Profiles in Supply Chain Enablement: The chemical giant deploys a centralized, Web-based transportation and logistics management system
Company: DuPont (Wilmington, DE)
Company Size: Large
Company Sector: Process Manufacturing
Area(s) of Enablement: Fulfillment/Logistics, Supply Chain Integration & Infrastructure
Enabler: Oracle Transportation Management (formerly G-Log)
Case Study: When you're an industry giant operating across the globe, transportation costs can escalate into the hundreds of millions of dollars annually. With business units in 70 countries, chemical giant DuPont makes more than 1 million complex, multimode, multi-leg shipments per year — spending $1.5 billion on logistics in the process.
Historically, DuPont's business units had relied on several disparate, mainframe-based systems for transportation and logistics support. With transportation costs rising and the legacy systems becoming increasingly expensive to maintain, DuPont decided in May 2000 to create a centralized logistics system that would provide better control and visibility for DuPont, its supply chain partners, and its customers.
To meet these challenges, DuPont selected the Global Command and Control Center (GC3) software from Oracle Transportation Management (formerly G-Log) as the foundation for a centralized, Web-based transportation and logistics management system called TransOval. By adopting the GC3 technology, DuPont was able to retire all its mainframe legacy transportation and logistics applications and in the process, reduce associated IT maintenance expenses and total cost of ownership.
With GC3, DuPont benefits from a Web-based technology that is less expensive to manage, operate and maintain. When fully implemented, logistics information will be accessible on a global basis (in multiple languages), through an Internet browser, to those granted access, including customers and suppliers. The GC3-powered TransOval system gives every DuPont business unit increased flexibility and better access to global logistics data — enabling business collaboration among all internal and external DuPont users — while reducing information technology costs.
The GC3 software provides end-to-end visibility information that is frequently updated and can be specifically tailored to the decision-making requirements of every collaborative partner on the TransOval network. In addition to enjoying detailed, real-time visibility data, every DuPont business unit benefits from the G-Log system's ability to proactively react to unexpected supply chain events — such as shipment delays or short-shipped quantities — and to manage by exception, ultimately ensuring that every shipment is delivered in an optimal manner.
The GC3 software can synchronize transportation activity across DuPont's entire supply chain network, enabling better inventory management and increased throughput for the company as well as its customers and suppliers.
"We're working on a global scale and DuPont's goal of streamlining its supply chain operations is no mean feat," said Mark Smith, global logistics technology manager at DuPont. "There needs to be a lot of communication, visibility and an ability to anticipate potential delays, and GC3 has delivered on all counts. We strive to maintain our industry leadership and it's through the support of our network of technology partners that we remain the innovative, forward-thinking company that we've always been recognized as."
Through a phased implementation process, DuPont went live with the TransOval system in North America in September 2002 and is currently implementing TransOval in Europe, Asia and South America. DuPont brought marine exports from the U.S. market under GC3 control in June 2004 and is adding more ocean, air and rail carriers to improve its management of intermodal freight.
Currently, there are more than 750 users defined on the system and it houses some 18.8 million rates. When fully implemented, GC3 will hold hundreds of millions of freight rates that DuPont has agreed upon with its various logistics service providers.
For more stories of successful supply chain implementations, read the "2005 Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100" article in the June/July 2005 issue of the magazine. Also watch the Today's Headlines section of SDCExec.com every Tuesday and Thursday for more in depth best practices drawn from this year's Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100.
Company: DuPont (Wilmington, DE)
Company Size: Large
Company Sector: Process Manufacturing
Area(s) of Enablement: Fulfillment/Logistics, Supply Chain Integration & Infrastructure
Enabler: Oracle Transportation Management (formerly G-Log)
Case Study: When you're an industry giant operating across the globe, transportation costs can escalate into the hundreds of millions of dollars annually. With business units in 70 countries, chemical giant DuPont makes more than 1 million complex, multimode, multi-leg shipments per year — spending $1.5 billion on logistics in the process.Historically, DuPont's business units had relied on several disparate, mainframe-based systems for transportation and logistics support. With transportation costs rising and the legacy systems becoming increasingly expensive to maintain, DuPont decided in May 2000 to create a centralized logistics system that would provide better control and visibility for DuPont, its supply chain partners, and its customers.
To meet these challenges, DuPont selected the Global Command and Control Center (GC3) software from Oracle Transportation Management (formerly G-Log) as the foundation for a centralized, Web-based transportation and logistics management system called TransOval. By adopting the GC3 technology, DuPont was able to retire all its mainframe legacy transportation and logistics applications and in the process, reduce associated IT maintenance expenses and total cost of ownership.
With GC3, DuPont benefits from a Web-based technology that is less expensive to manage, operate and maintain. When fully implemented, logistics information will be accessible on a global basis (in multiple languages), through an Internet browser, to those granted access, including customers and suppliers. The GC3-powered TransOval system gives every DuPont business unit increased flexibility and better access to global logistics data — enabling business collaboration among all internal and external DuPont users — while reducing information technology costs.
The GC3 software provides end-to-end visibility information that is frequently updated and can be specifically tailored to the decision-making requirements of every collaborative partner on the TransOval network. In addition to enjoying detailed, real-time visibility data, every DuPont business unit benefits from the G-Log system's ability to proactively react to unexpected supply chain events — such as shipment delays or short-shipped quantities — and to manage by exception, ultimately ensuring that every shipment is delivered in an optimal manner.
The GC3 software can synchronize transportation activity across DuPont's entire supply chain network, enabling better inventory management and increased throughput for the company as well as its customers and suppliers.
"We're working on a global scale and DuPont's goal of streamlining its supply chain operations is no mean feat," said Mark Smith, global logistics technology manager at DuPont. "There needs to be a lot of communication, visibility and an ability to anticipate potential delays, and GC3 has delivered on all counts. We strive to maintain our industry leadership and it's through the support of our network of technology partners that we remain the innovative, forward-thinking company that we've always been recognized as."
Through a phased implementation process, DuPont went live with the TransOval system in North America in September 2002 and is currently implementing TransOval in Europe, Asia and South America. DuPont brought marine exports from the U.S. market under GC3 control in June 2004 and is adding more ocean, air and rail carriers to improve its management of intermodal freight.
Currently, there are more than 750 users defined on the system and it houses some 18.8 million rates. When fully implemented, GC3 will hold hundreds of millions of freight rates that DuPont has agreed upon with its various logistics service providers.
For more stories of successful supply chain implementations, read the "2005 Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100" article in the June/July 2005 issue of the magazine. Also watch the Today's Headlines section of SDCExec.com every Tuesday and Thursday for more in depth best practices drawn from this year's Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100.
