning process is critical for distribution companies. Not unlike personal financial planning, distribution executives have to select the best investments needed now to create profitable growth in the future. If you fail to make the right commitments at the right time, you will miss opportunities and increase your risk. This paper outlines a set of core analytics customized for wholesaler distributors.
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These are challenging times for discrete manufacturing, especially for small to midsize companies. To stay competitive and meet rising expectations, manufacturers must seize every opportunity to grow—but wisely and profitably. This white paper presents clear strategies that can help these manufacturers achieve competitive advantage while giving clients the innovative, competitively priced products they demand.
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Most high-tech firms need to do a better job of capturing and sharing corporate and supply-chain data. Lean manufacturing practitioners often use a process metric called “right first time on time” (RFTOT). It not only applies to delivery of components and products moving through a value stream, but to delivery of information as well—product development, forecasting, sales and operations planning, etc. Find out more.
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As manufactures adopt lean principles, the process inevitably involves developing metrics for measuring their progress. But measurements are linked throughout the organization, not just on the manufacturing floor but in accounts payable and other back office processes. This white paper emphasizes the need to focus on strategy deployment.
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This second annual benchmark study covers U.S. export operations and compliance. The survey covered export regulatory reform, operations management practices, organizational structure, compliance policies, and export management technology. This year’s study looks at the impact of going global with export control reform.
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The longstanding silos within organizations may be ready for busting, and the right IT strategy can facilitate the collaboration needed to break them down, even extending to suppliers, customers, and partners, integrating all processes from idea to delivery. This paper features an interview with SAP’s heads of solution marketing for product lifecycle management and for supply chain management about the idea-to-delivery concept.
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Today’s “new normal” business environment demands a new view of what customers value and an improved approach to delivering that value. The idea to delivery (I2D) framework posits that multiple companies now compete as a business network rather than as individual enterprises, each relying on the others to achieve collective success. This paper includes an action plan with the evolutionary steps companies can take to move toward this approach.
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To boost efficiency, run leaner, and drive down the cost of supply, many organizations are exploring inventory optimization—a technique for improving operational inventory targets to address the realities of today’s highly complex, ever-evolving global supply chains. This paper examines how the stochastic multistage, multi-inventory model supports inventory optimization.
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As competition increases and more organizations turn to outsourcing, networked business environments are becoming the norm. Many businesses are strategically partnering with suppliers and other supply chain participants to collaborate and share information. This white paper addresses three common questions from organizations that are collaborative supply chain networks and offers ways to help achieve supply chain success.
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For manufacturers of long lifecycle products, the challenge of ensuring perpetual supply is complicated by the prospect of unpredictable supplier turnover and the accelerating obsolescence of vital parts and materials. This white paper discusses JDA Software’s vision for the practices and technology required to ensure perpetual supply for products with extended lifespans and highly complex BOMs, and offers recommendations.
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In today’s competitive global environment, with a proliferation of new products, channels, and SKU counts, maintaining inventory levels that synchronize supply with demand is a complex challenge that carries steep consequences if not handled properly. Transform your planning, execution, and optimization processes into a competitive advantage by leveraging a shared picture of demand across your supply and demand chain.
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While globalization has resulted in many bottom-line benefits, it has simultaneously increased the level of complexity and uncertainty by which companies operate today, making the S&OP process more critical to a company’s success than ever before. Read further and see how companies that embrace an integrated S&OP framework will benefit from improved company-wide visibility, strategic alignment, and financial accountability.
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While change is never easy, continuing with an outdated process does not help companies to stay competitive. Learn how transforming your S&OP process from a supply-demand balancing exercise to a strategic approach that integrates your entire business can increase supply chain visibility, improve customer service, and ensure a better balance between demand, capacity, and profitability. And know the Top 10 myths in S&OP.
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Natural disasters, customer bankruptcies, product recalls . . . there are dozens of unexpected events that can wreak havoc on your global supply chain. Are you prepared to react swiftly to these contingencies? A continuous supply chain design is a new concept that is emerging to help companies succeed in the face of the unexpected. See how you can design the supply chain around both long-term goals and short-term realities.
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Sales and operations planning (S&OP) is the key integrated process that the supply chain organization can leverage to achieve visibility and transformation across the entire organization and throughout the value chain. This white paper explores the current business challenges face by companies, the priority allocated to S&OP, the maturity levels associated with S&OP, and the role of technology enablers.
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Over 190 companies were surveyed regarding their challenges within demand-supply networks and the top priorities for managing these networks. This paper is based on an analysis of that survey and highlights the need for companies to focus on intelligent response management strategies that bridge planning and execution.
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Establishing the right metrics framework as part of an overall performance management strategy means companies can break down enterprise-level goals—such as order fulfillment and forecast accuracy—into department-level metrics such as on-time delivery and plant utilization. Read about a model that makes it easier to identify, communicate, and replicate the most effective practices.
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The increased complexity of global supply chains has led to longer lead time, more pipeline inventory, and the need to control downstream and upstream logistics. Growing supply chain complexity is a top business pressure, contributing to increased supply chain management costs. This report focuses on gaining visibility into critical elements across the end-to-end logistics network for improving cost and service.
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More than 200 supply chain managers were surveyed on their international transportation management (ITM) practices, processes, and the technologies that support them. This report is the third annual study on this subject—a benchmarking initiative seeking to parse out companies that are succeeding at any particular function and examine why they are successful.
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While change is never easy, continuing with an outdated process does not help companies to stay competitive. Learn how transforming your S&OP process from a supply-demand balancing exercise to a strategic approach that integrates your entire business can increase supply chain visibility, improve customer service, and ensure a better balance between demand, capacity, and profitability. And know the Top 10 myths in S&OP.
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Today, more and more manufacturing companies are exploring business processes that enable alignment between financial and operational goals. Results from a 2011 S&OP survey suggest that S&OP process investments are yielding tangible fruit. Understanding current challenges these companies are attempting to overcome should enable more effective functional alignment that delivers profitable growth and customer satisfaction.
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To achieve a high level of supply chain transparency, companies must share their technology systems and data with many suppliers, distributors, transportation carriers, and channel partners that bring their products to market. This information may be seen by thousands worldwide. While there are doubtless benefits to be achieved, increased data sharing also carries an inherent level of risk. Know how to manage these risks.
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Significant changes are occurring in the global landscape that require a fresh look at one of the most important business processes in the supply chain—demand management. Companies that more accurately predict product demand and integrate a single view of demand into operational planning are poised to win in today’s competitive landscape. Read this white paper and gain strategic insights for accurate demand planning.
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Strategic inventory management requires a deep understanding of how the end-to-end supply chain is managed. From intelligently micro-segmenting products to creating continuous inventory process improvements, few businesses are capable of transforming their inventory into a competitive advantage. Some forward-looking leaders—backed by technology and expertise from JDA—are changing the definition of inventory optimization. Read how.
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In today’s transformed business world, the push-based manufacturing philosophy and the siloed planning processes of the past are proving insufficient to manage ongoing demand volatility. Supply chain leaders have moved to a push/pull-based planning paradigm that synchronizes the supply chain with real-world market demand—while also respecting asset utilization, production cost, and other operational constraints. Read more.
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Sage 100 Standard ERP (formerly Sage ERP MAS 90), v. 4.5, is TEC Certified for online evaluation of distribution solutions in TEC's enterprise resource planning (ERP) Evaluation Center. The certification seal is a valuable indicator for organizations relying on the integrity of TEC research for assistance with their software selection projects. Download this report for product highlights, competitive analysis, product analysis, and in-depth analyst commentary.
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If you are thinking about implementing SAP's supplier relationship management (SRM) system, you will want to read this white paper to learn about a new "consumer-like" user interface (UI) specifically developed to dramatically simplify the shopping experience within SAP's Materials Management (MM) module. This UI provides a self-serve solution that saves time and money, and increases user adoption and compliance.
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As a manufacturer your fate is tied to your ERP system. Whether you use a homegrown system, a generic, stand-alone ERP package, or a highly modified best-of-breed solution with a patchwork of third-party applications, there is a risk that your solution will become outdated and will not be able to meet the needs of your business. If this is the case, here are three major reasons to help you justify an ERP system replacement.
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Production has stopped at your establishment due to an issue with one of your ingredients. It would be so much easier if everyone had access to the required information with a simple push of a button. As a food and beverage manufacturer, you have unique industry requirements. This white paper from Solarsoft explores why an integrated ERP system specific to your industry may be better suited than a generic ERP system.
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For many manufacturers, traceability is a valiant goal. But, for food and beverage producers, it’s a critical requirement. No one wants to put a single person at risk, let alone tens or hundreds. Yet, incidents of food-borne illnesses show up in the news every day. If your company is ready to tackle traceability as a legitimate problem, and stop viewing it as a trendy buzzword, there are four things you’ll need to know.
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Sage 300 ERP (formerly Sage ERP Accpac) 6.0 is TEC Certified for online evaluation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions for distribution in the ERP Evaluation Center. The certification seal is a valuable indicator for organizations relying on the integrity of TEC research for assistance with their software selection projects. Download this report for product highlights, competitive analysis, product analysis, and in-depth analyst commentary.
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Sage 300 ERP (formerly Sage ERP Accpac) 6.0 is TEC Certified for online evaluation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions for services in the ERP Evaluation Center. The certification seal is a valuable indicator for organizations relying on the integrity of TEC research for assistance with their software selection projects. Download this report for product highlights, competitive analysis, product analysis, and in-depth analyst commentary.
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Sage 500 ERP (formerly Sage ERP MAS 500) is TEC Certified for online evaluation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) for distribution solutions in the ERP Evaluation Center. The certification seal is a valuable indicator for organizations relying on the integrity of TEC research for assistance with their software selection projects. Download this report for product highlights, competitive analysis, product analysis, and in-depth analyst commentary.
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The IBS product Enterprise7 is now TEC Certified for online evaluation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions for distribution in the ERP Evaluation Center. The certification seal is a valuable indicator for organizations relying on the integrity of TEC research for assistance with their software selection projects. Download this report for product highlights, competitive analysis, product analysis, and in-depth analyst commentary.
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Of the 30 billion invoices sent and received in Europe every year, more than 90% are in paper format. This is not only labour intensive and error prone, but comes at both a financial and environmental cost. Such manual operations slow invoice reconciliation, leading to poor relationships with suppliers and buyers and, potentially, poor cash flow management. This paper discusses the challenges posed by inefficient manual invoice processes, the need for e-invoicing, and how an organization can focus on its core business by handing over invoice processing to a managed service provider.
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Even as manufacturers and retailers seek to control costs and drive efficiency across the supply chains, controlling the financial impact of unsaleable products remains a constant challenge. A study conducted by Wipro Technologies in collaboration with Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) estimates that the potential cost impact of unsaleables is over $2 billion annually. This study identifies the multitude of challenges involved in unsaleables management and provides a comprehensive operational roadmap for tackling them. It also lays out specific strategies addressing shelf-life management, product rotation execution, product dating variances, consumer confusions, and demand chain management. Find out more. Download this study now.
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Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC) is pleased to announce that IntegrateIT product ERP 123 is now TEC Certified for online evaluation of warehouse management system (WMS) solutions in TEC's Supply Chain Management (SCM) Evaluation Center. The certification seal is a valuable indicator for organizations relying on the integrity of TEC research for assistance with their software selection projects. Download this report for product highlights, competitive analysis, product analysis, and in-depth analyst commentary.
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Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC) is pleased to announce that IntegrateIT product ERP 123 is now TEC Certified for online evaluation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions for distribution in TEC’s ERP Evaluation Center. The certification seal is a valuable indicator for organizations relying on the integrity of TEC research for assistance with their software selection projects. Download this report for product highlights, competitive analysis, product analysis, and in-depth analyst commentary.
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Sage ERP X3 v.6 is now TEC Certified for online evaluation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions for distribution in the ERP Evaluation Center. The certification seal is a valuable indicator for organizations relying on the integrity of TEC research for assistance with their software selection projects. Download this report for product highlights, competitive analysis, product analysis, and in-depth analyst commentary.
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Looking to start a project? Whether you start with a services-based approach, or acquire a comprehensive solution, the savings and ROI are dramatic. We recommend starting with spend visibility. Identify quick-win opportunities to get the momentum going and let the spend intelligence/spend management grow within your organization as another very valuable application to enhance your company’s efficiency and effectiveness
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Ariba, a company that delivers sourcing, procurement, and commodity expertise to help organizations optimize their spending processes and supplier relationships, needed to identify workforce strengths and weaknesses and build specialized e-learning for new hires, etc. It turned to SumTotal Learning Management to assess talent and deliver highly targeted blended learning to increase employee competencies. Read the case study.
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Freight costs can represent a significant component of your supply chain—often around 5-7 percent of sales for manufacturing, retail, and wholesale/distribution companies. For many firms, this responsibility is not managed as well as it could be. This white paper shares 10 best practices in transportation management, with valuable insights from industry professionals.
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Epicor ERP Software System (v. 9.05) is now TEC Certified for online evaluation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions for distributors in the ERP Evaluation Center. The certification seal is a valuable indicator for organizations relying on the integrity of TEC research for assistance with their software selection projects. Download this report for product highlights, competitive analysis, product analysis, and in-depth analyst commentary.
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Logility Voyager Solutions is now TEC Certified for online evaluation of supply chain management solutions in the Supply Chain Management (SCM) Evaluation Center. The certification seal is a valuable indicator for organizations relying on the integrity of TEC research for assistance with their software selection projects. Download this report for product highlights, competitive analysis, product analysis, and in-depth analyst commentary.
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Manufacturers previously tracked suppliers and their deliveries of goods in a predictable method that often resulted in errors. For small to midsized suppliers eager to adopt more efficient communications with customers but lacking access to an EDI-compliant system, supplier portals are an alternative cost-saving solution. See how supplier portals add increased efficiency, quality, and transparency to the supply chain.
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Forward-looking wholesale distributors are evolving from just inventory managers to information managers. This white paper reviews how these companies are leveraging enabling technology to break down the silos that exist within the enterprise and extend themselves beyond their company’s four walls to collaborate with trading partners and drive business value, in addition to increasing productivity and profits.
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Wholesale distributors face two fundamental challenges. The first: to create an environment where processes and services can be rapidly tailored to the changing needs of customers and suppliers. The second deals with technology. To stay competitive, distributors must view their business models from a customer perspective, and build a technology stack that enhances their trading partners’ performance as well as their own.
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Today’s manufacturing supply chain is challenged with quality mandates, cost reductions, and delivery improvements. Technology plays a key role in a company’s ability to build and manage an effective supply chain. Read this paper to learn about the next wave of supply chain solutions and how effective supply chain management of an enterprise reduces costs, lead times, and inventories throughout the entire supply chain.
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To meet the challenges of rapidly changing market dynamics, wholesale distribution companies must transform traditional linear supply chains and their sequential processes into virtual communities or ecosystems—that is, into adaptive supply chain networks (ASCNs). Read about how warehouse management systems can help companies and their partners avoid supply chain problems.
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Manufacturers and retailers are making great demands on their supply chains, and no one is better positioned to turn these challenges into growth opportunities than wholesale distribution companies. This white paper addresses how wholesalers can take advantage of these opportunities with an application that offers warehouse management features for even the most complex wholesale distribution environment.
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Consumer products (CP) has long been held up as the "poster industry" for supply chain planning challenges. In this paper, Simon Ellis, practice director of Supply Chain Strategies at Manufacturing Insights, responds to questions concerning emerging supply chain challenges, collaboration between and among supply chain processes, and current supply chain best practices in the consumer packaged goods industry.
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Forward-looking companies are focusing on managing supply chain risk. The same functionality that supports supply chain network visibility, collaboration, and analytics can also enable supply chain risk management. This white paper shows that companies often actually possess the data they need, but disconnected systems impede the ability to make the right data accessible to the right people at the right time.
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Economic volatility over the past several years has been illustrated by the highly unstable raw material, fuel, and commodity prices, and has been the cause of a majority of supply chain disruptions over the past year. This white paper highlights the challenges and solutions in complex industry supply chains, and best practices in multi-enterprise visibility and supply chain intelligence.
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Many organizations in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry are experiencing a trade-off between the benefit of high product volume sales coming at the expense of extreme data complexity. Many CPG organizations are seeking business intelligence (BI) tools to help create supply chain linkages and deliver their products more efficiently. See how BI tools can help business managers better manage fluctuating product demand.
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One of the biggest challenges of business software implementations is their unpredictability. Total costs and deployment time can vary wildly. Read about a new category of solutions that combines preconfigured software, predefined services, and other user-focused enablement content to provide predictable solution deployments in less than 12 weeks and at a fixed price.
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This paper explores the following best practices for leverage price management and optimization: Fine-tune prices for all products and services. Analyze historical and live transaction-level data. Develop and implement effective cost-to-serve strategies. Establish well-defined customer segments. Empower your sales force with rich customer information and enforce negotiation policies.
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Innovation has many dimensions. For a long time, innovation referred to new-product development. Business model innovation is broader and impacts the enterprise holistically. It doesn’t necessarily mean doing new things, just doing things differently. Read about the adaptive enterprise and the importance of information technology (IT).
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The retail thought process has irrevocably changed. Science-supported process is now core to the merchandising discipline. However, faith in science is not always grounded in an understanding of what it can do (even for the largest retailers), leaving us with some concerns about unrealistic expectations and a backlash later in the decade. Read about the seven critical tenets for 21st-century merchandising.
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This white paper presents an overview of IFS Applications for asset management of nuclear power plants, including corrective, preventive, and condition-based maintenance functionality for safe work management in a hazardous environment. Also included are asset lifecycle management tools to track changes to the assets that affect operational limits and conditions (OLCs).
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This business management solution is an affordable offering that supports profitable growth, enables business agility, and empowers your employees. It’s comprehensive, easy-to-use software that supports all stakeholders across your company as well as your extended ecosystem. Read about how you can grow your business, develop relationships, accelerate innovation, and streamline operations.
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Fashion brands and retailers are learning that simply changing processes isn’t enough to add value to their business, turning to product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions to help meet growing demands for innovative products while strengthening brands and profitability. Learn why the fashion business and creative processes must be integrated at every step of the product lifecycle to result in breakthrough improvement.
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Manufacturers have been slow to embrace the cloud. But the proven success of cloud-based solutions, along with the promise of a less expensive and more responsive business solution infrastructure, is prompting many manufacturers to take a closer look. This report explores how manufacturers can use cloud-based solutions to transform how they manage their supply chain and internally improve operations, leveraging the cloud to gain real-time visibility into all information across their company.
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With acceptance of cloud-based strategies growing among manufacturers of all types and sizes, it’s easier than ever to make the business case for transitioning to the cloud. But beyond the cost savings and responsiveness of cloud solutions, this transition also provides new opportunities for the IT department to grow into a key role as strategic business advisor. This report includes advice on how IT can help manufacturers realize the full benefits of cloud-based solutions.
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As your company grows and faces new challenges, you must continually evaluate whether your work processes and information technology (IT) solutions can address these issues and help grow your business. Read here on how to perform a preliminary gap analysis to determine whether you need to upgrade your IT solutions and business processes to meet your current business requirements as well as adapt to future requirements.
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Universities and other higher education establishments have to address the need for savings across the board. One area is expenses from faculty members and other associated with faculty. The complex mix of expense types needs a flexible yet solid means of managing spend as close as possible to the point of expense that encourages the individual to participate in the process without it being seen as an imposition. Know how.
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The Demand Management product Demand Solutions is now TEC Certified for online evaluation of demand management solutions in the Supply Chain Management (SCM) Evaluation Center. The certification seal is a valuable indicator for organizations relying on the integrity of TEC research for assistance with their software selection projects. Download this report for product highlights, competitive analysis, product analysis, and in-depth analyst commentary.
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As organizations seek to grow beyond their current markets and activities, executives look beyond the existing business model to expand their business. This paper looks at most common areas of business model innovation, describes how organizations are leveraging innovation in different parts of their business, and shows how to implement a solid and adaptive foundation that is flexible enough to support rapid innovation.
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Our global study of small and medium-sized discrete manufacturers worldwide revealed the industry is struggling with increasing complexity, global competition, rapidly changing business environments, and volatile raw materials prices. While manufacturers worldwide face similar challenges, this study clarifies how strategic initiatives and priorities vary by sector, geography, and job description.
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DP&C SmartFleet is TEC Certified for online evaluation of transportation management system (TMS) solutions in the Supply Chain Management (SCM) Evaluation Center. The certification seal is a valuable indicator for organizations relying on the integrity of TEC research for assistance with their software selection projects. Download this report for product highlights, competitive analysis, and in-depth analyst commentary.
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Fabricated metals companies need to create a competitive advantage around their core competencies, demonstrated by their ability to respond quickly to change, efficiently manage relationships with suppliers, and deliver quality products on time. Read about a solution that provides these companies with transparency and control over their entire business, empowering them to respond immediately to issues and opportunities.
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The company is the leading producer and distributor of roast and ground coffee, in Romania. After entering the Romanian market in 1995, the company has already captured a market share of almost 50 percent. However, en route to this enviable position there were significant challenges to be overcome throughout its sales and marketing organization. Find out how a new business intelligence (BI) system helped.
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Distribution ERP software product VAI S2K Enterprise Management, Version 5.0.1, is now TEC Certified for online comparison of ERP systems in TEC's Evaluation Centers. The certification seal is a valuable indicator for organizations relying on the integrity of TEC research for assistance with their software selection projects. Download this report for product highlights, competitive analysis, product analysis, and in-depth analyst commentary.
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A leader in the design and manufacture of advanced lighting systems and rugged protective cases, Pelican Products Inc. is also recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in the United States. Learn how, by consolidating its worldwide operations on a single instance of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) application, Pelican gained greater operational transparency and established a platform for continued growth.
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It’s time for a new approach to talent management that takes into account the uncertainty businesses face today. Fortunately, companies already have a model that has been well honed over decades to anticipate and meet demand in uncertain environments—supply chain management (SCM). By borrowing lessons from operations and supply chain research, firms can forge a better model of talent management. Find out how.
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For apparel and textile companies, delocalized production and complex supply networks make it difficult to coordinate with trade partners and maintain product traceability. Price pressure, competition, and demanding customers erode margins and increase the urgency of cost control and fast time-to-market. Discover software that can help these companies integrate information, improve efficiency, and enhance profitability.
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After 20-plus years in service, and with few changes to its original design, Reid and Wright’s legacy accounting system had become slow, unreliable, and expensive—requiring a variety of manual processes and custom software just to keep it running—and keep the company competitive. Find out how TEC helped Reid & Wright find a best-fit solution to support the unique requirements of the lumber industry.
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Mature sales and operations planning (S&OP) is more than a sales forecasting or tactical planning tool. S&OP is a decision-making mechanism for aligning strategic plans with sales, operational, and financial plans. Download this TEC executive brief for pointers on selecting an S&OP system, information about how mature S&OP processes can help tackle critical business issues, and key S&OP system capabilities to look for.
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Manufacturers are under pressure to document their impact on the environment. This white paper addresses the various drivers for the green supply chain trend. It also shares considerations for satisfying a customer’s green supply chain initiative or initiating your own. Finally, it discusses the role of enterprise software like enterprise resource planning (ERP) in keeping pace with this industry trend.
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Effective sales organizations do more than just meet revenue goals. They find new ways to achieve their goals while ensuring their sales professionals maintain focus on activities that foster profitable customer relationships. Learn how a customer relationship management (CRM) solution can help your sales force acquire and cultivate profitable customer relationships, use their time efficiently, and achieve top performance.
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A strong brand can help achieve price premiums, retain customers, and attract top talent. But in times of economic instability, many companies trim costs around efforts such as brand building. Downturns, however, can be opportunities to strengthen brands—customer habits change, there is competitive consolidation, and new markets open. A number of brands will succeed in the downturn. Find out how yours can be among them.
