Industry Showcase: Supply Chain automation and collaboration with LANSA
Supply chain effectiveness has become a major point of competitive differentiation, as customers are quick to shift their purchases to those companies that can deliver reliably. In addition, supply chain efficiency is also crucial in managing costs and improving margins.
Supply Chain Management (SCM) aims to make the supply chain more efficient by synchronizing the efforts of all parties involved in meeting a customer's needs, from suppliers and manufacturers to wholesalers, distributors and retailers. In the past, supply chains relied heavily on people and paper-based procedures, which limited the speed of delivery and often resulted in inaccuracies and miscommunication between stakeholders. Over the last two decades the supply chain has re-engineered itself and IT has been instrumental in this transformation.
The pursuit of supply chain efficiency is forcing companies to stretch their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and IT infrastructure to accommodate tasks that were not important, or not even a consideration, when their ERP solution was originally implemented.
Some companies are embarking on massive ERP migrations, as they feel their existing 'legacy' ERP system cannot handle the job. Other companies are choosing to extend and modernize their existing ERP system to meet today's SCM needs, especially in the areas of collaboration, just-in-time processes, and federal/industry compliance.
This article showcases some of the companies that use LANSA to make their supply chain more efficient, either by using LANSA's toolset for extending their existing solutions, or by implementing a LANSA-based custom or packaged solution.
- Sourcing and Making
- Communicating Item Specs
- Selling the Goods
- Goods Delivery
- Warranties and Returns
- Conclusion
Sourcing and Making
The entire supply process starts with manufacturers working with their suppliers to deliver the goods and services needed to create their product. This includes processes for managing inventory, receiving and verifying shipments, authorizing supplier payments and more.
LANSA built supplier portals and ERP systems include:
Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., USA's Consumer Products plant in Lincoln, Nebraska (Kawasaki), operates on a 'just-in-time' basis to eliminate expensive warehousing and over-ordering of parts. In order to work closely with its suppliers, Kawasaki developed an online supplier portal using LANSA's WAM technology in combination with LANSA's prebuilt Web components.
Kawasaki uses LANSA ERP Framework as its ERP system. The Material Requirement Planning module of this ERP system recognizes demand and creates purchase orders which are automatically published in Kawasaki's supplier portal. Suppliers can indicate which orders will be shipped, specify the number of items per box, assign box-ids and create box labels. Suppliers also use the portal to generate invoices on Kawasaki's own system, allowing for a quick payment cycle.
Behind the scenes the portal generates EDI transactions, which then follow the same path as EDI files transmitted directly by suppliers. Read the Kawasaki Motors Case Study
High Liner Foods Inc. is one of North America's largest processors of frozen seafood and pastas. From its headquarters in Canada, High Liner markets its products under the High Liner, Fisher Boy and Gina Italian Village brands. High Liner used LANSA to build a custom portal for its suppliers, buyers and planners. High Liner implemented its portal as an extension to JD Edwards One World.
Forecasted raw material demand information, from JD Edwards' manufacturing planning system, is published to High Liner's authorized suppliers over the Web. Suppliers respond and High Liner accepts their orders. Suppliers then use the Web site to 'build' a shipping container, with exact specifications of what is in each container and where. Orders are then automatically created and processed in the JD Edwards system.
The solution allows all stakeholders inside and outside the organization to track orders, shipments and delivery dates in real-time, from anywhere in the world. Read the High Liner Foods Case Study
Everlight Chemical Industrial Corporation, headquartered in Taiwan, is one of the world's major manufacturers of dyestuffs, UV stabilizers, electronic chemicals and imaging products.
Everlight uses LANSA-based Web procurement and sales management systems developed by Innatech, LANSA's business partner in Taiwan. Suppliers can access the procurement system to view Everlight's material requirements and respond with quotations. Customers can access Everlight's sales system to place and trace their orders. Both the procurement and sales solution integrate with Everlight's in-house developed RPG-based core ERP system.
Communicating Item Specs
It is crucial in any supply chain that suppliers and retailers communicate efficiently about product specifications. This is accomplished through the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) – a worldwide initiative intended to resolve product data inaccuracies among trading partners.
LANSA Data Sync Direct (DSD) is a scalable GDSN solution implemented across many industries. LANSA DSD includes Product Information Management (PIM) capabilities allowing companies to capitalize on multiple sources of item information.
Pernod Ricard USA is the premium spirits and wine supplier in the USA and the largest subsidiary of the France-based Pernod Ricard SA, a top player in the global spirits and wine industry. Pernod Ricard USA is using LANSA DSD to synchronize supply chain information with its customers via the 1SYNC data pool.
At Pernod, the DSD solution integrates with a data warehouse system and JD Edwards Enterprise One, both UNIX- and Oracle-based. Pernod's DSD solution itself is implemented on a Windows server with SQL Server database.
Read the Pernod Ricard Case Study
The Hillman Group, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, keeps over 21,000 retailers across the Americas stocked with an assortment of over 55,000 small hardware items.
Hillman installed a customized version of LANSA DSD and made that its main Product Information Management system. Instead of LANSA DSD being fed by Hillman's three ERP systems, the DSD system was customized to become Hillman's main repository of item information – including images and packaging levels – to feed a bespoke RPG system, JD Edwards World and a Linux/Oracle based JD Edwards Enterprise One system, as well as the product catalog and GDSN.
Read the Hillman Group Case Study
In addition to implementations at hundreds of end user companies, LANSA has business partner relationships for its Data Sync Direct product with Oracle for its Oracle Product Hub solution and with Lawson Software for its Lawson S3 Supply Chain Management Healthcare solution.
