Software provides alerts, analytics and advice to help companies manage unplanned supply chain events
Mountain View, CA — April 1, 2004 — Software company Timogen Systems this week introduced its new offering for the emerging market of automated decision management, rolling out a solution designed to help manufacturing companies identify and resolve supply chain problems across an extended-enterprise supply chain network.
Timogen said that its new Decision Manager (TDM) solution (previously called Timogen Adaptive Controller) was developed to resolve the challenges enterprises face as they struggle to meet both customer demand and maintain their own financial objectives.
TDM alerts users to "glitches" and unplanned events in the supply chain and then provides users with the analysis and advice to apply the appropriate resolution, the solution provider said. Decision Manager expands the alert-notification functionality previously available in Adaptive Controller with the addition of analytics, optimization-based advice and recommended actions, according to Timogen.
"The global nature of business and reliance on outsourcing manufacturing and distribution lessen companies' visibility and control over their cross-enterprise supply chains," said Rick Zipf, Timogen's CEO. "While a host of alert systems are available to help companies identify supply and demand glitches or fluctuations in their supply chain, these systems do not provide analytics and recommended solutions. Timogen's software provides the complete solution for identifying and understanding the impact of unplanned events in supply and demand and applying the appropriate actions to resolve the problem."
TDM incorporates online modeling tools to help ensure proposed solutions align with business goals, Timogen said. The modeling tools allow users to simulate a proposed change to see its effect over time before initiating the action. These modeling tools, along with TDM's other analytic capabilities, allow users to project and maintain the long-term health of the supply chain, the solution provider asserts.
In addition, Timogen said that TDM integrates business processes across systems and companies, complimenting enterprise resource planning (ERP) and legacy systems to bridge the gap between supply chain planning and execution solutions. Timogen users can establish "trigger points" along the supply chain, which are measured off of inventory-related data gathered by TDM. When an unplanned event occurs, an alert is posted and TDM provides information to help users determine if the situation is transitory or if action is required.
The solution provides both tactical decision support and operational decision support through an integrated product platform and packaged solutions.
TDM supports three Timogen software modules, including Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI), which connects the supply chains of the supplying organization and the buying organization; Supply Decision Management, which monitors inter-enterprise, inbound logistics processes for issues and variances, and then helps users resolve those issues, providing relevant analytics and optimized resolutions; and Demand Decision Management, which monitors outbound distribution and fulfillment processes for issues and variances and help users resolve them, providing relevant analytics and optimized resolutions.