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Marketing organizations are often the first to face spending and resource cuts—even as they face increased pressure to contribute to revenue goals. These organizations need to drive demand more effectively and support sales efforts. They must also prove their value to the organization. Learn about customer relationship management (CRM) applications that can help align your organization to increase marketing success.
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Solutions are now available to integrate the lead-to-cash process with the supply chain, back-office accounting, and more. The companies that succeed in the new order will make use of these new tools to creatively accelerate their lead-to-cash process. They will achieve the agility necessary to enhance the customer experience, trump the competition, and revitalize profitable growth. Find out how.
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Weinig Group is a technology provider for the solid wood processing and distribution industry. After several acquisitions left the company with a mixed bag of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, Weinig went looking for a new ERP system for its locations in China, Switzerland, Spain, France, and the United States. Find out which system met all of Weinig‘s requirements and how it was successfully implemented.
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Adoption of enterprise resource planning (ERP)-based E-Procurement solutions has hit a plateau in recent years due to inherent usability deficiencies, exacerbated by heightened user expectations. It is now possible to leverage all the existing infrastructure of leading platforms with a friendlier, consumer-like user interface (UI) that can be rapidly deployed with minimal cost or change management impact. Find out how.
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This radio frequency identification (RFID) buyer's guide from Raftar Corpo. is a resource for medical device companies with plans to evaluate or deploy RFID technology. It includes assessment models for making design and selection decisions about process improvement benchmarks, the system components and cost for a solution, technical evaluation criteria, and questions to include in a request for information (RFI).
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Business intelligence (BI) is no longer just for back-office analysts. More people are using BI in their daily tasks than ever before. This white paper explains how job scheduling makes data warehousing—the key component in modern BI—more efficient, relevant, and accurate. It also outlines how one company used job scheduling to unify its data warehousing chores, free up IT resources, and increase its BI effectiveness.
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For most distribution companies, managing operating expenses has a far bigger impact on the business than simply pouring more revenue into the top of the funnel. In today’s tough times, operating expenses have moved to the center of the boardroom table and the top of the agenda. Learn what the five main value drivers in distribution are, and find out how to avoid seven common distribution and wholesale “sins.”
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A sales and operations planning (S&OP) meeting is a critical decision-making activity that sets the overall direction for the company. Executives discuss trade-offs between customer service, inventory investments, production capabilities, supply availability, and distribution concerns, in order to balance generating profit with satisfying operational goals. Learn the five essential steps for successful S&OP planning.
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After expanding its product lines and accelerating product roll-outs, the Campbell Soup Company needed to align demand forecasting and supply chain planning with its new, more dynamic business model. Learn how the company’s new solution helped it improve inventory forecasting, adapt to day-to-day changes in demand, enhance long-range production planning and risk management, and spend more time on strategic activities.
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Supply chain executives face considerable complexity—especially if the items being produced and distributed are seasonal, and meeting revenue targets hinges on the sales that take place in just a few months of the year. Discover how business intelligence (BI) solutions help the Molson Coors Brewing company’s planners shape, execute, and continually redefine the strategic direction for the organization’s supply chain.
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Today’s business software packages depend on real-time data collection to provide information crucial to the entire manufacturing operation. As more companies turn to enterprise-wide software for process improvement and cost reduction, there is a significant opportunity to enhance these systems by adding bar coding and radio-frequency identification (RFID) applications throughout manufacturing facilities. Find out more.
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Today, companies are facing tougher competition and increasing service level requirements, all while balancing growth with shorter phase-in/phase-out cycles for new products. To succeed, they must harness information technology to support change, secure data and process quality, and improve productivity. Discover how a warehouse management system (WMS) can help you achieve those goals, and learn what to look for in a WMS.
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Despite increased use of key performance indicators (KPIs), supply chain managers’ measurement initiatives continue to come up short. Because of their retrospective nature, KPIs offer little value to today’s complex supply chains. But several market-leading companies are using network-wide KPIs, supported by real-time alerts, to flag problems early, intervene as needed, and improve business results. Find out how.
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In today’s competitive markets, manufacturers and distributors are challenged to achieve supply chain efficiencies that are on par with their rivals. To stay profitable, they must adopt key performance indicators (KPIs) to drive processes. But KPI-driven supply chain execution requires manufacturers and distributors to instrument, analyze, control, and optimize their end-to-end supply chain processes. Find out more.
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It’s a sad but well-known fact that many software implementation projects run out of time and money. Certain crucial activities tend to have striking effects on the cost of an implementation. But it’s possible to stick to plans and budgets, provided that you do the right things and avoid the traps. Discover which parts of a software implementation are worth spending extra money on in order to minimize risk and cost.
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Supply chain planning involves functions such as demand forecasting and planning, distribution inventory planning, and plant capacity planning and scheduling. The right mix of strategy, education, and systems can have a very high impact on a manufacturer’s overall operations—and ultimately its bottom line. Understand how supply chain functions such as demand and inventory planning can positively impact your company.
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For industries in regulated environments, validation of processes and systems is a required part of business. The goal of the validation process is to provide confidence in a process or system by demonstrating consistent and repeatable results through documented evidence. This article provides an overview of a validation for a computer software system, for compliance with US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations.
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Food safety has been top-of-mind for both consumers and industry executives for a number of years. Clearly traceability plays a large role in overall food safety, and in general food and beverage processors are doing better than many other industries. However, the stakes are high when it comes to food safety and there is still a lot of room for improvement, especially upstream in the food supply chain. Find out more.
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Today’s manufacturing supply chain is challenged with increasing quality mandates, cost reductions, and delivery improvements. Technology plays a key role in a company’s ability to build and manage an effective supply chain. Discover the next wave of innovative supply chain solutions, and find out how one manufacturer used them to reduce cost, lead times, and inventories throughout its entire supply chain.
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The rising price of fuel has set in motion a series of more profound changes for both consumers and industry. But those companies that take comfort from the recent easing of fuel prices and whose management actions go no further than attempts to mitigate the immediate impact of fuel price increases will end up at a serious disadvantage in the market. Find out how your company can find opportunity in changing fuel markets.
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Today’s distributors have an opportunity to drive performance to new levels by investing in advanced inventory management. These companies can expect to increase inventory visibility while driving down inventory costs. Learn how these kinds of inventory management initiatives can help your company strengthen customer relationships, bargain for better terms with suppliers, and generate more profitable growth.
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Wholesale distributors that pursue growth while neglecting supply chain effectiveness are putting their long-term survival at risk—usually for no good reason. Supply chains have gained complexity in recent years, but solutions for achieving supply chain management (SCM) effectiveness have become both more accessible and easier to deploy. Learn how these solutions can help your company overcome its SCM challenges.
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Increased globalization, volatility in demand and commodity costs, regulatory requirements, and greater dependency on suppliers and other partners have significantly increased the risk of doing business. To manage performance efficiently, midsize companies need a unified planning, budgeting, and consolidation solution. Learn how such a solution can streamline the planning process and help reduce business risk.
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To expedite planning production, many companies have gone the way of integration with a manufacturing resource planning (MRP) or enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Although these systems have paved the way in planning production, they can leave a lot to be desired. Learn how manufacturing production scheduling (MPS) can be enhanced by finite scheduling and advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems.
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Supply chain management is a long-term strategy. The centerpiece for supply chain execution—the warehouse management system (WMS)—is an excellent place to start preparing your business for the return of the bull market. Discover how a well-tuned WMS can help your business reduce labor costs, improve inventory management, attain more accurate shipments, improve space allocation, and increase customer satisfaction.
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Many manufacturers and distributors have embraced the lean philosophy. But the tight controls necessary for success with Lean can leave companies vulnerable to supply disruptions, production problems, quality issues, and abrupt changes in demand. Learn how making your manufacturing operations and supply chain flexible can help reduce operational costs, increase cash flow, increase company value, and grow your business.
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A flexible enterprise resource planning (ERP) system can be the foundation for a complete overhaul of your business processes—providing numerous benefits over a set of disparate software systems. Find out how an ERP solution can help your company automate the movement of information, improve decision making, create disciplined workflows, and provide the agility needed to accommodate virtually any type of business change.
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The success or failure of spend and savings initiatives depends largely on the purchasing processes and technology platforms that support them. To ensure success, organizations need to build a flexible foundation that can adapt to savings measures as needed. Discover five best practices for spend management, inspired by innovations in cloud computing, and learn how they can help your company save money.
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Staples Brand Group (SBG), the group responsible for products carrying the Staples brand name, offers a wide range of products, from items as simple as pencil leads to complex products such as ergonomic office chairs. Learn about the solutions SBG uses to drive global sourcing, track costs and shipments, and achieve the lowest possible product costs with 99 percent on-time deliveries across global suppliers and customers.
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To succeed, wholesale distributors must respond quickly to customers’ expectations of high-quality, differentiated services. Good supplier relationships are crucial, too. Operational excellence and information transparency are key to keeping these important relationships running smoothly. Find out about solutions that can help you improve transparency and coordination, and also streamline inventory management.
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For many organizations in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, the cost of high product volume sales is extreme data complexity. This affects line-of-business managers in marketing, sales, manufacturing, and procurement, who must derive tangible business value from this quagmire of data. Find out how business intelligence (BI) solutions are helping CPG managers get faster access to relevant business data.
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To stay competitive, organizations are looking for ways to facilitate a smoother and more optimized global supply chain. But while companies are turning to business intelligence (BI) tools, many lack the ability to escape the gravity well of becoming data-rich while remaining information-poor. Learn how leading companies have eliminated the obstacles that hinder their ability to make better business decisions.
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For all but the smallest companies, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system promises big gains, by helping to grow revenue, increase productivity, improve efficiency, and manage costs. Right now, ERP for the midmarket is a hot topic. More and more midsized companies are replacing outdated ERP software or are jumping into ERP technology for the first time. Find out about what midmarket ERP buyers need to know.
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Building customer relationships requires six key elements to be in place and working together to maximize your customer relationship management (CRM) investment. Because these strategies are synergistic, one missing piece can have an impact on the effectiveness of the other parts. Find out about the six components that can lead you to having—and using—a profitable CRM system that includes a marketing automation solution.
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Mitsubishi Electric Europe thought its enterprise resource planning (ERP) would address all of its reporting requirements. But long-term, this proved difficult to sustain, due to the company’s ever-changing procedures. So Mitsubishi decided to invest in a tool that would integrate data from disparate systems, speed up the delivery of information, and provide dashboard, analysis, and reporting capabilities. Find out more.
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The global economic recession has put immense pressure on companies to cut costs—particularly IT-related expenditure. Companies were often forced to run only a few projects with regulatory impact and immovable deadlines, proceeding against very lean budgets. Recently, key economies such as the US and China have started to show signs of recovery. Learn more about how the recession has had an impact on IT investment.
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With rapid expansion underway, Saudi Arabia-based logistics provider Al Majdouie Group’s custom-built enterprise resource planning (ERP) and point of sale (POS) systems just couldn’t keep up. When the company began looking for a replacement solution to satisfy all of its requirements, Al Majdouie turned to TEC. Learn how TEC’s methodology helped Al Majdouie evaluate three tier-one ERP solutions, quickly and impartially.
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Needing to meet demand from the Internet and other sources, Polish furniture maker Deftrans implemented an enterprise solution with functionality for personnel and payroll, warehouse management, financials, invoice management, and more. With the new system, the company has reduced the time needed to prepare goods specifications and other warehouse operations, as well as ensured greater accuracy of invoices. Learn more.
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In a challenging economy, many companies focus cost-cutting on direct materials and capital spending rather than maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) supplies (also known as indirect materials). But an alternate concept allows you to implement lean processes to create a high-efficiency MRO outsource model. Find out how it offers greater visibility and promotes continuous improvement along the indirect supply chain.
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Sales at F.J. Westcott began to grow, placing a greater demand on its legacy enterprise resource planning (ERP) system’s inventory capabilities. Unrelieved inventory and other challenges led Westcott to seek a new ERP system—and a software evaluation and comparison methodology within the company’s budget. See how Technology Evaluation Centers’ Software Selection Services provided the resources for a confident decision.
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This may be a challenging economic period, but smart companies will use it as an opportunity to examine operational efficiency and best practices to reap benefits once the market improves. Your warehouse management system (WMS), a vital component of the supply chain execution suite, should be a key contributor in the search for cost-saving efficiencies—as well as the integration of your global supply chains. Learn more.
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Collaboration is critical to success, as companies have to give customers and partners access to their information and services in order to compete with the speed and responsiveness today’s markets demand. But trying to implement the systems you need to support collaboration—such as warehouse management systems (WMSs) or supply chain execution (SCE) solutions—in the face of ongoing change is not easy. Learn more.
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The adage “you can’t manage what you can’t measure” is true of many things in warehouse management, but perhaps nowhere more so than for the productivity of your workforce. Payroll is typically the largest single expense in the warehouse, and so many companies are using warehouse management systems (WMSs) and other technologies to do more in less time. But a labor management solution might do more for you—find out how.
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The era of manual warehouse operations is drawing to a close—with good reason. No matter how efficient your employees are, managing space and maintaining inventory with ad hoc spreadsheets or legacy systems doesn’t provide the accuracy or visibility into the supply chain that you need to succeed. A best-of-breed warehouse management system (WMS) can support your efforts to reduce costs and boost productivity. Learn how.
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The current market is asking retailers some difficult questions—ones their existing processes and tools can’t answer. It takes a mix of science, retail intelligence, and merchandising art to ensure that every store in a supply chain carries the right inventory, while maintaining a high service level and market share. Learn how to better respond to the demands of consumers and rationalize your assortment at a local level.
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Management at Concert GmbH, a company specializing in the production of non-woven air-laid fabrics, realized that the company had a lot of different custom applications running in its plants. Much of the production management was being handled manually—not in keeping with the nature of the company. After selecting a production management solution, Concert realized a return on investment in less than one year. Learn why.
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Sales and operations planning (S&OP) is a practical way to streamline manufacturing operations. With a disjointed view of your company’s departments, it’s impossible to make decisions about where to allocate resources or which parts of the company have excess capacity. S&OP helps fix this by delivering one set of numbers from one planning period to the next, and allows you to track your effort over time. Learn more.
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Extending the capabilities and value of SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse is a concern for users. To improve data use and fact-based decision making, and reduce stranded spreadsheets, SAP users can choose a business intelligence (BI) software solution such as IBM Cognos 8, with budgeting, planning, and forecasting functions. Find out more about how you can improve your business performance management content with BI.
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Many oil and gas industry suppliers chose enterprise software prior to 1999, when software designed to meet the needs of the oil and gas industry didn’t exist. This affects the efficiency of these companies—and will prevent them from pursuing new revenue streams in the future. However, project-enabled solutions can now cater to the oil and gas industry’s needs, helping you adjust to current market demands. Learn more.
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Organizations managing a fleet often operate on razor-thin margins. A recession can further deplete fleet companies’ purses, resulting in reduced scale of operations, lower profits, and process inefficiencies. Visibility is key to fleet optimization and can be achieved with a fleet management system. Learn how to maximize the availability of your resources and lower the total cost of ownership (TCO) of your mobile assets.
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Up to 75 percent of a company’s carbon footprint comes from transport and logistics functions, in the context of goods storage and distribution. Today, logistics companies are going green not just out of goodwill or compliance requirements, but also because savings in carbon emissions from green initiatives directly translate into cost savings. Consequently, emissions management and reporting are important. Learn more.
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Have you come to the conclusion that your company needs a supply chain planning system? Do you need to provide management and other key decision makers with reasons why you need a supply chain planning system? One way that a supply chain planning system can help you is by enforcing best practices and processes. Get more details on this and 10 other reasons why you should implement a supply chain system that works for you.
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The global march toward making products and services more sustainable is gaining breadth and speed. No manufacturer will be left untouched by this phenomenon. To thrive in this new low-carbon world, you need to have a deeper and more sophisticated understanding of your products’ environmental footprint—from raw materials to manufacturing to distribution to end of life. Learn about life cycle methodologies that can help.
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Two-thirds of the 400 survey participants in a 2007 Aberdeen report about inventory management place a high priority on working capital optimization. Many companies are reconsidering their business strategies, including implementing appropriate technology platforms that help automate supply chain processes. Learn about cost-effective and practical ways to reduce inventory so that working capital can be released.
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Sales and operations planning (S&OP) was identified as companies’ number two area of focus, in a survey of 805 companies for Aberdeen’s Supply Chain Executive’s Strategic Agenda study. Further research on the supply chain identifies how the S&OP process is helping corporate executives accomplish their overall business strategies. Find out what the four broad strategies are, and how best-in-class companies are using them.
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In times of economic uncertainty, you need to actively seek out best practices in how to adopt practical working capital optimization to improve financial performance while maintaining customer satisfaction. Learn about the three key performance criteria that define best-in-class organizations, and how they’re making their focus within the supply chain on working capital—primarily by optimizing inventory management.
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In a supply chain managed according to the theory of constraints (TOC), it is clear that there are so many common improvements that virtually all companies will benefit. It doesn’t take long for TOC companies enjoying greater sales and lower expenses to gain not only market share, but market dominance. Find out how you can work these principles into your organization with the help of a TOC solution for distribution.
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To achieve operational excellence, process manufacturers must be able to control costs while meeting customer expectations. Best-in-class process companies provide visibility into manufacturing operations while using real-time interoperability between manufacturing systems and business systems. Discover how best-in-class process manufacturers accomplish this, as well as other characteristics that help them succeed.
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Pressures to reduce costs still outweigh all other business drivers that have an impact on enterprise resource planning (ERP) in 2009. ERP is more than a necessary infrastructure; it’s also a strategic weapon in streamlining and accelerating business processes—while providing visibility to those processes. Discover more about the overall value ERP brings to manufacturing, with Aberdeen’s annual assessment of ERP usage.
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New economic conditions are driving companies to become increasingly cautious about the near future. But focusing on improving flexibility to dynamically account for change shifts focus away from budget accuracy—putting you at risk of falling short of shareholder expectations. To achieve best-in-class status, you must plan, budget, and forecast more efficiently for improved agility, accuracy, and corporate performance.
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By geocoding your address data, you have the location intelligence that helps you see patterns and create new opportunities to grow your business. There are three levels of positional accuracy, based on budget and business needs, as well as more enhanced levels of geographic accuracy. Learn more about geocoding, and how you can use it to perform market-specific data analysis—to strengthen customer relationships and more.
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R.G. Barry, a leading developer and marketer of accessory footwear, lacked real-time visibility into production schedules at its factories. As a result, the company built more safety stock, required long lead times, and could not quickly update customers on the status of their orders. Find out how a new Web-based global sourcing solution helped R.G. Barry free up cash and minimize the risk of carrying excess inventory.
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As a successful, rapidly growing apparel company with seven separate divisions, Maggy London needed to streamline its product development lifecycle, improve communications, and eliminate duplication of work. Find out how the company was able to select product lifecycle management (PLM), global sourcing, and inventory control solutions that helped it streamline daily operations and become a more efficient organization.
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Recently introduced Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) regulations include labor-intensive safety and testing guidelines for children’s products, footwear, and apparel. Brands and retailers that may have slashed jobs in response to the weak economy must meet these regulations with fewer people. Learn about solutions that help your company make compliance part of a comprehensive supply chain strategy.
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To ensure the safety of domestic and global food supplies, demands for brand protection assurance are on the rise from customers in the food industry marketplace itself. To address these requirements, food processors and distribution warehouses now find automated traceability systems a necessity. Discover an automated approach to traceability that’s both cost-effective and a good fit for your current business operations.
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Due to their limitations, using spreadsheets to manage mission-critical business functions is an unacceptable risk. The requirements for finding the right inventory in the right place at the right time are being hampered by spreadsheet forecasts based on inappropriate source data. Packaged software with inventory management and collaborative capabilities will give your supply chain a competitive advantage. Learn how.
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The requirements of operating in a global, just-in-time (JIT) market have made supply chains much more complex than they were 10 years ago. Much of the software meant to assist in managing this complexity has itself become too complex to use—and too expensive to cost-justify. Discover the benefits of using a less complex supply chain solution that better supports a collaborative effort along your supply chain.
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Companies performing a software evaluation and comparison want assurance that the products they’re evaluating do what the vendors say they do. Solutions certified by Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC) and bearing the TEC Certified logo were analyst-verified for accuracy. Learn about a TEC Certified ERP system for distribution and discrete manufacturing that might offer the modules and functionality you need.
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Kempe, a provider of innovative engineering solutions and services for a variety of industries, was using separate systems to manage the financial and operation aspects of the business. These systems were out of date and made accurate financial reporting almost impossible. With the help of a value-added reseller (VAR), Kepme implemented a centralized, integrated solution that stores information in real time. Learn more.
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Fetco Home Decor, designer and wholesaler of fashion frames and other décor products, was relying on Excel spreadsheets to perform its forecasting process. The lack of accuracy and accessibility resulted in ineffective forecasting—and higher-than-necessary inventory levels. After a quick implementation of a planning and forecasting solution, Fetco reduced inventory by 25 percent without affecting customer service levels.
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Peerless Pump has been designing, engineering, and manufacturing pumps for more than 80 years. The company was basing component stock levels on historical data, as it did not have the ability to accurately forecast customer demand. But with forecasting and demand planning software that increased forecast accuracy, the company has nearly doubled its sales over the past four years, while keeping inventory levels constant.
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Heineken USA imports, markets, sells, and distributes its premium beer products through its network of 650 beer distributors. This supply chain requires precise forecasts and meticulous planning—and an easy-to-understand forecasting tool that provides greater transparency in the collaborative forecasting process. Discover more about the benefits of the forecasting solution on Heineken’s sales and operations planning.
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Aside from geographic challenges, Kyocera—distributor of document management devices—also grapples with three-month lead times, purchase-order constraints, and stocking commitments. Forecasting accuracy is critical to a company that has to manage frequent model changes and short life-cycle products. Find out about the demand and forecast management solution the company uses to ensure consistent and accurate reporting.
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Terumo Cardiovascular Systems, global manufacturer and distributor of medical products, has more than 1,500 finished goods, many of which are assembled in one factory and sterilized in another. With so many products and steps in the supply chain, supply and demand planning abilities are key to smooth operations. Find out how the company saved $1 million (USD) with forecast management and requirements planning solutions.
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Currently, India’s population is approximately 1.0009 billion. The middle class is large and still growing; wages were low, but now are some of the best in various industries; many workers are well educated and speak English; and investors are optimistic and local stocks are up. Despite political turmoil, the country presses on with economic reforms. But for potential investors, there’s still cause for worry—find out why.
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During a recession, successful businesses change their approach to managing information technology (IT) sourcing. The challenge is to become more efficient and invest in IT so the return on investment (ROI) is realized quickly and business competitiveness is improved at lower cost. IT vendor management allows you to build a mutually beneficial relationship with your suppliers and service providers. Find out how.
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Like all fast-growing companies, Ruckus Wireless needed to continue to innovate quickly, speed products to market, manage costs, and meet quality and regulatory compliance requirements—while ramping up its infrastructure to manage the orders, requests, and relationships resulting from its growth. Ruckus looked for—and found—a solution to help it avoid costly errors related to manual processes. The new solution allows the extended enterprise to view and update product information, and more.
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To survive in today’s global economy, meet customer demands, and solve its growing inventory control problems, family-run business Miller Welding and Machine decided to implement an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. After implementing the new ERP solution and using all of its modules, the company has built efficiencies into its manufacturing operations, resulting in saved work-in-progress time. Learn more.
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As a supplier to the automotive industry, Best Foam Fabricators often needed to expedite parts to customers to fill orders. This meant the company was spending up to $50,000 (USD) on expedited freight. To reduce costs—of both shipping and labor—Best Foam decided to implement a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. Find out how Best Foam has not only reduced costs but also improved delivery time by 99 percent.
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Martin’s Wood Products, producers of solid wood furniture for over 20 years, is a family-run business that has aimed to keep pace with the enterprise resource planning (ERP) advances of the 21st century. To bring costing under control, and to automatically place accurate and consistent work orders on the shop floor, the company uses an ERP and product configurator solution. Learn more about how the solutions help the company.