Selling the Goods
The efficiency of sales and customer order procedures impacts the supply chain, especially when just-in-time methods are followed. Back in 1997, LANSA was one of the first software vendors to help its customers streamline sales and order procedures through the implementation of eCommerce Web sites, that integrate in real-time with the core ERP system. Today there is a huge number of organizations who deploy LANSA-based B2B and B2C Web sites, often in combination with a LANSA-based EDI solution.
National Envelope Corporation, based in Frisco, Texas, operates facilities across the USA and produces more than 180 million envelopes per day. National Envelope uses LANSA Commerce Edition, a component based B2C and B2B eCommerce framework, to give customers access to its JD Edwards ERP system. In addition to placing orders, customers can view shipments, inventory, invoices and other critical information. The solution emails order confirmations and shipment notifications to customers.
LANSA Commerce Edition was very appealing to National Envelope as it came with the source code. The company didn't want to build an eCommerce site from scratch, or be dependent on a vendor for maintenance tasks. National Envelope also uses LANSA to provide internal users with a unified view of enterprise data across JD Edwards, Baan and home grown ERP systems. Read the National Envelope Case Study
Carole Fabrics, Inc., a Hunter Douglas company located in Augusta, Georgia in the USA, manufactures custom draperies and other quality home decorations.
Carole Fabrics uses LANSA Commerce Edition to provide its business customers with online order entry and inquiry, including a Web-based Configurator for custom orders. Previously, over 40 percent of Carole's custom orders could not be completed without calling the customer. Now the smart question-answer script helps Carole to get all orders right the first time. The Web solution integrates with Carole's MAPICS system. Read the Carole Fabrics Case Study
Goods Delivery
This is the part of SCM that is usually referred to as logistics, where companies co-ordinate the receipt of orders from customers and get the goods delivered.
Wells and Young's Brewing Company is the UK's largest privately owned brewery and a leader in cask beer and premium lager. Wells and Young's outsources its total distribution, meaning all order information from pubs, wholesalers and retail chains needs to be fed to its distribution partner.
For this Wells and Young's uses LANSA Composer's AS2 solution. Composer's mapping facility and EDI mapping examples allowed Wells and Young's to deliver an EDI solution in less than 12 weeks, without the help of an EDI specialist. The solution takes raw data as extracted out of Wells and Young's System21 ERP and creates standard TRADACOMS EDI transactions and transmits those using AS2.
Wells and Young's save significantly in transmission costs by sending orders directly to its distribution partner without having to use a VAN message broker service. From an IT point of view the company now has total visibility of its EDI transmissions.
Read the Wells and Young's Case Study
Port Logistics Group (PLG) is the USA's leading provider of gateway logistics services. PLG's just-in-time retail store replenishment division is using a LANSA-based solution for its warehouse management system. The company's Web and AS2 communication with customers is also largely based on LANSA technology.
Exchanging information electronically has cut costs for PLG and its customers. It has also improved accuracy and taken hours from order fulfillment procedures. Read the Port Logistics Case Study
ITWAL Limited, based in Ontario, is Canada's national network of independent distributors, offering a wide assortment of grocery and foodservice products, and operating 149 warehouses across Canada.
Through ITWAL's LANSA-developed Custom Ordering Network (ICON) suppliers publish their product and pricing information, which distributors can place orders against. ITWAL then consolidates the members' individual orders and either fills the orders from its warehouse, or places an order with the respective supplier.
Because of ICON's tight integration with ITWAL's custom ERP system, the entire ordering process is transparent for the distributors. ITWAL's suppliers benefit as well, because they have improved visibility within the supply chain, all the way down to the details of the individual orders for their goods as placed by ITWAL's members. Read the ITWAL Case Study
Warranties and Returns
Supply chain planners need to create a responsive and flexible network for receiving defective and excess products back from their customers and to support dealers and customers with warranties, repairs and maintenance services.
Honda Australia MPE is part of the global Honda company, the world's largest engine manufacturer. Honda Australia MPE distributes motorcycles, marine power equipment and personal watercraft through over 1,000 dealers. Honda's dealers use a LANSA-based Web solution for warranty claims, sales registration and cash back management.
When dealers enter sales registrations, they include the unique Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). LANSA Integrator then creates a PDF confirmation with sales and warranty details, which the dealer can print and give to the customer.
In the case of an equipment problem, the dealer searches online to determine whether or not a product is still under warranty, and enters claim details for approval by Honda. Read the Honda Australia Case Study
E.P. Barrus Ltd recognizes it is essential in any supply chain of machinery and equipment to give dealers easy access to spare parts. Barrus, based in the UK, designs and manufactures engines and distributes a diverse range of products including MTD lawn and garden machinery, moto-roma scooters, Mercury, Mariner and Yanmar marine and industrial engines.
Barrus extended its System21 ERP with a LANSA-based Web solution that allows dealers to order parts, check stock availability and track order status. A special feature of the site is that it allows dealers to search for parts without having to know the part number. Barrus does this by using LANSA Web services to link to Epitomy's Web site (a specialist in exploded diagrams). Dealers can dissect the diagram of an engine till they arrive at the part they need. The graphic search is a handy feature, as Barrus offers over 400,000 spare parts on their site. Read the E.P. Barrus Case Study
Conclusion
LANSA provides practical tools and solutions that allow our customers to achieve supply chain efficiency, either by extending their existing ERP solution with additional functionality, secure Web access, AS2/EDI transacting and Web services, or by replacing aging ERP modules with more flexible ERP framework solutions that can be adapted to the customer's business processes.
For more information on SCM solutions see: www.lansa.com/partners/solutions/industry.htm#distribution and for more SCM case studies see: www.lansa.com/casestudies/industry.htm#distribution