supply chain executive briefs.

supply chain executive briefs

By Editorial Staff

A quick-read update on supply chain enablement projects and solutions for the busy executive

Order/Demand Management

Manufacturing

Motor supplier Poclain Hydraulics (www.poclain-hydraulics.com)

has deployed the Atlas Planning Suite Demand Management Engine from John Galt Solutions (www.johngalt.com) to implement collaborative sales and operations planning processes while reducing inventory costs. Poclain says it aims to achieve a faster, more streamlined process for collaborative sales and operations planning (S&OP) through the use of a statistical forecasting and analysis tool. The company's demand manager added that it has already seen improved forecasting accuracy and increased on-time delivery rates with the software.

Sourcing

Retail

Baby and children's apparel marketer Carter's Inc. (www.carters.com), which recently acquired the children's brand Oshkosh B'Gosh, is expanding its relationship with Jesta I.S. (www.jestais.com) by implementing Jesta's Vision Sourcing solution. Since the acquisition Carter's recognized both the need to integrate IT functions and to update its current systems, to ensure that it had a solid technology infrastructure in place to support its global sourcing and planning operations. The organization concluded that Jesta's Vision Sourcing application was the best choice to streamline this component of its IT and business operations to further improve and support an efficient and responsive supply chain.

Payment

Foodservice

Maines Paper and Food Service Inc. (www.maines.net), the nation's second largest independent foodservice distributor, has completed implementation of a back-office process optimization solution from ACOM Solutions Inc. (www.acom.com). Acquisition of the new solution was driven by requests for electronic payment from large vendors within the company's pool of suppliers. The company's ACOM back-office solution is comprised of the EZPayManager/400 payment management system with MICR laser checks and automated clearing house (ACH) electronic payments output, the EZeDocs/400 document output management system, and EZeMail/400, EZeFax/400 and EZPDF modules that serve both the payments and the document solutions.

SOLUTIONS UPDATES

Fulfillment/Logistics

Mobile technology field service company myServiceForce.com (http://myserviceforce.com) has launched an on-demand solution for small businesses, intended to provide on-the-road service teams real-time access to sales and customer information, helping to eliminate paper-based tracking. myServiceForce.com's real-time data synchronization integrates with the Windows Mobile 5.0 platform to link mobile systems to central applications, including QuickBooks accounting programs, scheduling software and inventory management. Initial devices supported include smart phones from Verizon, Cingular or Sprint; PDAs; and the ruggedized handheld Symbol MC70. The mobile devices work even when out of range of a wireless network and re-synchronize as soon as they're back in range. They can also print invoices upon service and linking with scheduling software to optimize routes.

Supply Chain Integration/ERP

Enterprise business solutions provider SYSPRO (www.syspro.com) has released SYSPRO 6.0., which includes a new adaptable user interface so the product can be tailored to suit the user's needs. In addition, the software debuts SYSPRO Reporting Services that incorporates an embedded version of Crystal Reports XI, and the new release also offers Electronic Signatures. The provider used customer feedback from it's offices worldwide when undertaking the latest changes to its software.

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