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“Last-mile supply chain services” is an evolving segment of the supply chain industry, but a cutting-edge segment that has evolved as supply chain managers across the US struggle to cope with the inadequacies of the current globalized supply chain model. Learn five reasons why current supply chain models are flawed and how you can use a new architecture to balance supply chain risk, globalized sourcing, and economics.
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SuperPharm, a Trinidad-based pharmacy chain, was having a problem with replenishment and risked losing customers. The problem lay in the point of sale (POS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) for distribution systems—and that users couldn’t easily access the systems’ functionalities. After TEC helped SuperPharm with a software evaluation, SuperPharm realized it already had the best systems for its needs. Find out why.
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At a time when many companies are concerned about operational expenditure, a business assurance system with consultancy can help. Instead of randomly entering a remediation program whenever a major fault is found, use the business assurance system. The following areas have seen results: revenue management, customer acquisition and retention, credit management and bad debt recovery, supply chain management, among others.
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Pronto Software—Australian vendor of software meeting the needs of a range of vertical industries such as retail and food and beverage—wants to ensure it sustains profitable growth. To find partnerships with value-added resellers (VARs) in North America and in other markets, Pronto relies on Technology Evaluation Centers’ (TEC’s) software industry programs. Learn about the other ways Pronto benefits from using TEC.
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Companies are under huge pressure to cut all SAP-related costs and are seeking every opportunity to exploit their huge investments in SAP to reduce total business expenses. A survey of 18 respondents reveals how companies are seeing the potential to squeeze further costs savings by exploiting SAP software investments, especially in enterprise resource management (ERP) and supply chain business process areas. Learn more.
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Showing value has always been key to greater sales and higher prices. However, the bar has been raised. It’s often no longer enough to claim value—now the customer has to see, believe, and care about the value. Sales organizations must get their eyes back on the value ball, with five value-selling maturity levels that tie in to sales effectiveness. Learn how to improve your revenues while reducing sales effort and costs.
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The debate over climate change is quickly coming to a close and will soon be replaced by a new debate about policy alternatives. These policies will affect business in striking ways, through end-use efficiency standards, increased energy costs, and increased prices of raw materials and components. Take the most important action: analyze and understand your direct and supply chain emissions of greenhouse gases. Learn more.
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Brydens, an importer and distributor based in San Juan (Trinidad), needed a way to integrate the operational and functional aspects of the business, as well as turn raw data into useful information for better decision making. With a new warehouse management system (WMS), Brydens benefits from tracking and order fulfillment capabilities, for better inventory management. Discover the other benefits of the WMS solution.
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Specialty Products needed to address several warehouse and manufacturing management issues, including real-time inventory tracking. As it looked for a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, the company also wanted one-step order processing. Learn how the new ERP system, featuring a virtual shop front and electronic data interchange (EDI) capabilities, meets the company’s business and warehouse operating needs.
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Berjé, a US-based global distributor of essential oils, holds thousands of items of inventory and is a key part of the supply chain for several multinational corporations. Berjé recently implemented an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution and a warehouse management system (WMS) to track inventory levels and locations accurately. Learn how the solutions provide the benefits of real-time inventory tracking and more.
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SuperPharm, the first retail pharmacy chain in Trinidad (West Indies), opened its first store in 2005 with the focus on establishing a healthy business. It was critical that the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system have integrated point of sale (POS), inventory management, and purchasing functionality in place. Learn about the ERP system it chose, and the functionality that helped the company open four more stores.
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Wist, an office supply company offering over 40,000 products, was running an outdated enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. The primary concern was the system’s lack of flexibility, which incurred unnecessary labor costs. As well, errors were common and prevented Wist from getting the information needed for data analysis. With a new ERP for distribution, Wist has streamlined operations and reduced costs. Learn how.
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Dorcy, a global distributor of flashlights and batteries, manufactures its product line in Taiwan, China, and Korea, and repackages products in two US warehouses to ship to major retailers. With 2,500 items in its inventory—approaching $12 million (USD) at any given time—Dorcy needs a warehouse management system (WMS) that automates reports and provides real-time inventory data. Learn about the solution it uses.
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Every distributor and manufacturer can find ways to optimize processes. But there are key challenges to infusing efficiency and profitability into your established inventory management practices. Learn about common challenges and roadblocks to converting inventory from cost to competitive advantage—and learn from the nine “worst practices” that can help you benchmark your current inventory management strategy.
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Looking for a way to maximize the productivity and profitability of your inventory investment? Although good inventory management software is one key to an effective inventory management program, it must be implemented by a team that thoroughly understands the distributor’s needs and challenges. Learn about two solutions that, when combined, can lead you toward the goal of achieving effective inventory management.
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Large enterprises have different warehouse management and inventory management needs than do small and mid-market companies. Find out about the key factors to success for mid-market companies, identify big-picture trends and needs that can help you overcome barriers to enjoy inventory management as a true strategic advantage—and learn about an inventory management solution specially designed for the mid-market.
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You can take two approaches to inventory management: assume it’s a necessary evil and implement an inventory reduction program when cash gets tight, or put an active inventory management process in place, and continually improve the business results. Learn how to view inventory as cash that can be invested in other ways: move from reactive inventory management to lean and active inventory management in six easy steps.
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Congratulations! Your business case was approved and now you’re starting to consider implementing a warehouse management system (WMS). While you probably overcame some challenges, the next steps will be even more difficult if you are not adequately prepared. Learn four tips that will help ensure your WMS implementation moves rapidly toward a successful “go-live”—and toward a quick return on investment (ROI).
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You rely on a warehouse management system (WMS) to maintain ongoing operations, support changing customer requirements, keep up with industry regulations, and simply get product out the door on a daily basis. But a faltering system may also be constraining your global potential. Find out how to determine if your current WMS system is hindering your ability to execute business strategies that help you grow your business.
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Talent management is just a matter of anticipating the need for human capital and then creating a plan to meet it. But many approaches to talent management fail, as they’re based on outdated forecasting models. But you can anticipate and meet demand in an uncertain environment by borrowing lessons from operations and supply chain research—and forge a new way of looking at succession planning and talent management.
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Promising to transform the way products are developed, product lifecycle management (PLM) is one of the fastest-growing areas of technology investment for retailers and brands alike. But why should your company consider PLM? Find out why successful PLM implementations are initiated to support key strategic objectives, and how PLM can ultimately improve your profitability through enhanced operational efficiency.
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With goals to decrease operating costs and increase sales, Hayward—a leader in the building materials industry—knew it needed to replace its 25-year-old software with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that would enable business process re-engineering and more. The solution Hayward chose enabled it to more effectively manage its supply chain and generate bottom-line value to customers. Find out why.
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With rapid growth and revenues exceeding $100 million (USD), Quality Bicycle Products is under increasing pressure to meet demand. To keep driving growth, QBP realized its forecasting capabilities and performance would need to be optimized. To help meet the needs of these efforts, QBP began looking at an inventory and demand planning solution. Discover more about the supply chain management (SCM) solution it chose.
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Maintaining profitability was a major challenge for Tampa Tile because of the complexities of providing the construction industry with long-lead products, many of which are imported from Europe and South America. Its old enterprise resource planning (ERP) system no longer met its needs, so Tampa Tile looked for a new system that offered event management capabilities, in addition to inventory management. Learn more.
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The main business challenge faced by Wausau Supply—an American distributor of building materials—was its ability to provide next-day delivery to small lumber yards and to a greater number of conglomerates. But Wausau didn’t have an up-to-date system for back-office or logistics operations, and needed a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution with visibility into its inventory at all locations. Find out more.
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Like many distribution companies, Hydro-Scape needed to streamline and automate its business processes to increase speed and accuracy when serving customers, as well as boost productivity and profitability. The company chose an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution with distribution-specific functionality, including the ability to integrate data across the entire operation. Learn more about the distribution ERP.
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American Refrigeration Supplies (ARS) is a wholesaler of refrigeration and heating equipment, parts, and supplies. In a difficult economy, there is little margin for error with respect to how ARS manages its clients and vendors. Because a growing number of product vendors are using electronic data interchange (EDI), ARS was pushed to upgrade its distribution processes. Learn about the EDI solution the company chose.
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Endries International, distributor of products for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), aims to develop partnerships by helping customers meet their cost reduction, vendor consolidation, and productivity improvement goals. But Endries knew its old software wouldn’t enable long-term growth or manage business changes. With the new solution, processes such as demand planning are more accurate and efficient. Find out why.
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Falcon Technologies, Inc. (FTI) is a leading distributor of data and telecommunications products. After several years, FTI realized its legacy accounting system could no longer manage the growing business, and that it needed an industry-specific solution. The new system, with a few customizations, has allowed FTI to improve its efficiencies and productivity, resulting in a growth rate of over 50 percent. Find out more.
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Global sourcing, an erratic economy, and extended supply operations are just a few threats to the profitability and growth of your distribution environment. But if you extend the capabilities of your existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, you can better meet demands, maximize inventory, and increase operational efficiency. Learn how supply chain optimization is easier with an ERP for distribution solution.
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Survey data shows that companies want to improve their strategic business partnerships. Reflecting on lessons learned from past business relationships, 60 percent of respondents say that in future they’ll place more emphasis on developing personal relationships and setting expectations with business partners. Find out how these companies are creating collaborative networks that include business partners and consumers.
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Business networks have come to the fore in the past decade, as the power of customers and consumers has increased relative to the manufacturers and retailers that serve them. These networks enable these companies to deliver faster innovation to customers at lower costs by sharing investment, assets, and ideas. Find out how information technology and communication (ITC) systems can help you unlock new market opportunities.
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Any corporate executive can tell you that a strong brand can help achieve price premiums, promote customer retention, and more. Yet in times of economic instability, you may be tempted trim costs around efforts such as brand building. Downturns, however, can actually present opportunities to grow brand strength. Find out how you can maximize your brand value and take advantage of changing customer buying habits.
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As one of the fastest-growing home shopping retailers in the UK, JD Williams sells products through its 45 Web sites and more than 700 annual catalogs. To better face the challenges of its Internet sales—and to take advantage of opportunities—JD Williams began an end-to-end supply chain initiative, with a merchandise life cycle management solution suite. Learn how it helped the company increase sales in key departments.
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Rapid growth plus the need to continually offer new seasonal products led American Eagle to replace its old sourcing and order management systems while unifying product design, sourcing, and merchant processes. The company didn’t want to completely replace its legacy solution, however; it was important that its global supplier base adopt the solution too. Learn about the Web-based sourcing solution the company chose.
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Deutsche Woolworth has been in business for over 75 years. After splitting off from its American parent company, the company’s restructuring efforts focused on purchasing processes. It was discovered that there was no purchase planning in place, and no visibility into shipments and goods en route from suppliers. The company deployed a solution that reduced inventory levels by up to 90 percent. Find out how.
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Developing a core competency in global sourcing is one of the critical business initiatives for retailers and channel masters. By understanding exactly how global sourcing strategies impact margins, retailers can develop creative product categories that push margins and profit higher. What do you need to master global sourcing techniques? What technologies should you use? Find out, with the five stages of global sourcing.
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Issues of governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) affect nearly everything life sciences companies do. But you shouldn’t approach GRC in an ad hoc manner—implementing point solutions one after another in response to regulatory demands as they arise. This is inefficient and costly—and may result in non-compliance, due to lack of transparency. Learn how an enterprise-wide GRC approach to compliance management can help.
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If your company is “fighting fires” daily to meet customer demand, then you’re already losing customers and missing new sales. Today, business is conducted in real time, which requires flexibility and responsiveness. It’s these two attributes—along with reduced costs—that are the most beneficial in managing for optimal inventory levels. Find out how you can better plan and manage your inventory for long-term survival.
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Electronic product code information services (EPCIS) is a standard mechanism for inter-company collaboration and data sharing, which can enable health care partners to deploy solutions that meet short-term mandates driven by patient safety, as well as lay the foundation for long-term business value. Learn more about the impact of EPCIS in a study concerning data management and data sharing in the health care supply chain.
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Accurate forecasting requires many different views of the business. Increasingly, the finance department must make the links between forward-looking data from core operations and explain to stakeholders how this will impact the balance sheet and cash flow statement. How can chief financial officers lead the effort to make their operational and financial planning more agile, detailed, reliable, and efficient? Learn more.
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Nowadays, it’s easy to spend nearly as much time trying to make the pieces of your supply chain work together as you actually spend working. Managing disparate systems and solving communication issues create challenges that keep your business-to-business (B2B) solutions from working in sync. Find out how integrating the technology, business processes, and communication of your entire business community can help.
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Leading companies are increasing the percentage of perfect orders and reducing costs by exchanging documents with trading partners via electronic data interchange (EDI). Diverse trading partner capabilities and high-cost value-added network (VAN) fees, however, can pose barriers to even greater success. Learn about a solution that can help remove those barriers and let you exchange data regardless of format.
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Accurate product data is key to retail success. Merchandise planning, purchasing, inventory management, and logistics all depend on accurate initial item setup, as well as ongoing updates. But globalization has brought a variety of standards, making it more complex to ensure data accuracy. Learn about a product data synchronization solution that can help synchronize your product data with your global trading community.
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It’s still a must-have to manage faxes and e-mail across your trading partners. You need a simple way to automate these transactions into a single system, speed up cash cycle times, reduce errors—and save time. Learn about the value-added network (VAN) from Inovis, and discover how it can help you convert inbound e-mail and fax transactions and convert outbound transactions to fax, with transaction visibility.
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For many retailers, the transition to global sourcing and demand-driven inventory models creates both opportunities and challenges. Supply chains are becoming longer, with a smaller buffer for mistakes or delays. To continually improve, you need to gain visibility across your partner community. Find out how a partner performance management solution can help buyers and sellers work together to improve business processes.
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While an electronic data interchange (EDI) initiative improves supply chain communication and speeds up the exchange of goods and services, it is a complicated undertaking. To get started, learn how Inovis Professional Services array of consulting and training offerings, including assessments and technology planning, can help you implement mission-critical integrated solutions efficiently and cost-effectively.
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Early in 2004, software service provider Vermont Information Processing (VIP) saw an opportunity to help beverage producers drive down costs, improve productivity, and increase the accuracy of their business processes through automated supply chain communication solutions—or electronic data interchange (EDI) solutions. Find out why VIP chose Inovis’ suite of EDI solutions, and how it and its clients are benefiting.
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Achieving perfection in all of its transactions is important for shipping companies like Yantian—perfection that can only come with automation. While Yantian uses industry-standard electronic data interchange (EDI) to exchange transaction documents, it must accommodate the wide variety of media, formats, and protocols shippers use. Find out how Yantian used a server solution to simplify its trading partner management.
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Big Lots, the largest closeout retailer in the United States (US), needed a way to manage vendors, and get its products to stores as quickly as possible. The company chose Inovis Partner Performance Management—an on-demand, service-oriented architecture (SOA)-based solution—as its supplier management system. Learn how this solution helped Big Lots share data with vendors, reduce errors, and improve its supply chain.
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Fashion retailer Anchor Blue was looking for a way to increase supply chain visibility, reduce costs, and shorten the time required to get products onto store shelves. The company implemented the Inovis AS2 software solution to consolidate data from multiple partners into a single view. Learn how the new electronic data interchange (EDI) system helped reduce transaction costs and get merchandise into stores faster.
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Oxford University Press (OUP), the largest university press in the world, publishes over 4,500 books per year. OUP has long used electronic data interchange (EDI) for inbound orders, invoices, and credit and delivery notes. Learn why incorporating a value-added network (VAN) to its existing EDI software helped OUP improve its warehouse efficiency, boost trading partner adoption, and reduce annual VAN costs by 60 percent.
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Mission Rubber’s customers—the manufacturer’s representatives and distributors it sells through—began insisting on the use of electronic data interchange (EDI) for all transactions. The company wanted a reliable supplier that could provide cost-effective EDI translation and document exchange functionality. Find out why Mission Rubber finds its EDI solution is simple to set up, manage, and use—and how the company benefits.
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For many suppliers, keeping up with their retail customers’ compliance guides is a challenge, driven by the fast pace of the retail supply chain and complex trading partner systems. But even when retailers and vendors work together, data errors can slow down the supply chain and trigger deductions for compliance errors. Discover a solution that can help you eliminate preventable chargebacks in your supply chain.
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As EXEX Jewelry began to grow, the company’s founder realized her existing system of tracking transactions couldn’t keep pace. And increasingly, large retailers demanded that all transactions be completed via electronic data interchange (EDI) and that product information be uploaded to a centralized, third-party repository. Find out how EXEX has improved efficiency and increased product data accuracy with an EDI solution.
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Getting products to customers through a complex, global supply chain is becoming increasingly difficult. If you don’t have a solution that helps you focus on your core business, your business community processes suffer—slowing down supply chains and adding costs upstream and downstream. Find out about a managed services solution that can help you manage your partner relationships and improve cycle times.
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Milwaukee Electric Tool, in business for 85 years, was using an electronic data interchange (EDI) solution that had been outsourced at very high cost. When the company chose a new EDI solution, the focus of the conversion was on reducing costs while improving accuracy and increasing trading partner adoption. Learn more about how the company put EDI order processing back in-house and reduced cost per order by 86 percent.
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Dole manages a diverse network of global shipping, manufacturing, and sales operations. It needed a system that would enable connectivity with all its global operations and support internal systems. Dole looked for a provider to take on its external and internal connectivity needs. Find out about the data exchange solution that provides Dole with connectivity along with transaction tracking, auditing, and management.
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Office supply companies face stiff competition and know that on-time, next-day delivery is imperative to survival. Distributors of any size need accurate inventory data, but when the firm is a large office supplier offering 50,000 items, this need becomes non-negotiable. Find out how one company overcame such challenges as maintaining inventory, tracking sales and commissions, and guaranteeing next-day delivery.
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For over 40 years, Textron Fastening Systems Australia has provided automotive and aerospace customers with specialized fastening and assembly solutions. Using PRONTO-Xi, Textron has optimized its warehouse operations by automating put-away, picking, transfer orders, and stock takes. Find out how the solution also helped Textron reengineer processes to enhance productivity and improve order accuracy to 99.8 percent.
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Funtastic, the largest toy distributor in Australia, attributes its success to strong retail relationships and understanding the infrastructure needed to service these customers. High customer expectations, a large product range, and the fast-moving nature of the business mean that Funtastic must have complete real-time stock visibility. Find out about the warehouse and order management solution Funtastic uses.
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Bollé, a midsized distributor of sunglasses and other products to the Australian and New Zealand markets, sources both locally and from overseas. Inefficiencies resulting from a lack of integration between finance and inventory—and non-existent system security—forced Bollé to review its systems. After implementing PRONTO-Xi, the company achieves better than 99.5 percent order dispatch accuracy. Discover more benefits.
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Hitachi’s Australian division has nearly 1,000 retail stores and 6 warehouses across Australia. As such, the company needs supply chain visibility and accurate information to maintain customer satisfaction. For over 10 years, Hitachi Australia has worked with Pronto Software to ensure that the PRONTO-Xi enterprise resource management (ERP) system meets its business requirements and maximizes productivity. Find out how.
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The Islander Group generates over $18 million (USD) annually through its Web site, mail-order catalog, and warehouse operations. Seamless communication across the manufacture, supply, and distribution of its products is crucial to maintaining productivity, and profitability. But its business systems were no longer reliable or upgradable. Learn about the company’s requirements for a new system, and how PRONTO-Xi met them.
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Telbix Australia, a lighting importer, wholesaler, and retailer, added 400 new products to its product range of over 1,600. Telbix needed a solution to replace manual systems and provide tools to help ensure that it had the information to manage growth wisely. After implementing PRONTO-Xi for warehouse and distribution, as well as point of sale (POS), Telbix saw improvements in data integrity and visibility. Learn more.
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At Nagoya Guidance and Propulsion Systems (NGPS), more than half of production time goes into to products such as aircraft guidance systems. In 2003, NGPS installed Asprova’s advanced planning and scheduling system for greater efficiency from the planning it had been doing manually until that time. In 2007, NGPS added the sales module for more uniform production planning. Learn more about the efficiencies NGPS gained.
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If you can’t find the number of parts, finished goods, or products your inventory system says you have, you are wasting your time. There are two ways to track inventory: either by doing a physical inventory count, or by implementing a cycle count program. Manage inventory rather than just store it—learn about the benefits of cycle counting, and how it can help you increase the accuracy of your real-time inventory data.
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Founded in 1916, Oldfields is an Australian manufacturer of painting equipment, scaffolding, and garden sheds. To meet aggressive customer responsiveness targets, the company depends on up-to-date information and reliable communications. Learn how implementing PRONTO-Xi on a wide area network (WAN) helped Oldfields get quick access to data required for decision making, controlling costs, and improving customer service.
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Hyne Timber, with over 1,000 employees and 12 wholesale outlets in eastern Australia, finds advantage in taking a long view in developing its strategy. Part of that strategy is its IT operations. PRONTO-Xi, the company’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, offers functionality for effective manufacturing, sales, and inventory management. Discover how Pronto’s ERP offers Hyne an integrated view of timber operations.
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Outdoor equipment and clothing retailer Kathmandu sought a new enterprise management system to support expansion throughout Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The new system, with capabilities for point of sale (POS) and inventory management, had to be scalable. Based on a strong customer reference, Kathmandu chose PRONTO-Xi. Find out how PRONTO-Xi has helped improved efficiencies and promotion management.
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As you streamline your supply chain, don’t forget about the shipping or receiving department. Often, a company aligns its supply and demand but doesn’t provide the key inventory prioritization rules for shipping and receiving—and the right product is delayed from its final end-point. Learn how appointment scheduling can help—meet with your supplier, customer, and carrier to plan an efficient and effective flow of goods.
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A growing number of smart suppliers recognize the competitive high ground to be seized as they deepen their connections to retail clients in regional markets. By adding value in the replenishment process through vendor-managed inventory, small and midsized manufacturers can differentiate themselves from larger brands. Most importantly, they can develop more loyal and profitable relationships with retail clients. Learn how.
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In 2005, Nu-West Construction Products was executing a rapid expansion plan that included three new distribution facilities in Western Canada. Believing it had outgrown its existing solutions, Nu-West conducted a comprehensive enterprise resource planning (ERP) software evaluation project to find a replacement. Learn how the chosen solution, TGI’s Enterprise 21 ERP, helped Nu-West meet its unique distribution needs.
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With an uncertain future, if you want to continue growing you must step away from “business as usual” and focus on keeping operations lean and efficient. Top-level executives have directed managers to restructure and cut costs. For chief information officers (CIOs), restructuring often means consolidating IT resources to eliminate redundancy. But today, managers must look past the numbers and evaluate long-term benefits.
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As you evaluate systems to manage your distribution operations, you’ll want to know everything you can to make the search process better. It’s a small project to evaluate, select, and implement a warehouse management system (WMS). These tasks require diligence, time, and an understanding of your business goals. Uncover five secrets you should know before you purchase a WMS—for long-term success and competitive advantage.
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Despite the consensus that warehouse management systems (WMS) offer many benefits, getting approval for a new system is challenging. You need to get key decision makers in operations, IT, and finance—as well as the executive team and the board of directors—to see value in the proposed WMS. But how can you improve your chances of getting management approval? Discover five strategies for information-gathering and approval.
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These days, there is increasing pressure on companies to become more efficient and reduce the bottom line. Improving communication with suppliers, partners, and customers can dramatically optimize business processes and increase responsiveness. But how can you easily improve these channels of communication? Web-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems that support Web 2.0 collaboration tools can help. Learn more.
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Small and midsized companies may need help configuring Google Analytics installations to aid their clients in the real estate, vacation rental, and resort markets—and to measure and enhance the effectiveness of their online marketing programs. If you’re tired of being kept in the dark about the effectiveness of your Internet marketing programs, then it might be time to implement a comprehensive Google Analytics program.
