Duct tape producer implements Optiant, INSIGHT suites for supply chain design to support company's growth
Boston — October 30, 2003 — Henkel Consumer Adhesives has signed up to use optimization and analytical solutions from Optiant and INSIGHT as the company seeks to design improved supply chains that will support its rapid growth.
Henkel Consumer Adhesives is a subsidiary of Henkel Group, the 127-year-old consumer and industrial goods manufacturer, based in Dusseldorf, Germany. Its consumer adhesives group, known for its Duck brand duct tape, produces hundreds of consumer products at more than 80 sites worldwide.
Several years of impressive sales, along with a combination of new products, acquisitions and market expansion are creating new opportunities for Henkel to treat its supply chain as a strategic weapon.
The North American division, which manages an extremely complex product line, will use a combined solution, comprised of Optiant's PowerChain Suite and INSIGHT SAILS 21, to build flexibility and efficiency into the heart of its supply chain.
Henkel is seeking to harness the optimization and analytical capabilities of the PowerChain suite and SAILS to quickly determine a supply chain strategy that consistently pinpoints new efficiencies, opportunities for cost-savings and improved customer service. The combined solution is intended to handle Henkel's two largest concerns: successful product line, network and supply base rationalization during mergers and acquisitions; and precise service level optimization as the retail industry consolidates.
Henkel will increase production managers' visibility across the global supply chain by rigorously analyzing key business information, including lead time, service-level requirements and inventory-holding costs, and linking this critical data to hard-dollar costs. As a result, the division expects to explore new "what-if" scenarios that could impact core business goals and reduce the time-to-decision from weeks to hours, or even minutes. The goal: superior responsiveness and adaptability, and ultimately competitive advantage.
"A winning supply chain strategy will improve our ability to hit a constantly moving target," said Brian Bastock, vice president for strategic sourcing at Henkel Consumer Adhesives. "The partnership with Optiant and INSIGHT delivers the intelligence we need to make unbiased supply chain decisions that overcome market uncertainties and capitalize on our growth potential."
"Henkel Consumer Adhesives faces the challenges unique to the most successful manufacturers: rapid growth, expanding product lines and limitless opportunity — along with the challenges of successfully managing global supply networks," said Jim Lawton, vice president of Optiant. "By bringing strategic supply chain design into the center of its operation, Henkel, INSIGHT and Optiant will uncover new opportunities that drive even more growth."
