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Planning & Forecasting
Hurricanes Batter Supply Chain Planning of Chemical Firms; Disaster Plans Now Part of Corporate Strategies
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita dealt a blow to supply chain planning at some chemical companies, says a report in the WAM Systems newsletter. WAM Systems, based in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., offers the Picaso advanced planning solution for the chemical industry.
Many companies had plant shutdowns. Some plants lost access to raw materials; others opted to try to ship resources out of the area via rail. Overall, says the report, there were two kinds of responses by chemical companies. “Those that fared well recognized the importance of creating and maintaining well-established contingency plans. These companies also had tools in place to provide clear visibility throughout their supply chains. This allowed them to make necessary changes to operating plans, reroute shipments, send resources out of the area, and plan for the potential loss of transportation which would restrict the inflow of raw materials and reduce the capacity to export to downstream connections.
“Other companies struggled, using Excel spreadsheet solutions that were suddenly forced into a new role. These companies struggled to support decision-making, operating in a reactive rather than proactive mode, with limited visibility to the supply chain when it was desperately needed.
Disaster planning is now among the corporate strategies of these companies, WAM says. “Those that realize that they are deficient in technology offering them the needed visibility are now in the process of adopting such solutions to assist their efforts in planning for the next big storm.”
www.wamsystems.com
Terra Technology's Solution Reportedly Measures Actual Forecast Error Rather than Depend on Estimates
Terra Technology says its Real-Time Inventory solution can decrease safety stock levels for consumer products companies by 10 percent or more because it measures actual forecast error over actual lead time to determine inventory requirements rather than rely on estimates derived from weekly or monthly measurements.
RTI reportedly updates inventory targets every day based on actual demand; understands the differences between manufactured and sourced SKUs, including lead-time flexibility, schedule compliance and transportation variability; and differentiates service levels based on SKU characteristics, seasonality and lifecycle.
“Typical inventory for consumer products companies is 74 days while out-of-stocks range from six to 12 percent,” says Robert F. Byrne, Terra's president and CEO. “That means that manufacturers are holding more than two months' of inventory and still the right products are not on the store shelves at the right time. RTI solves this dilemma, enabling consumer products companies to lower inventory holding costs, improve customer service levels and increase profits at the same time.”
Terra says its pattern recognition technology works with traditional demand planning systems to monitor daily demand signals and reduce near-term forecast error by 50 percent. More accurate forecasts and inventory targets improve customer service, lower inventory, decrease unplanned changeovers and reduce costs.
www.terratechnology.com
Siemens Power Generation Division Deploys SmartForecasts Solution from Smart Software
Smart Software, a provider of demand forecasting, planning and inventory optimization solutions, says that the Industrial Applications Division of Siemens Power Generation (PG) has purchased the developer's SmartForecasts Enterprise product to support its global service business. Siemens will integrate SmartForecasts with the division's SAP system and use the new planning solution, with its intermittent demand forecasting technology, to forecast parts demand and inventory stocking levels at the service business's six product centers.
The Industrial Applications Division of Siemens PG sells gas and steam turbines, as well as compressors, and services equipment in the field that can be 50 years old or more. These machines are used by in the oil and gas industries and in the paper and sugar industries, among others. The group's customer base includes a variety of sites running many different types of equipment that potentially require millions of parts to keep them in service. Some 30,000 of those parts are “active,” and a majority of those have intermittent or irregular demand.
Historically, each of Siemens PG' stocking locations has been responsible for forecasting its own inventory, typically by informal or judgmental means. These methods often resulted in parts shortages for some critical parts as well as excess inventory for others.
“Our aim is to harmonize our approach to inventory planning across locations with a best-in-class demand planning and inventory optimization solution,” says Ken Winn, director of global resource management for the Industrial Applications Division's service business. “SmartForecasts will provide us with a cost-effective way to maximize our service levels and help make sure we have the right parts in the right place when they're needed.”
www.smartcorp.com
Blue Coat Uses Servigistics Part Management Solution
Blue Coat Systems of Sunnyvale, Calif., has selected the Servigistics service parts management solution for its global service organization. Blue Coat provides a family of “intelligent” appliances and a suite of software applications designed to give IT organizations the ability to effectively control security.
The solution should help Blue Coat reduce inventory. It will be hosted by Servigistics and integrated with Blue Coat's existing Siebel system.