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Natural Factors produces millions of capsules every month and, on a daily basis, fills hundreds of sales orders. With new formulations continually added to its thousands of active stock items, the company needs a solution that ensures quality control. Learn how the Lot Traceability module in SYSPRO’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) software helps Natural Factors trace products to their source and ensure compliance.
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An adaptive supply chain network allows all the stakeholders in the supply chain to share knowledge, make collaborative decisions, and immediately respond to changing conditions. But without an adaptive supply chain network, the potential for growth is limited. Warehouses that operate in real time with integrated forecasting, order management, and transportation are prepared to compete in today’s market. Find out how.
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For many manufacturers, the demands of meeting customer expectations and reducing production costs in an environment of more products and more choice places stress on the effectiveness of planning and scheduling processes. Yet, systems are becoming outdated, lacking the flexibility and responsiveness to manage complex production environments. Find out about planning and scheduling options and how to boost productivity.
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Industrial equipment manufacturers (IEMs) have been hit especially hard by today’s economy. But the industry has come back better than ever before by adopting new efficient manufacturing methods and new software and business processes that let them compete head-on, satisfying customer demands while reducing costs and raising margins. Learn about the methods industrial equipment manufacturers are using to stay competitive.
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North American process manufacturers face increasing challenges related to heightened security, pricing pressures, global competition, and rising costs. Thus, continuous improvement of processes is imperative to remaining competitive. How close is your company to world-class? And how focused are you on process improvement? Find out how get started on a process improvement strategy that will have long-term benefits.
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Outsourcing and global competition are forcing companies to transform their supply chains from linear processes into adaptive networks. Communities of customer-centric, demand-driven companies must share knowledge in order to adapt to changing markets, and respond to shorter life cycles. Discover how supply chain management (SCM) solutions can help your company create a truly adaptive and collaborative supply network.
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Seventh Generation, distributor of environmentally friendly products, sought an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to support its supply chain more efficiently, including monitoring the environmental impact of its suppliers and products. Microsoft ® Dynamics NAV helped the company automate business processes and streamline supply chain management while pursuing its mission of corporate responsibility. Find out how.
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For almost a decade, Unitech America managed with its inventory and supply chain management system. But as the company grew, the software couldn’t meet the company’s business needs, such as tracking product serial numbers, which made it difficult to measure inventory and track returns and customer purchasing behavior. Learn about the system Unitech chose to help improve customer service processes and more.
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Widex Canada, a manufacturer and distributor of high-end hearing aids, wanted to automate its work flow—from sales order entry through shipping and delivery. It also wanted more flexible reporting accounting and sales. Learn how combining Microsoft® Dynamics NAV with Tectura’s Configure to Order and Workflow helped Widex make its day-to-day processes more efficient and report results quickly and accurately.
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To replace its 15-year-old, custom-developed enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, The International Group chose the Microsoft® Dynamics-NAV-based Tectura Process Manufacturing solution as a replacement system. Find out how this solution helped The International Group increase margins and profitability, boost employee productivity, make more timely decisions, and gain real-time visibility into critical business data.
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Industrial equipment manufacturers (IEMs) face fundamental changes to the way they do business. Combined with ailing economies and cash-strapped customers, the ability of IEMs to effectively manage their operations—and those of their supply chain partners—can determine success or failure. Get insight into the changing IEM customer market and the skills and tools you need to fully address these changes and challenges.
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Coordinating all shipping processes—from inbound to outbound freight—can be a logistics headache in a global economy—especially if you don’t make the most of all a transportation management system (TMS) has to offer. One director of logistics found that a web-based TMS solution resulted in a 10 percent decrease in the number of carriers, with a 15 percent increase in carrier load factors. Learn more about the benefits.
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Communication between shippers and carriers can be a challenge, but without an automated solution specially designed for fleet management and load scheduling, it’s even more challenging. With a web portal designed to provide efficient communication between shippers and carriers, you can boost the performance of your execution, settlement, and reporting activities—with a quick return on investment (ROI). Learn more.
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If you’re looking for a transportation management system (TMS) that will automate all aspects of transportation execution from planning to reporting, consider the benefits of BestShippers TMS. Users have reported new opportunities to ship freight more efficiently and the ability to reduce freight spending by more than 13 percent. Learn how it can help you optimize loads and maximize control over day-to-day decisions.
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As a result of exponential growth via acquisition, an international metals manufacturer realized it was trying to function with six disparate systems. Because of this lack of integration, transportation costs were skyrocketing. Learn about the solution that helped the company automate tendering processes, centralize core functions like carrier management, increase management’s visibility and control—and more.
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To keep up with rising transportation-related costs, an industrial manufacturer realized it needed an automated transportation management system (TMS). Without a structured process to determine which carrier needed freight enders, management knew it was not always finding the right carrier and that often it was paying far more that it should. Learn about the TMS solution it used to gain real-time visibility and more.
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While analyzing load statistics with its key carriers, a multinational manufacturer and distributor noticed that deadhead mileage statistics were excessive. Often, inbound trucks delivering goods into its facilities had different dispatchers than those handling outbound loads. The company needed to improve communication with carriers. Learn about the solution that helped save money by reducing deadhead mile charges.
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Due to ever-changing business, market, and economic conditions, shippers cannot afford to rely solely on a certain size of carrier—and often it’s the smaller regional or family-owned carriers that can fill the unique needs of a shipper. But can those smaller carriers provide the level of communication you expect and get from larger carriers? Learn about a solution that offers integrated communication for any size carrier.
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In 2008, a multinational manufacturer and distributor wanted to elevate its load tendering process to a more sophisticated level. To guarantee cost savings, the company wanted to be able to create a batch of tendered loads for a given time period before releasing them to the routing guide tendering logic. Now, it has the capacity to move orders with no increase in costs. Learn about the solution that helped enable this.
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Allegheny Technologies is one of the largest specialty materials producers in the world. In 2002, its largest subsidiary realized it could save significant costs and boost organizational efficiency if it were to automate the selection of its carriers. But, it didn’t want a complex solution that would demand a large investment of capital and training. Find out about the online transportation execution system it chose.
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Relevant to the current economic recession, find out about key challenges faced by the retail industry, such as multichannel integration. Get an introduction to a process excellence and governance approach specific to retail, for radical cost reduction and organizational agility and visibility. You’ll also find a case study about business performance management (BPM) in the food and beverage industry.
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The new capabilities of web-based technologies and the burgeoning digitalization of the battlefield have positioned the military to adopt complete cross-service logistics solutions. This interoperability is key for integrated logistics system (ILS) projects—as is the need for ILS to include a deployable aspect. Learn more about the importance of ILS deployability to enable “foxhole to factory” supply chain capability.
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The dynamics of today’s global supply chain are changing rapidly because of volatile fuel costs, overseas wage increases, security concerns, and global economic issues. In this environment, some US manufacturers are exploring ways to claim a competitive advantage by bringing operations back to the US. Explore the benefits, trends, and considerations of “right-shoring” and what it can mean for domestic businesses.
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The strength of a company can be traced to the value of its brands. Brand marketing managers seek to create and develop brand value by converting consumer insights into consumer loyalty. How can you overcome the challenge of developing effective marketing campaigns that convert consumer information into revenue and profit? Leverage the value of your brand with an integrated approach to brand management. Find out how.
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Historically, sourcing and procurement companies have been concerned mainly with reducing costs and ensuring supply availability and quality. However, this is changing. Savvy businesses are moving beyond traditional sourcing and procurement goals, and looking to the procurement company to drive competitive advantage and deliver value. Discover the sourcing strategy tricks some successful companies are using.
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A few years ago, Progress Paint realized its non-integrated software systems and manual processes were slowing productivity. To boost efficiency, the company replaced the old systems with a single accounting and enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. Now, Progress manages inventory control, order entry, accounting, formulations, production, and environmental reporting via one automated, integrated ERP solution.
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The IT investments that have allowed firms in process industries to increase the efficiency of their operations and supply chains have also created vast stores of data. Unfortunately, many companies are still unable redeploy that data to drive innovation. Learn how the next generation of business intelligence (BI) tools can help your company gain a competitive advantage by harnessing the information IT systems generate.
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The wave of e-sourcing that began a decade ago resembled a “crash diet:” it had an immediate and noticeable effect on enterprises. Today’s challenge is to develop new programs that can sustain the benefits of e-sourcing and “keep the weight off.” Find out how employing advanced sourcing strategies can help you positively impact product development cycles, build stronger supplier relationships, and make better decisions.
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Fuel marketers and distributors must act quickly to keep up with the volatile marketplace. Margins are narrow and fuel prices fluctuate constantly—and at the same time, you must coordinate a fast-paced replenishment cycle. To optimize the efficiency of your processes and improve the accuracy of your forecasts, there’s an oil and gas software solution that offers automated functionality for invoicing and billing, and more.
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Many buy cycles start months before sellers are even aware of them. A system that provides reps with immediate awareness of a lead’s interest is critical, as is linking marketing’s and sales’ efforts, coordinating campaigns, and consolidating access to information and reporting—including manager dashboards. Learn how eliminating the gap between sales and marketing can increase lead quality and increase sales performance.
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Even in tough economic times, innovative small-to-midsized companies can still find opportunities for growth. Technology and business software solutions like enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management (SCM), customer relationship management (CRM), product lifecycle management (PLM), and supplier relationship management (SRM) can help your company ride out the global economic downturn. Find out how.
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You can leverage economies of scale to increase production by using existing equipment and people, lowering cost per unit, and increasing profit margins. The same applies to providers of services. Using the talented personnel you have and expanding the quality and distribution of services and support are much easier than starting from scratch. Find out how you can take advantage of economies of scale for profitable growth and gains in market share.
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No enterprise is an island. Your company is a link in the business-to-business (B2B) supply chain. Thus, a seamless and efficient supply chain is a critical factor in your success—but you need to design a supply chain that focuses on demand, supply, and service to provide competitive differentiation in the marketplace. Learn how to strive for the perfect order and improve order accuracy with a business process solution.
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Preventable deductions are a major source of frustration and cost for suppliers, while the compliance violations that trigger them are likewise frustrating and costly for retailers. Eliminating the violations—and, thereby, eliminating the deductions—is in the best interests of both parties. Find out how a system that automates information handling processes, as well as compliance enforcement and monitoring, can help.
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With more manufacturing being outsourced, and suppliers located farther afield than ever, logistics is much more complex than it used to be. To simplify the complexity, companies are looking for a way to manage their global business communities that integrates transactions across trading partners and logistics providers. Many have found that a third-party managed services providers is the best solution. Find out why.
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The number of steps involved in getting materials or products from suppliers to buyers makes inbound logistics an error-prone process. Each mistake costs you time, labor, money, customer satisfaction, and, ultimately, your competitive position in the marketplace. Learn how implementing a partner performance management program can help your company reduce the number of inbound-logistics problems, and minimize their impact.
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SchoolKidz provides an approach to fulfilling the school supply needs of students, parents, and educators. In 2007, Staples acquired the company, with plans to grow SchoolKidz’s annual revenue. To support the forecasted growth, SchoolKidz upgraded its business management solution. The new solution allows the company to create reports, place orders, and share information with an online collaboration tool. Find out how.
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Due to acquisitions, Zurn—manufacturer and distributor of plumbing products—was running three disparate enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Financial reporting and data sharing across business units was time-consuming. To handle current and future business needs, Zurn wanted an integrated ERP system that would provide up-to-date accounting, sales, and warehouse data. Find out about the integrated ERP Zurn chose.
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For today’s small to medium manufacturers, increasing the bottom line while optimizing efficiency poses an increasingly difficult challenge, especially in our current economic crisis. This, coupled with competition in a global environment, puts manufacturers in a tight spot. Discover the key challenges facing small to medium manufacturers, and the on-demand solutions you can leverage to sustain and win business.
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Inventory optimization is the area where most enterprise resource planning (ERP) software implementations get the highest and fastest return on investment (ROI). However, many companies implementing an ERP solution don’t add a dedicated inventory optimization module. Learn how inventory optimization can offer companies huge potential to maximize the value of IT investments—and keep inventory levels at the right balance.
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For years, Sage MAS 90 ERP served Metrolina Greenhouses well as its accounting and distribution solution. But continued growth and expansion led it to seek a comprehensive warehouse management solution (WMS), to incorporate materials requirement planning (MRP) procedures and radio frequency identification (RFID) for better planning and control. Metrolina discovered Sage MAS 500 had the MRP software it needed. Learn more.
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Beyond the operational efficiencies and cost savings of an improved product audit trail, standardized GS1 barcode labels contribute to greater supply chain security by protecting against the entry of counterfeit products into a legitimate supply chain. There are many complications to having fully conforming GS1 barcode labels, however. Find out how to address these issues with five strategies for the global supply chain.
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Manufacturers already apply transportation management systems (TMSs) to outbound shipping, but they often overlook the money they could save by using a TMS to control inbound shipping costs as well. Find out how improved inbound transportation practices can help you predict true total delivered costs, get visibility on inbound shipments, enforce routing guides, optimize freight, and minimize accessorial charges.
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When looking at extended enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management (SCM), or customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, some companies get distracted by details of the technology and miss the bigger picture. Learn how to choose an operating platform capable of supporting your business needs, today and in the foreseeable future, and ensure that your suppliers will be around when you need them.
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Supply chain operations play a vital role in the success of any consumer or high-tech original equipment manufacturer (OEM). But some companies consistently outperform in the field. Find out how these companies are making their supply chains more effective and efficient by supporting sophisticated business processes with technologies like integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and demand management software.
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In this challenging economy, standards for materials flow are critical to thriving in the global automotive industry. Successful suppliers know how to meet Materials Management Operations Guideline/Logistics Evaluation (MMOG/LE) standards. MMOG/LE is a self-assessment for material and logistics control used to evaluate production, parts and service, and more. Learn how it can help you succeed in the automotive market.
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To remain competitive, retailers must improve costs, differentiate the shopping experience, and ensure effective promotions. Many retailers are asking how to improve vital business processes while offering customers more. Learn about key trends in the retail sector and how business process management (BPM) can help address challenges across in-store operations, supply chain management (SCM), and multi-channel integration.
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As countries frequently increase and revise border security protocols, participating in global trade has become increasingly complex. Compliance and supply chain managers can no longer solely rely on personal knowledge and paper-based processes to effectively plan and manage global trade. You must have real-time access to critical trade information and the ability to automate global trade management processes. Learn more.
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As a midsize wholesale distributor, you need to stand out from your competition while improving efficiency. SAP Business All-in-One Solutions offer software designed to help you with your current needs, while remaining capable of supporting future growth. Find out how this solution can help you improve transparency and coordination between the warehouse and the executive suite, but also streamline inventory management.
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The trade-off between best-of-breed functionality and ease of integration is no longer so simple. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software continues to expand, blurring the boundaries of core ERP functionality. The three essential factors to consider in ERP versus best-of-breed decisions are functionality, integration, and the ability to upgrade. Find out the questions you need to ask when considering an ERP extension.
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Globalizing your market reach presents technology and business challenges to profitable growth. Your supply chain strategy for globalization should include an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that provides you with visibility into key performance indicators (KPIs). Find out why standardizing an automated ERP system across multiple sites can result in a 66 percent reduction in total time from delivery to order.
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Organizations increasingly see business model innovation—not new products and services—as the basis of their competitive advantage. Common approaches to innovation include improvements to customer experience and supply chain management, and implementation of a service-oriented architecture (SOA). Learn how these innovations can help create new opportunities for companies and their customers, partners, and suppliers.
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Today, global trade management issues affect small and midsized businesses (SMBs) and large multinationals alike. While enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a key component of any globalization strategy, not all ERP vendors offer the same degree of localization. Before undertaking an ERP implementation, it’s important to understand the extent to which each vendor provides international support and functionality.
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Manitou, a global producer of complex make-to-order forklift trucks, wanted to optimize sales processes to overcome several challenges, including a lack of visibility into the order pipeline, and order capture that was prone to errors. After deploying Chameleon, sales channels can access current and accurate product and pricing info, and order capture is not only faster, but more efficient. Learn about other benefits.
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SDMO Industries, a global manufacturer of power generators, sells its broad product line through a variety of sales channels. Communicating accurate product feature and pricing information was challenging, so SDMO looked for a customer relationship management (CRM) and order management software solution to improve sales productivity. Find out how SDMO optimized its global sales teams’ efficiency and reduced overall costs.
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Chief financial officers (CFOs) and procurement directors want to speed up and simplify the outsourcing provider selection process, to reduce costs and gain benefits sooner. Here are key issues you should consider when fast-tracking the process of scoping and negotiating a sourcing transaction. Collaboration and interaction are key to shortening the process while still achieving your end goal. Find out more.
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Globalization and digital technologies provide great opportunities for companies operating in business to business (B2B) markets. There are many strategies you can use to automate the demands of business communication so it is more reliable, efficient, and profitable—and delivers more value to your customers. Learn about the four key practices that can help you improve your B2B relationships with buyers or sellers.
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Kanban—the Japanese term for physical or visual signs that trigger replenishment, which can be a useful part of lean manufacturing—is not a good fit in some situations. Alternatives to kanban can also eliminate waste in lean production by addressing inventory, materials, and replenishment process needs. Learn more on how you can find alternatives to kanban to make your enterprise resource planning (ERP) system “leaner.”
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Toronto, Canada-based printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer Coretec expanded from one location to three. But its custom systems weren’t well integrated and were difficult to maintain. The company needed an integrated system to facilitate its goals for order volume and customer service and growth. Find out how an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution helped the company increase capacity and improve delivery times.
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A few years ago, the top customer complaint for plastics provider Rowmark was shipping errors. For several reasons, customers weren’t receiving what they ordered. Problems were traced back to handwritten inventory labels, and manual counting and checking of orders. Learn how the company upgraded the system it already had by adding bar code labels and scanning, as well as other electronic data interchange (EDI) techniques.
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A fast-growing robotics product manufacturer needed to track an extremely large inventory of individual products. A daily expanding product line presented even greater hurdles for inventory management, and meeting on-time delivery goals. The company’s old enterprise resource planning (ERP) system wasn’t keeping up, so the company moved to a system that allows more options for product customization and more. Learn how.
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Make-to-order company Advanced Scientifics produces medical devices, including bag systems, tubing assemblies, and molded components. Manual paper-based systems severely hampered the company’s growth potential: it couldn’t effectively control production consistency, as its inventory control and job orders weren’t scalable. Learn how annual revenue by went up 20 percent with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.
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At first glance, less-than-truckload (LTL) purchasing seems like a straightforward process. However, purchasing approaches that save you money in the short term also introduce your company to financial and operational risk. A truly successful LTL bidding process is data-driven and has very different financial outcomes for shippers, 3PLs, and their customers. Discover more about this and other LTL best practices.
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The drive to deliver high-quality produce—on time, against increasingly tight deadlines, and at reduced prices—is a challenge for even the most efficient suppliers. Having access to and sharing real-time information is essential to efficient delivery. Learn how an integrated supply chain solution with business intelligence (BI) capabilities offers greater efficiency, reduced of costs, and improved customer service.
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The one thing you can count on today in business is change, whether it’s customers, business models, or the pace of business. To manage change, companies rely on technology. But the most effective management control and optimization of company performance can be achieved only if you have the right systems. Discover how an integrated system can help you manage data and make better decisions, for a more successful company.
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As raw material and energy costs skyrocket, it is essential that food processors understand and control the costs of production. Unfortunately, many food manufacturers rely on inventory procedures that are peppered with disconnected technologies and inefficient manual processes. Find out how you can avoid the five problems caused by poorly controlled inventory and how to protect your margins in an uncertain market.
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Railion Nederland N.V. is an independent operating company of Railion Deutschland, the largest rail cargo transporting company in western Europe. The company transports almost 25 million tons, more than 70 percent of which is of an international nature. Railion needed a planning solution to overcome the drawbacks of its old system, which had been designed for passenger transport. Find out which system it chose, and why.
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Novelis is the world leader in aluminum rolling and beverage can recycling. Novelis produces advanced aluminum sheet and foil products for customers in high-value markets, including automotive, transportation, packaging, construction, and printing. Find out how scheduling technology improved some of its most important key performance indicators (KPIs).
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Founded in 1905, Ewals Cargo Care (ECC) has a long history as a third-party logistics provider. In 2002, Ewals took steps to target the then-emerging fourth-party logistics (4PL) market. Making that leap required more than just a refocus of its commercial activities, however. Learn how ECC found a solution to plan, optimize, monitor, and manage the flow of goods—with complete command over all transport requirements.
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Helsinki (Finland)-based Rautaruukki Oyj is a leading supplier of metal-based components, systems, and integrated systems to the construction and mechanical engineering industries. The company has a wide portfolio of metal products and services, with operations in over 20 countries. Find out how the company found a solution to manage inventory, manufacturing productivity, and delivery performance.
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Supply chains come with their own challenges: new products and channels, demanding customers, changing markets, rising energy and labor costs, security issues, and government compliance—as well as internal pressures to cut costs. All this complexity is driving the need for more sophisticated transportation rating tools. Find out about the five components of "intelligent rating," and how it can improve your bottom line.
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Find out how an established lawn and garden product manufacturer transformed production
processes, improved supplier communication and inbound delivery quality, and drove lower raw material inventories. The key? A collaborative web-based solution to manage critical inbound supplier forecasts, orders, and shipments.
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The Long Tail—a strategy involving the sale of a large number of exclusive items in small quantities—is growing. Most companies are dealing with a far greater variety of stock keeping units (SKUs) and slow-moving items with lumpy, unpredictable demand patterns. Learn why Long Tails are growing, and how you can look for opportunities to improve your top and your bottom line by successfully managing long tail inventories.
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Escalating health fears, new global policies, and a highly competitive market means that traceability is an issue food and beverage companies cannot afford to ignore. All this has led to a need for information on quality and food safety that companies must live up to. Explore the key issues surrounding traceability in the food and beverage industry, and find out why you might need to consider a new traceability system.
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Gunther Gifts, a California (US)-based company, engraves and ships unique gifts nationwide to over 200,000 customers. An integrated solution that could efficiently manage accounting and inventory was crucial. And with several web sites taking information from the same inventory pool, the company needed a system to track inventory across multiple channels. Discover the company’s chosen solution, and the benefits gained.
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Fischer, the world’s largest ski manufacturer, grew 47 percent in a three-year period and found its operational staff was spending too much time reconciling data among disparate systems. Plus, it was impossible to accurately analyze customer data to forecast sales and inventory projections. After implementing Everest, Fischer has increased customer satisfaction with real-time order and inventory information. Find out how.
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With over 25,000 customers, Holland Bulb Farms of Wisconsin (US) needed a more efficient way to sell and market its gardening items on the Web. The company wanted an integrated system to keep track of its growing number of transactions, expenses, and purchases. With Everest, the company found the all-in-one solution it needed—and within the first month of going live, saw a 300-percent return on investment. Learn more.
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In the competitive auto industry, Nissen Chemitec America knows the need for lean manufacturing. Its legacy enterprise resource planning (ERP) system was preventing the company from adopting lean principles, and so in 2003 it looked for an ERP tailored for contract manufacturers serving the auto industry. Learn how the new system helps the company stay lean within the confines of compliance and changing customer demands.
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The oil and gas resource sector is under pressure to improve operations and finances while continuing to meet the growing demand for energy. Radio frequency identification (RFID) benefits retail, but it’s little known as a tool for improved efficiency and customer satisfaction in the oil and gas industry. Discover how RFID can offer multiple benefits in production and distribution to companies in the oil and gas sector.
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What if you could track the location of mobile assets and provide the information to your accountants, without global positioning system (GPS) devices, radio frequency identification (RFID), or satellites? How about by capturing asset ID numbers and locations with camera cell phones? Find out how this system works and how it can be implemented in public companies—for more compliant tracking of mobile assets.
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Inventory optimization enables companies to improve the performance of both the supply and maintenance functions. Your inventory optimization solution should not only identify optimal holdings of each item, but do so automatically—and analyze usage, as well as adjust stock holdings and reordering points on an ongoing basis. Find out how inventory optimization can help you reduce downtime and increase productivity.
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Genius Project4Domino and Microsoft Project are both project management tools, and though their range of features is different, they are also complementary. Using the solutions together can bring a well-rounded project management solution to companies of all sizes. Learn how they can be used to ensure consistency and eliminate downtime, so your long-term strategic project plans are a success.
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The final loop of information from a warehouse management system (WMS) to a warehouse worker and back is most critical—but in most systems, it’s also the weakest. Hand-held devices, such as touch-screens, bar code scanners, and RFID readers, can result in error-filled transactions. Learn how you can use multiple mobile devices more effectively to help improve the accuracy of your order fulfillment and inventory processes.
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It’s not just operating talent and facilities that win business for logistics service providers. Every community of clients, customers, suppliers, and carriers must work together to fulfill perfect orders. However, few supply chain communities consist entirely of companies with top-notch supply chain applications. Learn how a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution can help fill the gaps—and increase value to your clients.
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A company with a global presence can easily face “double trouble” with regard to financial reporting. Each division needs to keep books, pay employees, manage accounts, and pay taxes in the currency of its region. But all accounts must be consolidated, which involves processes that can cause inaccuracies and use up valuable time. Find out how to more effectively close your books, and manage your disparate sales teams.
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Increasingly, success depends not only on how fast manufacturers can act, but how fast they can react—and the effectiveness of the actions they take. But fast and effective reactions depend on having the information you need when you need it. Is your response management strategy efficient enough? Do you have enough control over key supply chain processes? Find out how to better manage your response to volatile markets.
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Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, had a rapidly expanding customer base and shortened product life cycles. This led the company to add more contract manufacturers to its supply chain, meaning more complex decisions had to be made in less time. To stay competitive, the company implemented response management technology. Learn more about the company’s rapid growth and the software that helped make it possible.
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Customer and commercial demands are changing the way manufacturers manage their positions in the supply chain. The financial impact on a company that is unable to respond to change can be crippling, especially in a global market. Learn about the benefits of using a response management process, so you can access live data from multiple systems across various locations—for more intelligent and empowered decision making.
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Manufacturers today must respond quickly to ever-changing customer demands—while keeping costs low and efficiency high. How can original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and contract manufacturers (CMs) effectively manage the demand-driven supply chain? A solution that increases your visibility of inventory planning and management throughout the supply chain can help reduce your response time. Learn more about the benefits.
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Managing the demands of constant change is one of the biggest challenges facing the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry today. Collaboration between original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and contract manufacturers (CMs) can help both sides leverage the supply chain to manage change. Find out about a solution that can help you create a successful collaboration strategy that optimizes your supply chain.
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A data storage company planning to become a major player in the field needed customer relationship management (CRM) software that would scale to the company’s growth and integrate with its other business software. Learn about the solution that integrated accounting and manufacturing packages affordably, and that helped the company—through a flexible and secure Internet portal—to share vital information with its partners.
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Buying a software solution that doesn’t closely fit your business processes significantly impacts the time and money your company needs to make it work. There are particular challenges in using a generic enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for the printing and packaging industry. Read about the functional gaps to consider when choosing an ERP system, and how to use it to lower your total cost of ownership (TCO).
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While the concept of lean manufacturing is well established in traditional manufacturing industries, its adoption in printing and packaging has been slow. Many companies have yet to fully realize the benefits of a holistic implementation. Find out how and when you should implement enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems for a faster transition to lean processes—and improve efficiency and quality while reducing waste.
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A parts distributor had poorly used space and storage media with limited material visibility resulting in frequent stock-outs. To replace its old warehouse management system (WMS), the company decided to redesign its existing storage space and media in order to improve picking and replenishing efficiency and to reduce inventory carrying and material handling costs. Find out how a logistics modeling and design tool helped.
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A manufacturer of multiple electronic goods needed to maximize its available storage. A logistics modeling and design tool can help the company benefit from pull replenishment and focused storage approaches to logistics by enabling users to evaluate different storage options. Find out how the solution can support transition during initial design, including re-engineering of existing process, for continued results.
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Unlike large manufacturing companies, small and medium facilities often handle asset management and maintenance with cobbled-together manual and semi-automated systems. This results in many lost benefits, including uninterrupted production and simplified regulatory compliance burdens. As you explore asset management solutions, you should know five critical factors that can determine the success or failure of your project.
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You’re probably already familiar with the role of a warehouse management system (WMS). But a warehouse control system (WCS)? In your warehouse, a WCS can play the role of a conductor by ensuring the individual pieces of material-handling equipment—such as conveyors and sorters—perform with harmony, precision, and efficiency. Find out how implementing a WCS execution system can complement your WMS’s planning abilities.
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To maintain a leadership position in the high-tech complex equipment industry, electronic equipment manufacturers need reliable solutions to improve order accuracy, optimize fulfillment, and increase revenue for value-added services. Does your solution quickly commercialize new technology, integrate software with systems, and differentiate those systems with value-added services? Find out about what you might be missing.
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Food and beverage manufacturers must aim to keep up with customer demands for a wide range of products, while managing the complex global supply chain and taking advantage of growth in new markets. For fast-growing or midsize companies, the challenges are even greater. Find out about a solution that can help optimize sales and marketing, and enable consumer-driven supply chains by speeding collaboration with suppliers.
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It is essential for durable goods companies to effectively manage multi-tiered distribution network and supply chains, to ensure the right products are available in the right stores at the right time—and the right price. What can you do to differentiate your products from your competitors’, control customer value, and accelerate order-to-delivery time while your supply chains become globally more complex? Find out now.
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Product quality and regulatory requirements, including goods traceability, are a key concern to consumable goods companies. Ensuring you remain profitable and competitive, increase market share, and reduce exposure to regulatory risks in quality and safety can be a huge challenge. Find out how implementing complete, industry-focused enterprise resource planning (ERP) software systems can be critical to your success.
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The effort needed to manage a non-durable consumer goods company is more strenuous than ever. Business issues such as expanding product portfolios, complex distribution channels, and compliance requirements can impede your ability to compete in the global supply chain. Does your current business application enhance your sales and marketing, and enable demand-driven supply chains? Learn what you need to compete—and win.
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Consumer electronics companies of any size must deliver superior customer service, optimize performance, and design agile supply networks. When using business software to deal with these challenges, growing electronics companies face the same issues as larger companies, but also have concerns about cost and implementation speed. Learn how a new class of scalable solutions can meet the needs of electronics manufacturers.
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Efficient procurement and sourcing. Storing and moving inventories. Attracting and retaining customers. Such challenges have an impact on wholesale distributors’ revenues, competitiveness, and profits. To make timely and informed decisions that can impact your business, you need answers to questions like “How can I offer value-added services to improve customer loyalty?” Get the answers to this and other key questions.
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Having insight into the real needs of individual customers helps maximize their loyalty. To meet these needs, companies must identify how to achieve higher levels of integration between the supply and demand chains internally—and among partners, suppliers, and customers. Learn how to connect all facets of your company to create value networks in your supply chain that can bring supply and demand systems together.
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The basic spreadsheet and accounting programs you’ve relied on ’til now won’t help your growing business eliminate decision-making bottlenecks, reduce IT costs, increase productivity, or improve the customer experience. To do all that requires an enterprise-wide, integrated software system. Learn how an integrated system can help take your business to the next level, and how to ensure you get the right system for you.
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For many distributors, inventory is the largest and perhaps the most important asset. Inventory ties up more money than buildings or equipment, and is often less “liquid.” It is crucial, then, that distributors develop and use a comprehensive set of tools that allows close monitoring of the performance of inventory investments. Read more about simple measurements that can help you maximize your investment in inventory.
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Though it’s advantageous to maintain operations in one location, distributors must sometimes operate multiple locations to meet local customers’ needs. Unfortunately, branch operations are expensive to operate, and to be successful, their services must be equal—but not identical—to those the home office provides. The challenges of knowing how to stock those branches can be overcome with a distribution software solution.
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Do distributors always have to settle for a trade-off between cost management and customer service? Is it impossible to keep costs down, yet still respond to customer needs and provide high-value products? Cost control needn’t impinge on customer service, and in fact, efficient processes can result in happier customers. How to use an integrated business management system to promote efficiency isn’t a secret—learn more.
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HSB-Stockholm, a property management firm, manages more than 200 client work orders daily. The company realized its back-office solution couldn’t address customer satisfaction, and that a new solution would have to keep up with the growth of field operations. Learn how HSB implemented a mobile, Internet-based solution that increased the speed of service delivery and maintenance operations by 50 percent.
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Distributors increasingly play a value-added role in the supply chain. To remain competitive, they must rapidly react to the slightest changes in demand. But current forecasting techniques and the tools most distributors use don’t allow the needed long-term visibility. Discover how new solutions for demand planning can address the challenges of forecasting, and reduce obsolescence and the cost of inventory investment.
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According to a major IT research firm, less than 20 percent of IT projects are completed on time and on budget. Project management (PM) experts agree that internal resistance is one of the factors that can ruin a project. What does it take to get your people to say “yea” instead of “nay”? Find out other common causes of project failure, and how to encourage your team members to embrace change and communicate better.
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As a demand-driven manufacturer, you know how crucial up-to-date information is. But when shop floor data is collected with pen and paper, then transferred manually to multiple databases that aren’t always connected, you risk having your data uploaded after it’s needed. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions can ease data integration. But first, separate the myths from the facts of bridging ERP and the shop floor.
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Distributors rely on software to help them make decisions about when and how much product inventory to replenish or reorder. But for the software to work effectively, it must be set up and used correctly. Learn how to implement the key replenishment parameters found in most distribution applications software packages, and how you can optimize their functionality to maximize your return on investment (ROI) and your profit.
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Increased competition, lower margins, and more customer demands mean that distributors have to provide better product availability and more services with fewer profit dollars. To accomplish this, estimates of future use of stocked items must be as accurate as possible. Discover how analyzing weighted averages, trend factors, and other formulas can help you accurately anticipate—and manage—future demand for your products.
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Distributors must ensure the quantity of products shown to be available in their software system agrees with what is physically in their warehouses. If it doesn’t, valuable time and money are lost as customers seek other suppliers, salespeople physically check stock, and buyers are forced to overstock. Learn the policies and procedures that can maximize your inventory management system to maintain accurate stock balances.
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Ever stricter guidelines and policies to ensure the safety of the US food supply mean many food company executives need to assess their methods of minimizing food safety incidents. Existing “one-up” or “one-back” measures no longer go far enough. Make sure you get a wider view: find out how multi-dimensional traceability (MDT) can help collect and analyze information at every step in the food production process chain.
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To promote fast growth, small businesses often sacrifice process control for creativity. But sooner or later, unstructured creativity compounded by fast growth leads to the inability to make fact-based business decisions. Learn about four steps to developing a business strategy that can help you run your business more effectively by applying better control over your cost structure, minimizing risk, and anticipating change.
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The challenge of supply chain management (SCM) is to identify and implement strategies that minimize costs while maximizing flexibility. Computer simulation can be a valuable tool along your supply chain to help diagnose problems and evaluate possible solutions, and mitigate risks. Discover the methodology for building supply chain models, and the critical criteria for selecting simulation software that fits your needs.
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Nol-Tec, a manufacturer of conveying equipment, needed a job costing solution that would integrate key information about parts and assemblies. Why? So its sales and engineering teams could communicate better about customers’ systems. The company found Jobscope’s order analysis, accounts payable, and customer tracking modules integrated well with its own sales quotation system and helped improved visibility. Learn more.
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Inventory has been—and continues to be—the lifeblood of the distribution marketplace. While many companies are slow to adopt new strategies and technologies, a growing number of distributors are leveraging inventory practices to improve key metrics like customer retention, gross margins, and inventory turns. Read these research survey findings to find out how you can make better inventory management technology decisions.
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When it comes to the business challenges of the distribution industry, one solution does not fit all. Packaged with smart functionality to address key business issues, Infor’s products have successfully fulfilled the needs of distributors worldwide. Learn how its enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain management (SCM) solutions have helped companies improve market position, streamline business processes, and more.
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Manufacturing today is fraught with uncertainties in the supply chain due to a variety of global issues, including weather and exchange rates. You can counter supply problems with “safety stock.” But this extra inventory goes against the rules of an efficient lean environment. How can you stay demand driven, without a supply snafu? Find out how an information management system can help forecast your supply chain needs.
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While consumer products manufacturers are relatively recent adopters of lean programs, they are already achieving value through a firm commitment to understanding how lean will affect their business processes. Those who are eager to begin the lean journey, however, must learn how to prioritize the metrics that matter, and frequently measure them in order to monitor the effectiveness of the program. Discover why it works.
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As a fast-growing company, you have the same objectives as any business. But you’re probably finding it challenging to gain the control you need to achieve these goals without sacrificing your IT budget. And when you try to achieve control, it’s often at the risk of slowing down your business. Find out how having enterprise-wide visibility of your business processes and activities can put you back in the driver’s seat.
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This report identifies the major IT issues faced by small to midsized businesses (SMBs), including information silos, lack of IT staff, and outdated business applications. Because they lack the right information to meet customer expectations, SMBs have difficulty reacting quickly to fast-changing market dynamics and growing their revenue. Find out how the elimination of information silos can create a more consistent effective customer experience.
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Industry research shows that one of the most important challenges facing supply chain professionals today is supply chain visibility. As companies scramble to adopt a way to gaining better visibility into their supply chain, they quickly realize that it’s not as simple as it seems. While achieving the right type of visibility is the first step, leveraging it to take quick and effective action is the key to its success.
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A lean supply chain consists of two major components—lean manufacturing and lean distribution—which focus on satisfying customer demand efficiently, at the lowest cost, with the least amount of waste. But what if your replenishment strategy is your distribution center’s weakest link? To improve customer satisfaction and achieve efficiency and balance, your replenishment strategy must consider all the key variables.
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Getting lean is not a simple task; it requires an aggressive, iterative approach to examine complex tradeoffs. And given the number of variables that characterize a distribution center (DC) and its constituent stock keeping units (SKUs), performing this type of analysis without using the right tools can be daunting—if not impossible. Find out how a tool-based approach can make getting lean easier.
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JM Family Enterprises knew there had to be a more efficient way to organize its picking, packing, and tracking systems. Because of the specific nature of its documents, it was vital they arrive at the correct dealership on time. In order to achieve continued growth, it would need an automated system. Since implementing a warehouse management system (WMS), the company has reduced its paper processing by 80 percent.
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International Marketing Group (IMG) was used to tall orders. And although fulfillment mistakes were rare for the third-party logistics company, any errors that did occur were extremely costly. In order to stay competitive, IMG realized that it would need to increase its fulfillment output. With its new warehouse management system (WMS), IMG’s shipping time has gone from several days to mere hours.
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To effectively serve their customers, operations managers need to have visibility as well as control of the delivery and quality of their outsourced components. And because supply chain management is such a critical part of the manufacturing process, it’s important to have the right tools to optimize performance. Find out how real-time collaborative manufacturing is now helping to solve some key manufacturing problems.
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The media industry is undergoing radical and rapid change driven by liberalization, privatization, and digitization. Broadcasting is no longer highly regulated, but is ever more dynamic and competitive—and the logistical challenges of production planning for TV and radio ever more complex. Implement a composite resource planning and scheduling solution to maximize your equipment, facilities, and employees.
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For years, manufacturers have been driven by sales forecasts and the need to maximize production efficiency at every level of operation. But in order to be successful, manufacturers must look toward adopting a lean mentality. While lean techniques are more easily applied to some manufacturing styles than others, new software tools are now able to deliver the benefits of lean to both high-mix and low-volume operations.
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The future, they say, is demand-driven. Not having the data you need to forecast your supply and demand processes means you’re in the slow lane toward a successful future. But if you already know store information is vital to your supply chain, you’re halfway there. Go the distance: learn how direct store delivery (DSD) solutions can give your consumer package goods (CPG) company more control over supply chain processes.
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Survey says: trade promotion spending is up, but the majority of consumer package goods (CPG) companies aren’t spending wisely. Reuse of same old seasonal promotions, supply not meeting demand, and invoice errors also contribute to a decreased return on investment (ROI). Trade promotion management (TPM) can provide visibility into the life cycle of each promotion—so you can provide better service to your customers.
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Aligning your business plans with your method of execution requires more than a peek at financial metrics. Initiatives, tasks, people, and metrics must be aligned with corporate goals. Find out how strategy management software, alone or as part of a performance management solution, can provide clear visual links between individual initiatives and broader goals, and ultimately enhance your business’s overall performance.
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DIRECTV is one of the largest broadcast satellite providers in the US. Faced with increased competition, the company decided to transform its supply chain by synchronizing its material requirements with its main equipment providers and automating its return materials authorization (RMA) process. With the help of SAP Solutions and Services, DIRECTV has improved its processes and reduced nonqualified returns by 20 percent.
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Professional service providers are starting to apply supply chain management concepts to their strategies for hiring and retaining talent. Adapting to market demands such as globalization and a more sophisticated client base means human resources departments need a complete and integrated process of talent management. But hiring and keeping top talent can also help you increase revenues and increase client loyalty. Find out how.
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As supply chains continue to grow in size and complexity, companies are focusing more of their energies on managing supply chain risk. While the topic is gaining prominence in boardrooms, many companies do not yet fully comprehend the risks they face. But understanding risk is the first step to managing it—and using the right IT tools can help. Learn what steps you can take to better address your supply chain risks.
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The procure-to-pay (P2P) environment has become a major challenge for companies adopting global sourcing and distribution as a strategic component of their business. And the increase in global trade has shifted their focus from manufacturing efficiency to global supply chain efficiency. Discover what the current P2P gaps in global commerce management solutions are and what can be done to deliver optimal P2P capabilities.
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Today’s midsized distributors can benefit from their software systems in ways that were impossible a few years ago. By layering advanced, affordable supply chain management (SCM) and electronic data interchange (EDI) functionality on top of their existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, they can profit from improved productivity and lower labor costs. Find out how.
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Euromadi was looking to automate its business processes and increase effectiveness. With hundreds of suppliers all over the world, it needed a system that could help manage the relationships of more than 220 associate companies. By integrating business process management (BPM) with an enterprise content management (ECM) system, Euromadi has increased productivity and reduced data input and maintenance by 30 percent.
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There’s no doubt that competing in today’s global marketplace is tough. In order to survive, organizations must become more aware of what’s going on throughout their supply chain. While many realize the importance of supply chain visibility, some businesses aren’t sure exactly how to achieve it. Find out the five things you’ll need to put together a visibility solution that’ll give you timely, accurate, and useful data.
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If the auditors came knocking, would you be prepared? When they do come, you’ll need to be ready to answer some tough questions regarding your change management processes. Implementing and assessing change management controls for Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) compliance in the US can be a very expensive and time consuming process. Find out how you can reduce the SOX burden by improving the way you manage your change processes.
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Unlike most other business, transmission and distribution companies do not have the flexibility to adjust their prices independently based on demand-supply dynamics. Given the practice of performance-based rate-making, these companies must continually strive to reduce cost. To achieve this, supply chain managers must create a blueprint of their processes by systematically analyzing their supply chain practices.
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While both the LeadTime Technology (LLT) and the advanced planning optimization (APO) modules from SAP are supply chain optimization tools, the scope of each is very different. APO optimizes the global supply chain based on costs and heuristics, while LLT looks at production resources and bases optimization on economic profit. Compare the differences between these two tools and see why LLT provides a distinct advantage.
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The competitive nature of the financial services industry today and the changing landscape of the customer approach to investing puts an onus on suppliers to consider how well they are dealing with customers’ business transactions. In order to provide better customer service—while at the same time improving operations—these organizations must invest in a system that allows real-time visibility of the entire process.
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To continue to grow and provide better value to its customers, PICO Electronics required a comprehensive system to track and control its large and fluid inventory—and handle a tremendous number of daily orders. It also needed solid insight into procurement processes in order to fill customer orders on time. Find out how PICO’s management finally got what it was looking for—on time and on budget.
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Globalization, rising costs, and high customer expectations create serious challenges in supply chain management (SCM). Given these factors, transportation management now plays a key, strategic role in driving supply chain value. Learn how moving goods quickly and predictably through the global supply chain can help you achieve consistency and increase visibility—while supporting best practices across the enterprise.
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Manufacturing industries have their own challenges to increase customer value and lower costs. How can enterprises make the most of their resources to create new market opportunities and more efficient supplier and customer networks? An enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution with transparent and hierarchical manufacturing plans can offer increased accuracy, lower inventory costs, and better supply chain performance.
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Logo Business Solutions’ enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, Unity, was implemented by several automotive parts manufacturers and suppliers. Unity’s ability to integrate with electronic data interchange (EDI) helped these companies better handle purchasing, planning, production, invoicing, reporting, and sales. Learn more about the features and functions of Unity ERP.
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Istikbal, Turkey’s largest furniture manufacturer, implemented the Unity enterprise resource planning (ERP) system throughout its seven main companies in 2005. With Unity, the company found better sales management, efficient production planning, and optimal distribution management, among other benefits. Learn how Unity’s inbound logistics, warehouse management, finance, and other modules can work for your enterprise.
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Web-based collaboration with international partners, suppliers, and customers helps companies make end-to-end processes more efficient and cost-effective. An electronic enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution allows you to set up various types of external connections to your business applications, and reduce complexity. One result: you will be better able to respond to the needs of your customers. Find out more.
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A secure and accurate flow of information in your supply chain operations has never been more critical—and complex. Digital transfer of unstructured information is a security risk, for both confidentiality and compliance, and traditional file transfer methods are now falling short. A managed file transfer solution combining hardware, software, and networks can meet your demands for visibility, security, and compliance.
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To ensure end-to-end visibility while still meeting multiple trading partner requirements in your supply chain operations, one solution is to consolidate with a single value-added network (VAN). Looking for a migration partner? Want to know more about the latest in VAN solutions? Learn the drill without tripping any alarms: use a best-practices checklist to help make your VAN migration simple and seamless.
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Persistent data quality issues between manufacturing and retail trading partners can trigger claims, delay inventory, drag down margins, and lock up working capital. Have you considered an on-demand supply chain solution? Find out how combining subscription-based software with the depth of real-time transaction monitoring and remediation might be the answer—before your revenue shrinks any further.
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To adapt your supply chain communication process to the demands posed by changing customer expectations, volume increases, and multiple communication formats, automating your supply chain is essential. Business community management (BCM) integrates the technology, business processes, and communication of the entire trading community to create end-to-end supply chain visibility. Learn how to use BCM for your enterprise.
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Implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system—even for small to medium businesses (SMBs)—is a smart move. But depending on the type of business, there can be many different processes to integrate—making it difficult to know what type of system to choose. For growing project-based companies faced with the challenge of managing many complex projects, the ideal ERP system should be customizable yet scalable.
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Even when business revenues decline, the demand for IT services often continues to increase. To meet those challenges, both businesses and IT partners must come to terms with the demand and delivery needs of each group. Strong communication between the user and the IT provider is essential. Strategize your initiatives and transform your business: find out key recommendations to manage IT supply and demand relationships.
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For over 30 years, Madison Chemical Industries has sold 100 percent polyurethane coatings and linings to companies around the globe. With the technical challenges it faced as a growing company, it was becoming clear that the DOS-based system it was using to maintain its inventory had to go. With an integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, however, Madison has been able to reduce its inventory by 15 percent.
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Raining Rose, maker of body care products, started as a family hobby back in 1996. Since then, business has soared—making it one of the fastest growing companies in the US. In 2004, however, it faced serious challenges related to this rapid growth; poor inventory control was affecting customer service. But since deploying an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, it has seen vast improvements in inventory accuracy.
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Superior Quality Foods was growing, but poor inventory control was impacting its profitability. To ensure there was enough stock to meet production needs, it always ordered extra raw materials—just in case. To reduce costs and improve inventory control, Superior chose an enterprise resource planning (ERP) and mobile wireless inventory system—and since its implementation has realized 98 percent accuracy in inventory.