"After outgrowing our existing planning system, we needed a strategic service management solution that could easily scale with our growing business," says Sam Mikles, director of service parts operations. "After evaluating various solutions on the market, we selected Servigistics for its scalability, ease of use, and breadth and depth of functionality."
"Blue Coat has quickly become a trusted name in secure content and application delivery, and they recognize the strategic importance of service to their continued success," says Eric Hinkle, Servigistics CEO. "We are pleased they have chosen Servigistics as a core component of their service business infrastructure."
www.servigistics.com
Metal-Stamping Firm Saves with Infor APS Solution
Infor reports that Olson International, a precision metal-stamping company that serves a number of industries, has saved more than 80 percent on its standard overtime expenses and nearly wiped out its premium freight costs by implementing Infor's SyteLine advanced planning and scheduling solution.
Illinois-based Olson, which is active in the automotive, electronics, lawn and garden, computers and communications industries, has used Infor's ERP system since 1992. It has now updated to SyteLine APS, which automates the entire planning and scheduling process, integrating seamlessly with Infor SyteLine ERP to confirm inventory levels as well as employee and equipment availability.
“SyteLine APS schedules for maximum productivity with minimum downtime, planning every aspect of the production line,” says Mike Frichol, vice president of global industry marketing for Infor's discrete manufacturing group. “And because the system accounts for inventory and specialty-item shipping schedules, SyteLine APS makes it possible to confirm delivery dates and work with customers to provide solutions when a deadline cannot be met.”
“SyteLine APS lets us take a more proactive approach to customer service,” says Olson's corporate MIS manager Greg Keating. “The more integration and automation we have between our three facilities, the more we can focus on innovation and constant improvement. We've even begun sending SyteLine APS data to our critical suppliers to use for forecasting and planning their production. This has helped our suppliers meet our needs, which is vital to our success.”
After adopting the solution, the company's quarterly overtime costs have fallen from $40,000 to less than $7,900, Infor says. Premium-freight costs are down from $37,000 to just $1,200, a 97-percent cut. On the production floor, Olson has reduced “days in inventory” by two and has increased on-time deliveries from 97 percent to 99.8 percent.
“With global price pressures and annual push-backs from automotive customers, we have to do what we can to sustain profitability. Lean manufacturing and SyteLine APS help us do that,” says Keating. “With our focus on lean manufacturing, we look for waste and remove it from our processes. Through automation for forecasting production schedules, we've eliminated a lot of wasted time and costs (such as overtime and premium air freight) from our production scheduling.”
www.infor.com
JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Version 8.12 Rolled Out
The latest version of JD Edwards EnterpriseOne, 8.12, has been released, according to Oracle. The release offers new modules and enhanced features to address the needs of a broad base of customers as well as functionality specifically targeted for the food and beverage market. JD Edwards EnterpriseOne, 8.12 is also certified on Oracle Fusion middleware.
A new module, JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Operational Sourcing, helps automate the process of obtaining and awarding bids after a request for proposal or request for information is issued. Fully integrated with all the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Supply Management solutions, the addition of operational sourcing functionality means companies can efficiently manage all phases of the supplier lifecycle, from critical sourcing decisions to supplier payments, Oracle says.
JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Human Capital Management now includes employee scheduling, enhanced time and labor and self-service capabilities. Further, customer relationship management applications delivered in the previous release of EnterpriseOne have been enhanced to drive greater visibility into customer service operations.
JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Supply Chain Management adds transportation shipment sequencing, which enables OEM suppliers to deliver to manufacturing production lines in the exact sequence in which the parts are required. In addition, the Fixed Asset Management module has been enhanced to facilitate today's complex accounting and regulatory requirements.
www.oracle.com
Quintiq Upgrades Functionality of Its APS Solution
Quintiq has released Version 4.0 of its advanced planning and scheduling software designed to make the planning process more transparent and information available faster. Users of version 4.0 will experience considerable time savings and will be able to react more quickly to the needs and challenges in planning, the developer says.
“The software distinguishes itself through its adaptability and flexibility as all variables that play a role in the planning process can be taken into consideration,” says Victor Allis, Quintiq CEO. “In our continuing search for a quicker and simplified implementation and management process of our planning application, this comprehensive upgrade has led to a significant improvement for our customers and partners. The combination of more functionality and improved configurability results in added value. Especially, the new scenario capabilities offer customers detailed insight into the consequences of various planning decisions.”
Version 4.0 enables users to safely and conveniently explore the consequences of various planning decisions through what-if scenarios.
www.quintiq.com
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