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Desserts of Distinction was using too many ingredients to take care of its key business activities. Storing recipes, controlling inventory, and tracking orders required various accounting software applications, spreadsheets, and databases. As a result, simple processes were time-consuming and manually intensive. Find out how BatchMaster addressed a number of needs, including inventory accuracy and traceability.
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One of the largest expenses for distributors and wholesalers is stock. Many have difficulty finding the perfect balance between ensuring products are available when they’re needed and not holding too much inventory. So, how is it possible to increase profitability while lowering inventory costs? By exploiting an inventory optimization system, businesses increase automation and collaboration—allowing greater profitability.
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Process industries (chemicals, food and beverage, oil and gas, etc.) face rising manufacturing and logistics costs. And they’re finding that the old strategies for cost containment no longer pack the same punch. Some surveys show that 75 percent of all respondents are redesigning their supply chains to keep these costs in check. Are you one of them? No? You’ve got a lot of catching up to do—and very little time to do it.
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When Naghi Group’s annual revenue began to soar, it realized that running core business operations on multiple systems was no longer feasible; its current solution lacked the integration capabilities necessary to communicate with its distribution and manufacturing departments. After only a few months since integrating VAI’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, Naghi has already realized its many benefits.
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Looking for a supply chain management (SCM) strategy that will give you a competitive advantage and ensure that projects yield results? Want to make sure that your SCM solution will allow continuous improvements? Already using six sigma and lean thinking practices, but want a way to bring them together and maximize their functions? Find out how a business process reference model can amplify your existing architectures.
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Many manufacturers want to increase production efficiency and improve quality—but how can they ensure their efforts are successful? A process-oriented enterprise resource planning (ERP) system may be the answer. This white paper includes case studies on a variety of process manufacturing industries and provides valuable insights into the ERP capabilities required to successfully manage a process-oriented implementation.
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What would you do if a critical error occurred during production—all because the wrong data was input into your enterprise resource planning (ERP) system? You’d probably be asking “how could this happen?” The ability to communicate information between teams can mean the difference between production success and failure. Avoid these snafus with a system that can integrate the data of both the design and ERP systems.
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With ever-changing technology, businesses often spend too much time and money trying to sustain their outdated systems. But is it possible to maintain a legacy system without the substantial costs of frequently updating it? By adopting service-oriented architecture (SOA)—which provides a suite of automated tools and services for migrating and extending legacy platforms—businesses can maximize quality and minimize costs.
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The role of finance departments needs to shift from cost center and scorekeeper to that of key advisor to the business. That’s why you need to change processes to help employees work more efficiently on high-value analytical tasks. Implementing next-generation enterprise financial systems will help balance control, transaction processing, and decision support—as well as lower your total cost of ownership.
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Chemical companies struggle with outdated manufacturing and financial systems, often not reaching their profitable goals. How can they give customers high-quality chemical products while improving the bottom line? Industry best practices can help you gain control over every aspect of your business by increasing your visibility into operations, helping production go more smoothly, and reducing costs and lead times.
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To survive in today’s global marketplace, companies must develop a competitive advantage. Your business can thrive with the help of enterprise service-oriented architecture (SOA). With the ability to implement business strategies more quickly, this greater flexibility will help your new business processes and empower your information workers—giving your company long-term growth and an ongoing competitive advantage.
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Globalization is one of the top issues affecting organizations’ supplier management strategies. True supplier collaboration can no longer be avoided: working closely with suppliers around the globe is the best way to streamline and reduce costs and increase value. With practical tips and techniques on how to achieve your vision statement, you can attain sourcing excellence while setting a pace that’s right for your company.
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The key to a successful supply chain is simple: understand the needs of your customers, and deliver the product to them fast and efficiently. Improving these large-scale activities, however, can be challenging, and requires a comprehensive and systematic master plan. With a dynamic simulation model, the six key areas required to maintain an optimal balance are considered—helping to induce supply chain agility.
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Industries involved in outsourcing and collaboration know that accurate data translation is fundamental to a project’s successful completion. Valuable engineering and manufacturing product data must be exchanged quickly and efficiently while protecting corporate assets—but with older technology, this is not always possible. Learn more about a number of integration solutions that can help you reengineer your supply chain.
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As products become more complex and customer expectations continue to rise, service and support become increasingly difficult. So how can service and support managers transcend these problems and use each customer interaction to build customer loyalty and drive service leveraged revenue? By empowering customers with Web 2.0 technology and enabling users to manage their own experiences. Find out how.
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Today, there is less clarity in wholesale, retail, and vertical sales operations than ever before. In a marketplace that dictates increasingly complex operations, distribution centers of all types need to ensure that their warehouse management systems keep up with customer demand. To keep your supply chain from exploding in your face, defuse complexity with a simple distribution indexing tool.
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Tempo Beverages, the second-leading Israeli beer and soft drink producer, importer, and distributor turned to Made4net's warehouse management system (WMS), WarehouseExpert, to consolidate all distribution operations into their central distribution center. Learn how Made4net's swift implementation saved Tempo from loss of inventory and a cumbersome paper-based system.
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As a world class supplier of metal stampings, automated assemblies, lamination stamp¬ings, and die castings, Orchid International’s products can be found in virtually every home or automobile. Its challenge was to find a way—with an IT staff of three people—to run five manufacturing facilities operating varying manufacturing processes as a tier-one and tier-two supplier to demanding customers in a variety of industries.
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Reducing inventory and satisfying customer demand are high priorities in manufacturing and distribution. Being able to fill orders on time and satisfy every customer is an integral part of order commitment—and a very attainable goal. Advanced planning and scheduling (APS) can help your company become responsive and accurate—and that’s what counts in today’s “demand and supply” environment.
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For chemical producers Akzo Nobel, managing a complex supply chain producing more than 2,000 chemical products was an extremely complex task. Akzo Nobel decided to implement a multi-user sales and operations planning (S&OP) system that would be available company wide. Increasing its forecast visibility raised awareness of critical issues earlier—thus reducing inventory and increasing productivity on a global scale.
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For thermosetting resins producer Hexion Specialty Chemicals, a portfolio of over 50,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) created unique supply chain efficiency challenges. Hexion needed better supply chain management—the key to sustaining growth and profits. In adopting Zemeter solutions, Hexion reduced inventory by more than 20 percent and increased margins—exactly what Hexion needed to stay competitive on a global scale
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For the coffee producer Mother Parkers, scheduling coffee production across two plants was an ever-increasing challenge. Mother Parkers decided to take proactive steps toward consolidating its day-to-day scheduling data by engaging Supply Chain Consultants (SCC) to help. SCC applied its scheduling algorithms to improve schedule attainment, visibility, and stability—exactly what Mother Parkers needed.
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For businesses to respond quickly to customer demand, timely metrics need to be supported. Monthly metrics can provide guidance on modifying the planning process and tactical plan, but there’s more to it than that. By monitoring daily fluctuations, early warning signs can be detected to indicate possible performance issues. Combined, metrics and monitoring can help you effectively manage your supply chain—proactively.
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There was a time when picking out a book meant going to a library and signing one out. Today, readers expect content to be available through a variety of distribution channels—in both print and digital formats. To be successful, publishers must be able to observe the intellectual property rights of authors for each format and channel of distribution they offer. With a digital publishing management solution, it’s possible.
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Today more than ever, retailers are faced with the challenges of selling locally while competing globally. To be successful, they must provide a shopping experience that inspires customer loyalty. Retailers that understand their customers’ shopping habits can build strategic global supply chains that anticipate demand. One way to achieve this is with a scalable technology platform based on industry standards.
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As the creator of performance apparel, Under Armour has become the fastest-growing designer and distributor of its category of apparel in the world. In 2005, to sustain growth and compete on a global scale, it needed a flexible IT landscape that could offer better visibility to data and scale over time. With an out-of–the-box scalable solution, Under Armour is on its way to reaching the $1 billion (USD) revenue mark.
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Improving the supply chain is essential for any company that wants to gain or maintain a competitive edge. To do this, companies are adopting sales and operations planning (S&OP) strategies. Years ago—when the pace of market change was slow—S&OP was a nice-to-have; today it’s a business imperative! But it doesn’t have to happen overnight. By taking a five-step approach, companies can implement S&OP at their own pace.
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To respond to an ever-changing environment, steel manufacturers are making investments to improve their systems. But over time, these modification dollars can add up! With an integrated and collaborative approach—combining the capabilities of a manufacturing execution system (MES) with the advantages of an advanced planning and schedule (APS) solution—manufacturers can realize considerable benefits without the added cost.
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The complexity of the metal manufacturing process often poses problems when it comes to planning and scheduling production. The sector’s many different processes often cause bottlenecks that slow down production—not only within plants, but throughout entire supply chains. With an industry-specific production planning and scheduling system, manufacturers can improve productivity, reduce lead times, and increase revenues.
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As a supplier to Wal-Mart, appliance manufacturer Haier America was required to implement a radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging system. To satisfy this requirement and to keep costs to a minimum, Haier needed a solution that would seamlessly integrate with its current enterprise resource planning (ERP) application. That’s why it turned to a custom-designed modification package. But was it enough for Wal-Mart?
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Spam considerably lowers user productivity, as it delivers unwanted, irrelevant, or anonymous e-mail messages. The best way to manage the incidence of spam is to measure it. The Spam Index—a tool for measuring improvement in spam control systems and for comparing spam control performance with competitors—is a method used by businesses worldwide to achieve lower spam levels and improve business performance.
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E-mail is a powerful business tool that most enterprises can’t live without. Unfortunately, along with its capability of accelerating commerce, productivity, and social interactions, there are some drawbacks—such as spam! Companies that rely on e-mail to do business simply can’t afford the negative affects of spam. However, new technology is emerging that helps stop spam and allows users to get on with business.
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You can’t pick up a business or IT magazine today without seeing numerous articles about the growth of mobile and wireless technologies. Why are these technologies so trendy? The answer is simple: developments in mobile computing, wireless communication, bar codes, and other data collection and communications technologies help businesses extend visibility and control over the operations that really matter to them.
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How can you establish a priority-based mobile networking system that provides workers access to company and customer records that they can manipulate from the field? By employing a total solution system that provides various methods of transmitting data. While this type of system may be more costly to implement than a stand-alone pager or cell phone, the benefits it offers can directly impact your bottom line.
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When it comes to two-dimensional (2D) symbologies, less is more. While 2D bar code symbols may be less costly to print, they are considerably more expensive to read, because of the complexity of developing decode algorithms. However, with the integration of public domain 2D symbologies into a range of application standards, solutions employing these codes are beginning to reach their full potential.
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For manufacturers, improving internal processes and supply chain responsiveness can help maintain profitability. That is why many are tuning into radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. With RFID, the benefits are immediate throughout the supply chain, and organizations that take the time to understand its capabilities and limitations can increase their inventory visibility while streamlining their operations.
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Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has retailers talking. The reason: RFID helps reduce labor and improves the ability to gather data. Retailers can use this data to make positive changes to business processes, which can be tremendously advantageous for them. With careful planning, an RFID system can provide immediate benefits, as well as long-term competitive and total cost of ownership advantages.
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How can you transport large quantities of goods efficiently, without affecting cost and profitability across the supply chain? Moreover, how do you accurately track and document the movement of these goods? Some companies are using the latest technology to manage their quantity distribution, by applying radio frequency identification (RFID) label products to plastic pallets and reusable plastic containers (RPCs).
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Consider the ideal manufacturing and distribution process—one that eliminates human error, improves speed and efficiency, and increases information availability; a process that offers high security and delivers data without a network connection. This is what a radio frequency identification (RFID) system can do to help solve logistical problems that may be affecting your manufacturing and distribution processes.
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Small to medium businesses (SMBs) often face the same challenges as large businesses—just on a smaller scale. One such challenge is finding a business solution that manages expansion and addresses complex reporting and compliance issues. Many SMBs are now adopting enterprise performance management (EPM) solutions—complete with tools to help them meet the current and future needs of their growing business.
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Today, companies are looking to improve work processes, comply with legislation, and increase productivity—and they’re implementing electronic document management systems (EDMS) to help them effectively manage their information. By deploying EDMS—which are capable of capturing, storing, and retrieving records, files, and folders—these companies are achieving unprecedented levels of control, efficiency, and automation.
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Industry today demands more quality of manufacturers, and as such, ISO 9001—the yardstick by which quality products and services are measured—is forcing more and more companies to become ISO-certified. However, companies can use a browser-based tool to help bridge any information gaps they may encounter during the process—and to give them the head start they need to intelligently manage their ISO certification.
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What is compact, lightweight, ergonomic, and power-friendly? A microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based scan engine—an innovative scanning technology that provides outstanding reliability and performance. When it comes to supply chain laser scanning, the advantages MEMS scanners have over traditional lasers are unparalleled. While MEMS is not a new technology, it does provide a new option for bar code scanning.
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When it comes to workers’ safety, companies shouldn’t take any chances. The growing safety, security, and regulatory and reporting requirements are forcing many organizations to implement more sophisticated systems to monitor and manage their work environments. To help determine which mobile devices are approved and appropriate to use in your work environments, it’s important to have clear guidelines on what to look for.
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One of the first and seemingly simple questions that companies ask when making IT investments is “how much does it cost?” Many often find themselves wondering why—even after a successful implementation—their costs keep going up. When evaluating a mobile workforce automation project, companies should take the time to conduct a thorough total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis to detect hidden costs—and avoid nasty surprises.
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Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology can provide a strong return on investment (ROI) when combined with improved business processes that reduce labor and prevent errors. But mobile RFID systems, with forklift-mounted readers, can be implemented for a fraction of the cost of traditional infrastructure configurations. They can improve supply chain visibility, reduce capital expenditure, and slash labor costs.
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Scanning technology has changed dramatically over the years with new, more powerful, and reliable imaging scan engines now surpassing the laser scan engines of yesterday. Although both laser and imaging technologies continue to improve, there’s a debate on which technology is superior. When researching data capture equipment, you may be asking yourself, “How do I choose the best scanner for my application?” Here’s how.
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For a lot of companies, making the decision to replace an existing business software system can be a difficult one. The process can be so unpleasant that many organizations may be reluctant to even get started, coming up with a number of reasons why they could probably get by with the systems they already have. If your company is struggling with this tough decision, you may want to ask yourself these ten basic questions.
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Carefully tracking components and assemblies throughout the manufacturing process can prevent costly production and sequencing errors, but executing these procedures can be difficult. While bar codes provide accurate, efficient product identification, they are not viable in many common industrial processes. Specialized RFID tags, however, are optimized for use on or around metal, and are an effective and viable alternative.
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Going mobile has become a growing trend, with many businesses reaching well beyond the use of cellular phones as their only lines of communication. Why? Because these businesses realize that linking the mobile workforce with the enterprise and its data resources—using mobile applications—is key to enhancing productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction. Choosing the right devices, however, can be very challenging.
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Radio frequency identification (RFID) has been around for more than thirty years, and today’s manufacturers are using this technology to help connect trading partners and align supply chains. But just as businesses need to look beyond the manufacturing supply chain to see the benefits of investing in RFID, they need to look beyond the tag to understand how RFID will create value and provide a return on investment (ROI).
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Technology has fundamentally changed the way industrial and manufacturing companies manage their businesses. Sophisticated solutions like warehouse management and enterprise relationship management (ERP) systems—with their advanced data capture and wireless networking tools—enable companies to squeeze more efficiency out of their operations by providing real-time data to all interdependent parts of the supply chain.
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Your customers, service technicians, and equipment maintainers need an intelligent cataloging solution to help them find the parts they’re looking for. The ever-increasing amount of technical content and parts information is making an electronic one-stop-shop tool essential. An electronic parts catalog can help your company attain two critical business goals—an increase in customer satisfaction and aftermarket parts sales.
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In today’s global market, providing quality products and services is essential for any manufacturer’s continued growth—but maintaining a competitive edge is not always easy. For success, quality awareness must begin at the conception of the product and continue throughout the various stages of its development. To improve in this area, many manufacturers are now adopting the total quality management (TQM) approach.
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With an impressive 160-year history procuring and blending teas, the Harris Tea Company is the largest blender and packer of private label teas in North America. As sales grew, Harris Tea wanted to upgrade its supply chain technology to efficiently process orders it received from stores around the country. After researching and evaluating the wide universe of integration vendors, Harris Tea selected Boomi.
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Any organization that deploys multiple same-application servers with regularity could benefit from virtual appliances. Virtualization solutions eliminate the need to copy an operating system (OS) and application into each virtual environment, by creating a single, centrally installed master copy instead. It saves time on installation and enables greater levels of efficiency, manageability, flexibility, and resource use.
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To be certain its materials management functions were up to par with industry best practices, a South African fertilizer plant obtained the services of an inventory optimization firm. In doing so, it was able to identify weak links in its inventory control processes, and achieved a savings of over $2 million (USD)—an impressive return on investment (ROI) considering it had invested less than 4 percent of that amount.
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It’s no coincidence that the surge in counterfeiting over the past decade has coincided with a huge increase in Internet access around the world, and the more recent shift toward broadband connections. The Web provides a shop window to the world, yet it is impossible to police. New, intelligent, automated monitoring technologies are beginning to offer powerful solutions to this rampant online problem.
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In 2004, Microsoft offered a midwestern-US-based financial services corporation a range of options to renew and replace its existing enterprise agreement. But without the right negotiating skills, how could it be certain Microsoft’s offer was the most cost-saving approach? The company engaged an independent consulting firm, and in less than three weeks recognized savings of 28 percent on a $3 million (USD) agreement.
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Counterfeit medicine is a major threat to the pharmaceutical industry. Seven percent of the medicine worldwide is counterfeit; however, advances in packaging and labeling technologies are coming to the industry’s aid. Pharmaceutical companies are using pilot projects to help labeling implementations throughout the supply chain to increase the availability of safe, licensed medicine and thwart the underground drug market.
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Traditional business intelligence (BI) solutions are becoming a thing of the past. Companies today are moving toward business solutions that can help maintain a competitive edge while empowering business executives across the enterprise. Operational BI is an approach that incorporates traditional BI best practices with the benefits of real-time information flow, resulting in more user-directed initiatives.
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Point of sale (POS) software was designed to speed up sales checkout processes. However, it has evolved to include many more features, and is now more commonly referred to as retail management systems (RMS). The benefits of implementing RMS are clear—they can help increase profits, improve marketing strategies, automate manual processes, manage inventory, and—most importantly—make the customer experience more memorable.
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Small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) encounter many of the same challenges as larger companies in unlocking information from the data they collect, yet they lack cost-effective solutions. Many must choose between expensive business intelligence solutions or complicated homegrown solutions. With many hosted reporting solutions now available, SMBs have an option that may meet their requirements—at a fraction of the cost.
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If you’re looking to rein in your supply chain costs, you may want to consider an electronic “source-to-settle” enterprise application—particularly the crucial supplier interface portal. This portal provides many business benefits, but you need to be aware of the “dirty little secret” vendors won’t tell you about: they get the system up and running, but direct supplier integration is often only an afterthought.
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What does it matter if your IT department uses FTP, SOAP, REST, or AS/2? How does an ESB impact the business? What s all this talk about SOA? Even the most tech-savvy of supply chain executives can be overwhelmed by the alphabet soup used to integrate business processes. So why should you care? Here’s six reasons.
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"I recently had lunch with a colleague from a major international consumer goods manufacturer and we looked at the results for his company. There were a handful of vendors touting solutions for his company s integration requirements. The colleague works right at the heart of these processes with good visibility into both the business side of the house and IT. And he was shocked at the results."
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Integration of business processes between your enterprise and others presents unique challenges beyond the trials you face with enterprise application integration alone. And this "B2B integration" becomes even more challenging as your trading partner community grows to include more partners and collaborative business processes. But what if we start over and take a fresh look at the problem?
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As a leading food distributor in South Africa, Natela Importers built a new distribution center to meet its continued growth. However, managing a high volume of inventory with an outdated inventory management system was having a negative impact on their operations and customer service levels. By implementing an automated warehouse management system (WMS), Natela has decreased their picking costs by nearly 20 percent.
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External forces can knock your business off balance with no warning. Spikes in fuel prices, worker strikes, and shipping delays can significantly stress the supply chains of manufacturers, logistics providers, and retailers. To meet these external challenges, you need the capability to extend supply chain visibility, respond to changes in real time, and improve performance measurement across the entire chain.
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All too often, fragmented IT landscapes make it difficult—and sometimes downright impossible—for wholesale distributors to improve processes, control costs, and create the efficiencies needed to succeed in a competitive industry. Nevertheless, enterprise technologies do have the potential to be powerful tools, quickly reacting to shifting market forces in a consolidating industry, and achieving operational excellence and solid growth.
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Demand planning applications can help manufacturers establish baseline sales forecasts and perform analysis to improve resource usage. They can also help manufacturers optimize pricing capabilities and better understand their markets. Yet to get the most out of these tools, manufacturers must be willing to reorganize their planning processes—and to share the resulting insights with supply chain partners and customers.
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Fraenkel Company is an employee-owned manufacturing distributor of household furniture and related products and services. The company created a sophisticated in-house ERP system in the early 1990s. However, homegrown software can be unwieldy to maintain and difficult to upgrade. In 2001, Fraenkel saw a solution that offered more advanced capabilities, and implemented VAI’s S2K Enterprise Edition for Manufacturing.
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Software vendors are now offering functionality specifically designed for various industries. And when selecting a supply chain planning (SCP) solution, it’s obviously important to take these solutions into account. However, this alone does not guarantee the best-fit solution for your business; it’s equally important to ensure that the solution is designed to address your specific supply chain issues.
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The UN Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC), the global product and services classification standard, has been revolutionizing purchasing and supply management across the world. Whether you’re deliberating on the need for a common product and classification standard for your company, or an advanced UNSPSC adopter, revisiting the basics can help you improve your purchasing and supply management processes.
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Having realized the savings that can be generated by managing corporate spending, many organizations are now aiming to employ and leverage spend analysis to implement sourcing and procurement strategies. Is quality data the cornerstone of successful spend analysis? Most of us would say yes, without hesitation. However, if you dig deeper, you might be in for a surprise.
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It’s only lately that people have been questioning the value of information they’re able to garner from within “spend data” warehouses. Why can t we leverage traditional tools to give the sourcing and purchasing community what they want? To understand the limitations of traditional data-cleansing technology, and why spend data necessitates special algorithms, we need to start with the basics.
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In the relentless search for ever-improving returns on investment and market competitiveness, some of the world’s biggest corporations are applying a model known as the supply chain operations reference (SCOR) model to maximize supply chain efficiency. Simply gathering SCOR metrics information is one thing—but how do you actually make this information available to allow optimal decision-making for your business?
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Streamlining your supply chain can boost revenue, reduce costs, and help grow your business. No matter what business you’re in, the days of managing your supply chain from the back office are over. Today’s successful companies understand that lean supply chains maximize revenue and help stimulate growth—and their top executives aren’t afraid to wield their supply chains like weapons.
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Chemical companies are living in a new, more complex world—one that calls for meeting demand through cooperating internally, opening processes to partners, suppliers, and customers, and developing newfound abilities to collaborate and change. In other words, the adaptive business network (ABN). But how do you create a successful ABN? And how does that translate into a competitive advantage?
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Achieving both customer satisfaction and profitability is critical to the survival of your organization. Without customer satisfaction, the long-term prospects for your business are bleak. And without profitability, your business cannot exist. Profitable-to-promise (PTP) solutions allow you to determine the profitability of individual orders by integrating supply chain management (SCM) and customer relationship management (CRM) processes with your financial data.
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All companies use some form of sales and operations planning (S&OP) to synchronize market data with production output. But most practice a planning process based on logistics rather than strategy. Taking a more strategic approach, however, the S&OP process can be designed to bring together a company’s marketing, finance, sales, and operations departments to continuously monitor—and meet—customer demand.
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Manufacturers and retailers are increasingly expecting more from logistics service providers. As a logistics company, you need to streamline operations and drive costs down. You need to be able to broaden your offerings and provide the services that customers want. Above all, you need to integrate your warehouse with your customers’ operations to provide detailed visibility into inventory and processes.
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High tech is the most brutally competitive of any manufacturing sector—which is why complacency can mean death for your company. How to secure lasting advantage without letting technology constrain your business processes? And how to prevail despite your partners’ legacy applications, the IT landscape of your recently acquired company, or the heterogeneous mix of your own IT landscape?
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Since there are multiple vendors offering hosted customer relationship management (CRM) applications, the buyer’s toughest decision is finding a vendor that offers the many benefits that come from a workflow engine similar to those used in multimillion-dollar CRM deployments. Truth be told, CRM alone is not enough, as not all providers have a workflow engine which enables full process automation.
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Implementing the proper distribution system can be as important to your bottom line as expanding your warehouse or bringing on new product lines. After all, the right system provides immediate and long-term benefits that can impact your business processes across the board. That’s why it’s important to define business processes and objectives before you start the search for new software.
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The US Safe Port Act is the most comprehensive step yet taken toward transitioning voluntary supply chain security programs into actual requirements for US importers, their foreign vendors, and every entity in between. While this should increase security, someone will have to bear the costs. That’s why understanding the current discussion is critical to evaluating the impact on your business.
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The global trade industry is changing faster than ever before. It’s now possible for importers to have a level of visibility into their business that was impossible a few years ago. Importers realize the profound effect this information will have on their ability to be profitable, and are eager to implement information solutions. So what’s the best application for you?
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In today’s competitive business environment, wholesale distributors face critical factors that directly affect customer satisfaction and profit margins. These challenges, combined with customer demands for product availability, can conflict with operational goals of increasing inventory turnover and minimizing costs. However, business automation software can deliver sophisticated distribution capabilities designed to help you with these important business issues.
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To respond to the demands of today’s highly competitive global environment, traditional linear supply chains are evolving into complex, global ecosystems. These “pull” (demand-driven) environments working in conjunction with traditional “push” environments are known as adaptive supply chain networks (ASCNs). ASCNs allow all supply chain stakeholders to share knowledge, make collaborative decisions, and sense and respond immediately to changing conditions.
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In 1999, specialty chemicals manufacturer Rohm and Haas Company wanted to move to a new platform to simplify the complexity resulting from over 300 disparate information technology (IT) systems. First, Rohm and Haas wanted to adopt common global processes to increase efficiency, and implement smart sourcing strategies. Second, management needed a better way to see customer trends and evaluate competitors.
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The ability of BASF AG—a leader in the chemicals industry—to proactively manage unexpected situations is key to its competitiveness. With its complex supply network dealing with unanticipated events is all the more critical. To address this issue, BASF implemented the SAP Event Management application to monitor ocean-freight logistics, from receipt of initial orders to final delivery of products.
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Sales and operations planning (S&OP) is a business planning process owned by executives and senior management, with the key goal of creating realistic plans. However, one critical success factor that can easily get overlooked is that the “quality” of the entire S&OP process is only as good as the data and the detailed demand and supply plans that support it.
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In a game where the goals don’t change, but the rules do, winners and losers are determined by how well each team sees the big picture. Thus, suppliers who understand and support retailers’ goals have a better likelihood of success. The greater the alignment of processes and communication between suppliers and retailers, the greater the chances of a big win.
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Supply chain optimization begins not with a technological solution, but with a question: Where does the chain begin and end? Ask a manufacturer and you’ll get one answer. Ask a retailer and you’ll get another. Ask a customer and you’ll get yet another. However, there is one place where consumer demand, supplier products, and retailer strategies converge: the store shelf.
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Industrial equipment manufacturers have historically embraced shop floor improvements as a way of increasing efficiency and maintaining profitability. But in today’s radically altered industrial environment, there is a clear imperative to look beyond the shop floor. To hold down costs and compete against other low-cost companies, manufacturers must find areas of improvement in all aspects of business.
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AstraZeneca, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, undertook an initiative to integrate
demand flow technology in logistical operations, leading to a major supply chain management (SCM) project at its packaging plant in Wedel (Germany). With an existing SAP technology platform, AstraZeneca project leaders opted for the mySAP SCM solution and the SAP Advanced Planning & Optimization component.
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The odds against successful product innovation are long. New products need to win over consumers and convince retailers—a challenging task for many reasons, including saturated markets, a growing variety of products and brands, and shorter product life cycles. To shorten time to market, companies need to integrate all development-related areas, within a single sphere of visibility and influence.
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Large or small, every company can profit from streamlined processes, insightful business intelligence, and systems that are flexible enough to grow with changing business needs. SAP Best Practices for Automotive comprise preconfigured business scenarios that cover the most important requirements of the automotive supplier industry, including enterprise resource planning (ERP), supplier relationship management (SRM), and a business information warehouse (BW).
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The warehouse management system (WMS) concept has matured into a collection of time-tested technologies that reduce inventory costs and increase overall inventory management efficiencies. By implementing WMS technology, organizations can achieve a higher return on their software dollars and provide better service to their customers. A WMS can provide organizations with tangible benefits that improve warehouse operations without adding headcount.
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Procurement organizations have been running electronic reverse auctions for years. Nevertheless, the use of auctions has not yet reached full potential. We’ve all heard the objections—and every objection stems from valid concerns. However, if your goal is to conduct fair and open competition among your supply base, reverse auctions can be an effective tool for bringing transparency to sourcing.
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Outsourcing is increasingly embraced by manufacturers seeking ways to reduce costs, increase agility, and enhance market competitiveness. Yet poorly managed distributed manufacturing operations compromise visibility and quality control, which in turn erodes execution, management effectiveness, and profitability. To truly optimize the value of outsourcing, business systems and procedures must be deployed that create a collaborative, transparent information environment for manufacturing.
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Superior order management can provide you with a competitive edge across the board. To move closer to order perfection and a truly loyal customer base, you must cost-effectively eliminate the issues preventing on-time, accurate order fulfillment. This involves every process, including planning and forecasting, acquiring and creating accurate orders and contracts, handling order changes, and resolving fulfillment and post-delivery problems.
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The aerospace and defense (A&D) manufacturing industry is always changing. That’s why A&D manufacturers are constantly seeking better ways to manage complexity, cut costs, and boost productivity. In pursuit of these objectives, A&D manufacturers are looking beyond standard practices to new business strategies that promise solid business results. But which strategies and practices are right for your company?
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The complexity of the global economy is a powerful motivation for companies to look for new ways to increase efficiency and productivity. That’s why companies must have the ability to transform information into meaningful, accurate insights. Most importantly, these insights must be systematically interconnected, to align business strategy with tactics through a seamless integration of analytical, transactional, and collaborative processes.
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Only a handful of firms have undertaken the challenge of integrating their supply chain management (SCM) and customer relationship management (CRM) processes. A big reason for this is the practicalities of everyday business. But in today’s era of technology-fueled competition, leading companies in nearly every industry are seeking an edge by focusing on strategies enabling SCM and CRM to coalesce.
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Today’s service-parts organizations, such as those in the aerospace and defense, automotive, agricultural, heavy equipment, and industrial machinery industries, are pursuing the service- and spare-parts market for revenue and profit growth. Increasing customer demands and a dynamic marketplace are forcing these organizations to operate at new levels of flexibility and responsiveness, to address customer requirements and attain targeted profit margins.
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Gaps between enterprise resource planning (ERP) functionality and best-of-breed applications are diminishing rapidly. Deciding between the two may thus come down to overall IT strategy. If it is already segmented, it makes sense to add best-of-breed applications for specific operational areas. However, if a more rationalized common operating platform is the strategy, there are compelling arguments for supply chain ERP.
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You have convinced upper management that flow manufacturing will enable your company to leapfrog the competition. You have appointed a flow process leader, and selected a line for your flow pilot. Now it’s time to physically perform your first line implementation. The big question is, what exactly do you need to do to make the transition from discrete to flow?
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In the automotive industry, purchasing has become a critical business component. Some experts estimate that a 4 percent reduction in sourcing costs can add as much to profits as a 10 percent increase in sales. With intense global competition putting constant pressure on vehicle prices, many companies see improved sourcing and procurement as key to increasing margins, profits, and competitiveness.
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The pressure to generate demand for consumer products is constantly increasing. Whether managing customer relationships, achieving increased sales, or introducing new products, the area of marketing expenditure is complex and prone to error. That’s why you need a solution drawing together all the activities needed to analyze, plan, sell, execute, validate, and evaluate your products in a closed-loop process.
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Warehousing processes are critical for the success of a distribution business. These processes are highly visible to your customers, and have a direct impact on their opinion of your company. If you cannot get the goods to your customers in the most efficient way, you risk losing their business. Your warehousing and logistics operations must translate into reliability and service.
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Successful customer experiences change the competitive landscape by separating your company from the competition. Industry wisdom thus has companies focusing on increasing transaction efficiency. However, by executing a customer-centric strategy—with a clear process enforced along every channel of customer interaction—you will tap into the emotions and aspirations of your customers, creating a personal and long-standing connection with them.
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The multitude of messages and media in this interactive age contributes to a fragmented consumer goods market. Shorter product life cycles, mass product customization, and increasing supply chain complexity are all symptoms of the new project economy. The arrival of this new age must be recognized by business leaders, and the systems supporting business must change to accommodate this reality.
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There is a common perception that supply chain automation has created an environment in which transactions move quickly and efficiently in industries such as the retail supply chain and high-tech manufacturing. However, this perception is challenged by a recent research study, based on interviews with 400 management representatives of medium to large organizations in the USA, UK, Germany, and France.
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Business plans need to be built on a foundation of solid intelligence: knowing what’s coming means you can plan responses proactively. Thus, in order to build a solid sales and operations plan, constraints through the entire supply chain need to be considered. Improving operational efficiency requires that you have the right inventory, in the right quantity, at the right time.
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Pulse is a global leader in the design and manufacture of electronic components. With its far-flung design centers, manufacturing facilities, and customer care centers, Pulse sought to adopt a global supply chain management strategy, integrated with demand planning and manufacturing operations. The benefits, Pulse reasoned, would include faster order response time, lower inventory costs, and more intelligent planning and scheduling.
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Iwate Toshiba, a semiconductor fabricator, sought a supply chain solution to resolve recurring production issues. The solution had to be capable of quickly planning and scheduling lots during peak production, providing accurate order commitments, reducing planning cycles for production, optimize use of production resources, and achieving a more accurate supply chain model by integrating business planning with factory-level scheduling.
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Switzerland-based Firmenich has been researching, studying and creating fragrances and flavors for more than a century. As part of an ongoing project to cut cost and increase throughput and margins, Firmenich sought a supply chain management application to eliminate information silos and automatically address other issues such as excess inventory, load imbalances, customer service, forecasting, and other, potentially expensive inefficiencies.
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In theory, demand planning is the foundation for profitable operations. But in practice, it is often a difficult endeavor. Accuracy can fluctuate wildly, and companies tend to react to inaccuracies with new investments in technology, processes, and people. However, new investments do not guarantee better forecasts. There are often fundamental issues that need to be addressed before achieving positive results.
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In 1988, Gulistan Carpet, one of America’s leading carpet producers, implemented a custom enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to understand its business planning issues. But management soon realized this was not enough, and wanted to find a way to link this information with actual plant floor production operations at its three main plants. For a solution, it turned to Adexa, Inc.
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The markets served by Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL), India’s largest consumer goods company, require flexible planning, production, and distribution scenarios on the manufacturing side of operations. In 2000, HLL identified improved supply chain management as a critical business priority. It sought a solution that would increase supplier and distributor responsiveness, reduce inventory buffers, and optimize planning and scheduling.
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Responding immediately to product availability requests with accurate delivery dates, and following through on commitments, is critical to serving the customer base. Improvement in this area will impact the bottom line through higher customer satisfaction, and decreased costs for goods sold. It is especially critical for enterprises to manage supply commitments to customers when products need to go on allocation.
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Companies face stiff competition driving products toward commoditization, resulting in prices being squeezed. To fight this trend, sales and marketing want to offer more products. The downside of this strategy is that higher costs associated with product proliferation heavily erode the bottom line. However, there is a strategy that lets companies resolve this dilemma, and it’s called attribute-based product management.
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Despite its success and profitability, Samsung’s network division—operating in a rapidly changing, highly volatile sector of the technology industry—nonetheless faced a continuous series of internal manufacturing challenges. In 2000, recognizing that it faced multiple opportunities for improvement, Samsung initiated a strategic campaign to revamp its supply chain management efforts. It turned to Adexa for a solution.
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Pricing and revenue optimization is the process of improving business margins by either increasing unit prices or increasing gross revenues. This type of optimization is fast being recognized as having the capability to help businesses grow margins significantly. In fact, studies have shown that it can add a 15 to 50 percent incremental margin to the bottom line.
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Adaptive manufacturing enables companies to produce goods efficiently and manage variability proactively. However, it must be managed as an end-to-end, closed-loop process with tight linkages between manufacturing applications, adjacent enterprise applications, and—most importantly—the technology behind these applications. Such integrated networks enable the process visibility and collaboration capabilities that, ultimately, are the key to building an adaptive manufacturing enterprise.
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Wholesale distribution operations are becoming more complex, with ever-changing customer requirements, global and electronic marketplaces, multiple distribution channels, and compliance initiatives adding to the perennial challenges of accurate delivery. Traditional warehouse management or enterprise resource planning solutions are simply not enough. Operational efficiency is the key to increasing inventory turns, improving order fulfillment rates, reducing cycle time, and eliminating charge-backs.
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Many manufacturers are seeking to deploy manufacturing technology to satisfy increasingly rigorous business demands. However, the prospect of traditional software implementations can be daunting. Furthermore, managers and executives often cannot wait for IT resources to become available to implement traditional installed software to address pressing manufacturing needs. Many companies are thus willing to consider a new alternative: on-demand manufacturing software.
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Located in Algona, Iowa (US), and founded in 1989, Sbemco is a world leader in custom safety floor matting. As business grew, however, the company needed to strengthen back-office systems to provide more visibility into the supply chain process. The company accomplished this by transitioning to Exact Macola ERP and integrating it with Exact e-Synergy, a web-based business management solution.
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Customer churn rates are higher than ever: although businesses say they are devoted to loyalty, their management systems and budgets do not support that claim. But in a landscape of similar products, cutting down on defection—or churn—is vital. There are in fact four steps to improving loyalty and retention which, if focused on the appropriate customers, will improve profitability.
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PEMCO Corporation, a manufacturer of high quality mining products for multinational original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), realized increased on-time delivery performance and reduced customer service costs while preventing product shortages through just-in-time material availability. The improved quality of information and improved flow of product through the plant has even resulted in revamped employee morale and job satisfaction.
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Based in Cleveland, Ohio (US), Fuserashi International Technology, Inc. is a manufacturer of precision nuts, bushings, inner metals, piston blanks, and specialty cold-formed steel products. The company achieved significant return on investment within the first two years of using the Made2Manage Enterprise Business System. In fact, as revenue climbed, F.I.T. made a name for itself as a quality benchmark leader.
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In a world that’s constantly demanding better communication to improve the level of perfect orders, while optimising working capital and reducing supply costs, it is vital to provide an electronic trading network across all customers and trading partners quickly, easily, and at low cost. But how to go about establishing a single integrated electronic supply network for collaboration and trade?
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Successful retailers focus their efforts on the unique attributes of each store in the chain. Tailored assortments, promotions, and pricing create environments that foster increased sales. But how can orders to supplying warehouses reflect the intricate details of store-level realities? Can time spent forecasting and ordering into the warehouse be freed up, to enable a focus on store-level opportunities?
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Technology and process upgrades at forward-thinking companies confirm supply chain excellence as a more widely accepted element of overall business strategy. To remain successful, companies need organization-wide buy-in to supply chain excellence, with key trends in mind: demand planning as an imperative; globalization; increased competition and price pressures; outsourcing; shortened and more complex product life cycles; and collaboration between stakeholders.
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Historically, companies have invested in tactical and operational supply chain technology solutions. These solutions helped model and operate existing supply chains, without addressing overall supply chain design and strategy. Companies are increasingly turning to strategic solutions such as supply chain design and optimization (SCDO) to help satisfy customer demand while balancing limitations on supply and the need for operational efficiency.
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The evolution of global discrete manufacturing is ongoing. How executives at manufacturing companies answer questions and anticipate what will be the right answer six months, a year, or two years from now will determine the success of their company. Infor examines current industry trends and identifies what it believes to be the seven trends producing the greatest stress and change in discrete manufacturing today.
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Southern Pump & Tank Company (SPACTO), is a value-added distributor specializing in liquid handling equipment for the petroleum and industrial marketplaces. By using SAP Service Management to track equipment at its customers sites, receive incoming service calls, dispatch work, and track labor and materials, SPACTO was able to lower inventory by 28 percent, and reduce slow and non-moving items by 70 percent.
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NexPress, a mid-sized company specializing in print solutions and services, needed to integrate its business processes across its supply chain. It also wanted to increase inventory visibility, and control and eliminate redundant data maintenance. By implementing mySAP and SAP SI s MaxValu, it reduced its operating costs by more than $1 million (USD) in just sixteen weeks.
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Fusion UV is the world s leading producer of ultraviolet curing equipment. Its outmoded legacy system couldn t handle the company s complex manufacturing system, and was threatening Fusion s ability to meet its promised delivery dates. By implementing FastTrack, a mySAP All-in-One partner solution, it improved accuracy in pricing, shipping, and purchase order processing.
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When creating a seamless value chain, it is essential to focus on the customer. However, information, data, and processes are key when planning the complex merger of processes, technologies, and culture. Additionally, a successful value chain recognizes that partners, vendors, suppliers, and employees play a vital role to ensure that customer values are both recognized and realized.
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The globalization of discrete manufacturing is forever changing the notion of what a "small manufacturer" is. Even companies that are considered relatively small in revenue, employment, or client base, must now operate like the largest corporations when structuring and conducting their businesses. Infor examines how today's mid-market manufacturers are transforming themselves—focusing on business processes and employing ERP systems for their own operations.
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North American Electric Motors needed an accounting software package that better met its growing needs. By implementing QuickBooks, the company was able to gain transparency into its warehouses and monitor inventory. Security controls enabled employees to process orders without access to sensitive information, and the company saved up to twelve hours a week when processing daily activities.
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Radio frequency identification (RFID) helps actualize the perfect integration of logistical and commercial chains and its use is rising in the US and Europe among large companies; government departments; and industries. Setting up RFID requires a validation test on a defined perimeter that involves the processes that have the most direct impact on your activity to see how RFID will affect your environment.
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Alltech, a multinational biotechnology company providing
natural solutions to the feed and food industries, found itself with a disjointed, IT infrastructure with overlapping accounting systems. Using a powerful dashboard, users can view information from sixty-three databases to manage the business more proactively.
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Almost $75 billion (USD) is spend on trade and promotion funds every year. Unfortunately most enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are not equiped to handle the complexities of promotion causing false reports and inaccurate invoices. Small and medium businesses (SMB) have had limited choices, until now.
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Plastic suppliers require software systems that provide resources for multisite operations, including engineering, warehousing, and purchasing. However, most vendors solutions do not meet the specific needs of the plastics industry. IMPACT Encore solution gives plastics suppliers an encompassing solutoin that minimizes waste and streamlines process.
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Internet-based supply chain management solution provides Mitsui with technology that connects its entire global supply chain - from a single desk-top location. This solution, SCM Live™, links Mitsui’s trading partners and customers - while saving hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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Leading retailers and manufacturers are dramatically improving sales and profits by embracing a new supply chain model built upon sharing point-of-sale demand data and closely collaborating on forecasts. Research conclusively demonstrates demand driven collaborative supply chain models drive more accurate forecasts, fewer out-of-stocks, higher sales, and higher operating margins. By following the best practices outlined in this white paper, you can also realize the financial benefits of this model.
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Every supply chain professional must consider certain factors when comparing enterprise resource planning (ERP) and best-of-breed warehouse management system (WMS) solutions for warehouse management. Effective management of warehouse, fulfillment, and distribution operations is key to business success. With so much riding on your decision, you need to thoroughly compare ERP warehouse modules and best-of-breed WMS.
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Cada módulo cuenta con múltiples funcionalidades que facilitan la operación de los procesos lo que permite su adecuado control y administración. Entre los módulos se encuentran: Punto de Venta, Activos Fijos, Asistencias, Warehouse Management System, auto transporte, Vales, Tesorería, Servicios, Servicios internos, Recursos Humanos, Producción, Proyectos, Precios y Costos, Planeador de Ordenes, Nómina y otros.
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Assortment optimization, pricing decisions, and promotional activity fall flat if a product is not available for purchase. Out-of-stocks, overstocks, and markdowns drive down already strained profit margins. Replenishment, however, maximizes sales while minimizing inventory expense. By understanding replenishment, and planning and allocation, enterprise can determine the best strategies for addressing forecasting and inventory concerns, and improve profit margins.
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Despite intense price competition for its volume products, the electrical products industry remains healthy and dynamic. World-class companies are succeeding by marketing innovative products, scaling up and outsourcing production, expanding into new geographic areas, implementing more efficient business systems, and focusing on ever-closer relationships with suppliers, partners, and customers. This white paper explores the issues of manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors and the current state and future of the industry. Industry specific technological are also discussed.
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Change your paradigm by using supply chain compliance as a competitive tool to grow your business. By viewing your organization from the inside out, you’ll make better decisions and better position your company against the competition by building strategic partnerships.
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One of the most neglected areas of the manufacturing and retail supply chain is the inbound logistics segment. Following best practices and creating a collaborative allows companies to save money and streamline operations.
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Quality data in the supply chain is essential in when information is automated and shared with internal and external customers. Dirty data is a huge impediment to businesses. In this article, learn about the four critical success factors to clean data: 1- scope, 2- team, 3- process, and 4- technology.
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The global automotive and wholesale distribution industry moves more than 50 million motor vehicles from factory floor to dealer to customer every year. Companies that operate in this market sector perform a difficult balancing act between the vehicle makers on the one side and the dealers and the consumers on the other. However by leveraging IT strategies, their goals are attainable.
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Lean supply chain management and lean sourcing strategies are relatively new to the apparel industry, generating more talk than broad implementation to date. In this the final paper of our “Lean Is Fashionable” thought leadership series, we define a lean supply chain action plan with five concrete steps for building a collaborative infrastructure between your company and other members of your supply network. These represent an eleven year culmination of our and our customers’ real world experiences in implementing lean supply chain strategies that are designed as a road map to achieving a more collaborative and profitable future.
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Replenishment is an area within operations where retailers can find a competitive edge. Excelling at replenishment enables implementation of promotional, pricing, and assortment strategies. Also, profit can be gained by minimizing inventory levels and reducing lost sales. This increases time for analysis and special projects, as it’s no longer necessary to fight the fires of overstock and out of stocks.
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When raw materials providers, manufacturers, and retailers work together to calculate future order needs, they can all act on the best information available. Successful order forecast collaboration requires all members to share risks if forecasts vary, and to discuss issues as they arise. Accurate order forecasts drive sales increases, inventory decreases, and better decisions. With so many benefits across the entire demand chain, shouldn’t you look into order forecast collaboration with your partners?
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This paper presents a case study from HP's Inkjet Supplies Business. It demonstrates how the combination of optimization and SCOR-based dynamic simulation effectively drives the critical supply chain design and policy decisions that improve overall supply chain resilience.
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Ten years ago, very few managers would consider “subscribing” to their mission critical technology solutions over the Internet, as they would subscribe to cable television or telephone services. Today, these same managers are realizing the substantial cost savings and productivity increases that the software as a service (SaaS) deployment option can bring to their organizations.
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The competitive drivers of the twenty-first century are time and service (responsiveness and flexibility). Many small and medium enterprises (SME) have implemented enterprise resource planning (ERP) as one of the technology tools to improve their performance. This whitepaper on supply chain management (SCM) for SMEs highlight the crucial role and importance of supply chains to SMEs, and distinguishes the different roles of ERP and SCM.
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As apparel and textile companies move to outsourcing production—relinquishing direct control in favor of a more cost-effective manufacturing model—a lean supply chain may appear to be the next logical step for further implementing cost and operational improvement. Not so, however. You can’t have a lean supply chain without lean manufacturing. Regardless of whether you or your partners engage in production, lean manufacturing is the lean engine that drives lean supply chain efficiencies. Accordingly, the business requirement for stability in a constantly changing demand environment motivates the fashion industry’s search for lean supply chain management principles and practices.
Intentia, in cooperation with industry experts, have written a series of thought leadership white papers on the concept of implementing lean supply chain in the fashion industry. The second of this series, From Lean Manufacturing to Lean Supply Chain explains how lean manufacturing relates to lean supply chain management and where it differs and sometimes conflicts.
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As innovation rates accelerate and product life cycles shorten, companies are increasingly looking for tools to make their supply chain more efficient. Technology, such as radio frequency identification (RFID) has enormously helped supply chain planner.
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Workflows can increase efficiency, standardize processes, reduce costs, and increase return on investment. The key is to understand your customer, your products and services and your business processes. Learn how easy-to-design workflows can help ensure that best practices are carried out consistently and efficiently. Streamline daily tasks and make learning new operations simpler. Workflows help you reduce churn, boost productivity and increase customer satisfaction.
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Abrica.net is a "software-as-service" collaboration solution that enables supply chain partners, of all sizes, to quickly, easily and inexpensively exchange business documents. To send a supply chain document, simply "print" it to the Abrica printer.
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Groschopp initially purchased TCM in
1994 and subsequently expanded its
usage to over 40 TCM licensed users
and 12 data collection users.
Groschopp has evolved into an expert
user of the entire suite of TCM
applications, including MRP, MPS,
and Shop Floor Control with complex
scheduling. One of their main
objectives was the ability to bin
track and optimize inventory,
leading both to cost savings and
also a more efficient operation.
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As international competition becomes more intense and as national barriers for trade gradually reduce, the era of global business is here to stay. Increasingly the difference between success and failure in the global marketplace will be determined not by the sophistication
of product technology or marketing communication, but by the way in which the global supply chain is controlled and managed.A global supply chain has to be agile and flexible enough to cope with differences in customer requirements
and yet should be able to reap the benefits of focused manufacturing in terms of economies of scale.
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Effective planning is integral to the success of a bank. It helps define and ensure the achievement of the organization’s objectives. Understanding and implementing the planning cycle, which leverages forecasting, operational metrics, and multidimensional analyses can help management determine the feasibility of a strategy. An enterprise-wide, integrated planning and forecasting environment that reaches business units, products, customer segments, and geographies can align non-financial performance targets with high-level financial targets and help banks meet their goals.
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Fashion companies need to respond quickly and strategically to major changes occurring in today’s global supply chains.
Implementing a lean supply chain management strategy can enable cost savings and more efficient operations by realigning process according to a demand-driven model.
Lean supply chain management uses Web-based technologies to create and maintain dynamic supplier networks. Such networks are able to deliver the highest customer value at the lowest cost. It also lays the groundwork for the next level of hands-free, wireless radio frequency identification-enabled processes.
Intentia, in cooperation with industry experts, have written a series of thought leadership white papers on the concept of implementing lean supply chain in the fashion industry. The first of this series, “Lean Is Fashionable”, explores the impact of lean practices in the fashion and apparel industry during a period of momentous change.
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Availl, Inc, the leading solution provider of sales, supply chain management, and logistic services for the aviation industry. Learn how it used Click Commerce Service Parts Optimization solutions to extend its inventory planning capabilities, enable comprehensive demand forecasting, and provide Web-based visibility into global inventories.
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Dillen Products, Inc. is a major supplier of plastic planters and trays to the grower segment of the horticultural market. Dillen needed a better way to manage its increasingly diverse inventory, meet the labeling and distribution demands of its major retailers, and integrate its warehouse management system (WMS) quickly and seamlessly into existing supply chain and financial systems. Dillen implemented Click Commerce’s WMS to offer customers a stable and reliable solution that is easy to install and support, while providing the flexibility and scalability necessary for future growth without the risk of major future investment.
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Invacare is the leader in the manufacturing and distribution of innovative home and long-term care medical products. For Invacare, warehouse management was a complex program, involving thousands of pieces moving through distribution centers, controlled by manual business processes. A typical customer order could vary greatly, ranging from a single carton to 4,000 cartons. The company needed to implement a new system that could handle orders equally well, regardless of size. Invacare implemented Click Commerce’s Warehouse Management Solution to meet the unique requirements of its warehouse operations.
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This paper discusses best practices observed from the most successful inbound logistics programs of manufacturing organizations in the automotive industry and among consumer packaged goods manufacturers. It also discusses the role of third-party logistics (3PL) service providers in terms of transportation and warehousing.
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Production based on the principles of lean manufacturing combined with Movex APP has been the key to significant improvements since the end of the 1990s at pump manufacturer APV Products in Horsens, Denmark. “By streamlining the many workflows, we have been able to cut out all the redundant processes. Thus we have seen an amazing reduction of delivery time, from twenty-five days to only a couple of days. At the same time our inventory turnover has increased, which means that our inventory has been reduced to a third. And last but not least, our productivity is higher.” Bjorn Sommer, Product Line Manager, APV Products.
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Every corporation needs to make decisions about the selection and implementation if new IT solutions on a regular basis. However, an industrial manufacturer or retailer cannot see this as being one of their core competencies. In most cases such a selection process is seen as a necessary evil rather than a challenge that uncovers new potentials within the company. Only the ones that are able to fully understand and control this process in conjunction with all internally and externally involved parties will be more successful then others. The implementation of new IT solutions can be a chance to increase efficiency, but only if the right goals are defined, the right solutions and partners selected, and results are being monitored on a continual basis. This white paper was designed to deliver you many hints on what to consider and help you reach your goals in your IT selection process faster.
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Extending supply lines overseas brings new commercial and operational challenges that are far more complex than ever before. Enterprises are exposed to an entirely new universe of costs and liabilities, operations, and resource and management needs. Next generation global cost control systems can help organizations overcome these challenges. These systems help enterprises understand the real time cost impacts and financial liabilities of global sourcing initiatives--while protecting profits.
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Manufacturers everywhere are turning to “lean manufacturing” to help them combat competition from low-cost countries and meet the increasing demands from customers for shorter lead times, more product variety and smaller orders. Lean manufacturing is a philosophy that focuses on customer value-adding activities, elimination of waste and continuous improvement in order to meet pull-driven customer demand.
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Active Execution Management captures radio frequency identification (RFID) and electronic product code (EPC) data and integrates it into the supply chain business process. AXM associates individual EPC events (the observation of an EPC tag at an RFID reader) with the supply chain transaction that is currently being executed and then determines if that supply chain transaction is executing as planned. AXM is able to make this determination by comparing key performance indicators of the supply chain transaction with the characteristics of the EPC event. The paper describes multiple business cases, such as promotions management, deductions management, complex international shipments, and spoilage management, and shows how RFID data can be leveraged to improve supply chain performance.
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Data integration is a key enabler for supply chain modernization. Competition is driving increased integration of the supply chain, both due to direct cost pressures and to increased globalization. There can be little doubt that well implemented supply chain integration saves labor costs and improves inventory control. This has often been a complex and costly proposition. Standards, improved products and a common understanding of best practices for distributed systems are reducing the price of entry to supply chain automation. This will, in turn drive broader integration of manufacturing and distribution endpoints.
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Here's the dilemma. Your largest customer has mandated that, to continue doing business with you, product shipped to their distribution centers must be encoded and labeled with RFID tags. None of your other customers have expressed a need for this requirement in the near term future. You can't afford to lose the business and revenue; nor can you justify a full-blown RFID implementation costing several hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is not a business nightmare. This is reality. This white paper looks at a compromise position offered by 3i Infotech and its warehouse management solution, ORION™ Enterprise WMS. This position is aptly described in the industry as the slap'n'ship approach to the RFID dilemma. This paper looks at the advantages and disadvantages of slap'n'ship and how ORION™ Enterprise WMS can preserve and maximize your initial foray into RFID.
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Private Label product sales have increased significantly over recent years, with the level of penetration and sophistication varying by country and retailer strategy. Many of the most successful Private Label retailers are moving this approach on and positioning the Private Label, thus the whole store, as the brand. By owning the brand, the retailer must deal with complexities and issues more traditionally associated with the CPG brand manufacturer. These issues include time to market, regulations, quality, and safety or consumer pressure. Failure to establish adequate processes and systems to support the brand can tarnish the brand and, in many cases, have severe economic implications across the whole range of products sold. Brand integrity has been identified as one of the key issues faced by Private Label retailers. In this white paper, learn more about the brand integrity strategies used today by some of the most successful Private Label retailers.
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Ensuring a safe and secure supply chain is considered mission critical to government officials and business executives worldwide.
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Many organizations are undertaking some form of lean initiative, but if one were to ask one hundred different people, one would probably different explanations from each person. With a variety of methods, techniques, and terms bandied about, many are forced to use the same definition that the late Justice Potter Stewart used for pornography: “I know it when I see it.” Shop floor practices that move inventory to the point of consumption, like kanban, are also associated with lean. But what really is lean? And does it go beyond the shop floor to impacts all areas of the business?
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Tighten and speed up the manufacturing supply chain to better align raw Materials inventory levels with production plans, and reduce inventory and administrative costs.
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Provide suppliers with simple, motivational tools that help them proactively improve their own performance, and engage in collaborative work processes to jointly resolve issues as they arise.
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GNX Supplier Performance Management is a web-based application that enables companies to establish, track and report performance metrics for a large supplier base, with a collaborative platform to proactively resolve and avoid problems.
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The pharmaceutical industry is highly competitive, regulated, and in a permanent state of change. Customers demand instant attention, while suppliers require comprehensive leading edge services with regard to their products. Regulatory authorities require that the industry keep up to date with regulations, following them to the letter. Competitors are always inventing new ways to gain market share, while e-business presents new opportunities and challenges. All the while the pressure to reduce prices and to shorten order cycles is high. Pharmaceutical wholesalers comprise the lifeline within the pharmaceutical industry, providing continuity of supply and facilities for storage. They also offer a range of supporting services, such as information technology systems and product withdrawal notifications, which form an essential part of the total healthcare package. These companies and institutions all operate in an environment where speed and efficiency may mean the difference between life and death. However, the industry has a number of specific requirements that are critical for achieving success in the distribution sector.
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Sainsbury’s Supermarkets has several ongoing collaboration programs with suppliers,having recognized early on that supply chain optimization benefits the end consumer by
ensuring the right product on the shelf at the right time and lowest cost. The UK grocer had already been sharing performance information along with several other forms of supply chain data with suppliers for several years, but found that suppliers had difficulty dealing with performance data that was buried in the mass of information being presented. In addition, suppliers had no formal channel for responding to, or improving, any performance issues that were identified.
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When flexibility and speed are requisites for success, it’s the lean organization that leads the race. World-class manufacturing organizations know the value of focusing on the lean fundamentals: eliminating waste, simplifying processes, and continuously improving. By pursuing lean strategies—optimizing inventory and streamlining manufacturing processes—they can reduce inefficiencies and costs in their production processes, and improve customer responsiveness.
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The challenges that face the manufacturing industry today are also opportunities. Manufacturing is being revolutionized in its processes, routines, and ways of doing business through the growing emergence of order driven production methods. This shift towards demand driven manufacturing is emerging in tandem with the larger currents caused by globalization. This cross industry brief focuses on the manufacturing industry from the standpoint of a demand driven IT solution and is aimed at manufacturing and distribution businesses. It describes some major market trends and issues, provides an overview of IBS supply chain solution, and offers details on how the IBS solution for demand driven manufacturing can address current needs of the industry.
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Since our research-driven beginnings, Johnson & Johnson Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP) has continually improved the new product development (NPD) process. Detailed process mapping has revealed three tiers of business metrics, starting with drivers and moving up through execution metrics to business performance metrics. When driver metrics improves, so does business performance. Six Sigma tools helps identify specific metrics at all tiers and the causality linkages among them. Each NPD process step at ASP results in a deliverable, and each deliverable relates to a trade-off triangle (cost-time-resources) and, ultimately, to investment dollars. To track performance, ASP calculates how actual NPD decisions and what-if scenarios affect deliverables, alter investment triangles, and thereby influence business results. ASP uses similar process and tools, including the investment triangles and Six Sigma QFD, to make idea management decisions. The IDweb real-time software environment enables both the NPD and idea management processes at ASP. By deploying the strategic planning, idea management, portfolio and pipeline management, process management, and resource management modules of IDweb, ASP has increased throughput by 20 percent and reduced cycle time by 40 percent.
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Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is fast replacing ScanCode technology in asset tracking and inventory management. Traditionally, asset tracking and inventory management in retail supply chain or manufacturing or service units depended heavily on manual scanning of bar code printed on each item at every strategic point. This white paper focuses on details of RFID technology and how you can automate asset tracking and inventory management of your enterprise using it. The white paper takes aid of a case study on how FicusSoft has developed and successfully implemented RFID integrated asset tracking and inventory management solutions for a reputed manufacturer of ultra-sensitive instruments used in the field of biotechnology and pharmaceutical research.
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No matter how sophisticated your ERP solution may be, the most critical factor in its success will be how well it handles exceptions--the seemingly quixotic mission of planning for the unplanned. These issues outside your established operational parameters can include supply, operational and demand exceptions, and can have a "butterfy effect" on your enterprise--impacting customer service, purchasing, plant scheduling, shipping and accounting. How well you respond depends on four critical factors: The speed at which you identify these exceptions; how thoroughly you communicate them within your enterprise, the business rules you have in place to handle these exceptions and how responsive your ERP system is to handling the above four factors. In this white paper, we will explore how you can manage these four factors in planning for exceptions in your enterprise.
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In the present context of business, it is becoming essential for the business world to provide electronic commerce in addition to their good old business model. An electronic commerce application adds lot of value to business models and helps overall growth in the different areas of business, business management, tracking, and customer support. Customers find it’s much easier to access the products and services of a corporation through an e-commerce application and corporations find it easier to reach their customers.
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Food giants and technology providers work together to improve the efficiency of food processing, and storage and distribution operations, so that food products can be harvested, stored, and moved to the dinner table quickly and at less cost. This vertical brief focuses on specific issues within today's food distribution industry, explaining how IT solutions can help food distributors improve efficiency and reduce overall costs that drive up profits in an extremely competitive, low margin business.
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Continuous process simplification of inherently complex enterprise applications should be the primary goal. Apptricity believes that the primary focus for business-
technology managers should be on achieving a rapid application integration and deployment to guarantee measurable return on investment (ROI). Business technology and business managers should not have to constantly recalibrate solution delivery objectives or re-scope project deliverables with reduced functionality because of finger pointing or other rationalized justifications. How can ROI be assured and achieved more rapidly? What are the major decisions faced by organizations relative to their information technology (IT) strategy, and how does this impact ROI? And why would a company choose an (application suite) versus extending in-house legacy systems?
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Companies are going global because the risk of not doing so greatly outweighs the comfort that staying domestic brings. According to a World Trade Organization (WTO) report issued in October 2004, "Despite the rise in oil prices the volume of world trade is likely to grow by 8.5% in real terms by the end of 2004." The liberalization of trade, the reduction of tariffs, the elimination of quotas, the continued rise in China as an industrial force, and the rise of outsourcing as a cost reduction opportunity, all create an environment that is full of opportunity and fraught with hazards. The ability to effectively manage global commerce will be a key strategic competitive differentiator. Global commerce management (GCM) is what is required by companies to win in this tougher, more competitive environment.
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To survive in today economy, every enterprise must put the reins on spending across every location and category. Rogue spending infiltrates even the most disciplined distributors, and is even more apparent in organizations with remote locations and employees. Vendor lists grow like weeds. There is confusion over who manages what service area, and manual approval procedures for requisitions and invoices are cumbersome. The ability for an enterprise to effectively source, procure, and manage its spend must keep pace with the demand for promptness and compliance in supplier relationship management (SRM).
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Howard Johnson’s Enterprises, Inc. (HJE) is a provider of lawn and garden fertilizer products whose discrete manufacturing package assumed a discrete process. It took ProcessPro eight months to implement a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that worked to address HJE’s unique needs.
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Strem Chemicals, which manufactures and distributes specialty chemicals, implemented ProcessPro’s Warehouse Management Solution (WMS). The solution helped them streamline their processes and reduce operational costs, by reducing their overall shipping errors, eliminating the label planning function, and eliminating the dual recording of a majority of their inventory transactions.
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Companies are moving away from the linear production path of the supply chain to embrace value cycle management (VCM). VCM is the optimization of supply chain functions across all levels of suppliers, partners, and customers through the integration, collaboration, and synchronization of technology, data, and people-centric processes. Learn how companies can employ VCM to make business processes smoother, more productive, and more profitable.
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Companies in virtually every industry today are striving to meet the ever-increasing demands of their customers. The issues of innovation, price, quality, and delivery have never been greater. Customers want what they want, when they want it, and how they want it. To give customers what they truly want, manufacturers need to have a deeper understanding of the detailed attributes of the products that meet customer needs. Winning companies, those who will prosper now and well into the future, will need to manage the use of this knowledge with advanced information technology as their key competitive strategy.
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The MMOG was a self-assessment process developed by the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) to provide consistent methodology for evaluating supplier performance, identifying weaknesses, and focusing improvement efforts. The Global MMOG/LE incorporates the Odette Logistics Evaluation (OLE), developed by AIAG’s European counterpart, to provide a single global standard for self-assessment. The MMOG is a proven tool for supplier development and provides a recognized industry standard for suppliers who have been asked by customers to complete a self-assessment. Although it was developed by the automotive industry, QAD believes it can be a helpful benchmark tool for customers across many verticals.
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As globalization, competition, and downward price pressures show no signs of easing, lean manufacturing—matching supply to demand, eliminating waste, and streamlining operations—still holds great promise for automotive suppliers to meet this challenges.
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Contemporary firms must recognize a fundamental shift in the management of distribution activities as a strategic driver of their competitive success. Instead of the traditional focus on pushing products to customers through distribution channels, there is a need to migrate toward adaptive distribution networks. Such networks focus on managing the flow orders from customers by providing them with high levels of convenience while preserving attention to responsiveness and total distribution costs.
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Innovative companies improve efficiencies by integrating logistics and transportation functions with critical operating processes. By factoring transportation constraints into the planning and execution of warehousing, production and fulfillment, these companies are outperforming their competition.
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The new reality for manufacturing CIOs is that budgets are far less than what they used to be and the ability to provide business intelligence to front line users in a simple and workable format is a new measure of information technology (IT) performance.
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Primarily due to rapid development of technology in the past thirty years, the market structure throughout the world has changed considerably. Local markets have become accessible to foreign manufacturers, who are able to perform well in their newly established territories in part due to their superior application of technology. In this light, most companies, including small and medium size, have embedded globalization in their expansion strategies, consistently seeking for new markets abroad. Consequently, local manufacturing companies are facing global competition, forcing them to adopt new concepts with respect to people, process and technologies. This document describes these approaches to production planning in detail as well outlines a software solution. The software solution (Production/3) combines both pull and push techniques and enables small to medium size organizations to fully automate their production system while retaining their investment in their legacy enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
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What does it mean to be a world-class competitor? It means being successful in your market against any competition—regardless of size or country of origin. It means matching or exceeding any competitor on quality, lead time, cost, customer service, and innovation. It means picking your battles—competing on the terms dictated by you. But how do you get there?
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Computers were meant to simplify common, tedious tasks. Patching multiple systems together is a band-aid approach to the critical issue of resource management. Should your limited information technology (IT) staff be maintaining a series of interfaces, over several servers and applications? Or should they focus first on delivering quality information to those who need it most? What if a system could deliver world class functionality, be simple to maintain, yet still be affordable and robust enough for the most demanding environments?
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An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is your information backbone, reaching into all areas of your business and value chain. That’s why replacing it can open unlimited business opportunities. The cornerstone of this effort is finding the right partner. And since your long-term business strategy will shape your selection, it’s critical that your ERP provider be part of your vision.
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So-called best-of-breed software solutions may not always actually be the best. Sometimes less heralded niche products more closely aligned with a company's requirements make a better choice. Learn how Tinnerman Palnut Engineered Products, LLC used a feature-rich, enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to get a highly efficient system for its over 15,000 products.
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Simulation can remedy one time and ongoing problems in the warehouse. Learn about the technology of computer stimulation and how it can benefit senior management in the logistics, distribution, and warehousing industries. This paper will describe the benefits of simulation as an analytical tool and the industrial lessons learned from failed simulation projects.
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Radio frequency identification (RFID) is the most rapidly growing segment in today's automatic identification industry. The creation of the Auto-ID Electronic Product Code (EPC) Standard coupled with affordable RFID tag costs, and Wal-Mart's mandated adoption of the standard for all its suppliers, will drive rapid deployment. Learn how RFID will evolve as the cost and capability of deploying the system becomes more operationally feasible and economical, and of the benefits it will bring.
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As retailers strive to reduce inventories and manage working capital more effectively, they need to streamline processes throughout the supply chain to provide goods when needed and to maintain their tight margins. Learn how event-driven optimization (EDO) can overcome unexpected disruptions to the flow of goods.
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Eastern Foods, Inc. produces fresh goods for one of the most widely dispersed populations in the world. The leading supplier of salad dressings to airlines, Amtrak, and the cruise ship industry, Eastern is nationally known for Naturally Fresh dressings as well as premiere meat sauces and dips sold in stores and distributed to the food service industry. The job has never been easy – but it has been made easier in recent years with the implementation of Ross Systems’ iRenaissance suite of business applications for both front and back office operations. The flow of information, necessary to make critical decisions and ensure high levels of service, now travels quicker than the fast-paced industry it serves. The plant scheduler has been able to reduce the number of daily individual production jobs by as much as 20%, as well as reduce the number of changeovers, resulting in higher capacity utilization and throughput. Visibility to the forecast and orders allows for better management of the scheduled cycle of product runs, which must be closely coordinated with inventory to ensure supply is both adequate and fresh. Cycle schedule compliance has improved from 88% to 95%.
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Learn how Welch's found a solution that would give it the ability to optimize and coordinate its short-term production schedules while building long-term master production schedule (MPS) based on the capacity constraints, inventory targets, and manpower.
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Learn how Quaker Oats of Canada found a solution that would give it the ability to optimize its short-term schedule, as well as provide long-term projections based on the real capacity of production plans, inventory targets, and manpower levels.
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With a turnover of CHF 85 billion and 470 sites, Nestle is the world's largest food group. Learn how Nestle is able to plan its production and to accommodate finite capacity calculations in terms of manpower and material resources, strategic material availability, and through the significant production constraints of Nestle's different production environments.
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Learn how Swiss-American Inc., a leading manufacturer of medical products, improved the accuracy of its inventory levels by adopting a new manufacturing system complete lot traceability, manufacturing resource planning (MRP), purchasing, and manufacturing projections.
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Learn how Cubic Defense Systems improved their overall product quality and government compliance, while conforming to support mission-critical processes by using Cincom's integrated quality management solution.
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Learn how Sony Music used real-time radio frequency (RF)-based packages to handle their high volume environment for both raw materials and finished goods and how this system interfaced with corporate systems, various automated material handing equipment, and other complementary third-party systems.
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Learn how Saks Inc. leveraged flow-through operations in its distribution center to move 90 percent of its goods automatically, without human intervention to get merchandise to its stores faster, while taking inventory out of the system.
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Learn how Boeing Aircraft and Missile Systems reduced its manufacturing costs and increased production, while decreasing its warehouse footprint, and keeping all of its current staff in place.
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