Major memory manufacturer turns to Bristlecone for SAP implementation to improve collaboration with trading partners
San Jose, CA — September 30, 2005 — Electronics company SMART Modular Technologies has completed an SAP supply chain management implementation led by Bristlecone, a provider of global business process and technology consulting services, with the goal of improving communication and collaboration with its trading partners.
Headquartered in Freemont, Calif., SMART Modular Technologies manufactures computer memory modules, compact flash cards, voltage regulators, wireless communications devices and wireline communication subsystems.
"We were looking for a better and more efficient way to communicate and collaborate with our trading partners," said Jack Pacheco, vice president and chief financial officer at SMART Modular Technologies. "We felt that we could reduce inventory and increase sales."
SMART selected Bristlecone to help improve the company's supply chain planning collaboration environment and to implement an automated solution to address its partners' requirements faster. "Our decision to partner with Bristlecone was based on its past history and merits of working in the high tech industry," Pacheco said.
Bristlecone said that it had successfully implemented SAP's Advanced Planning and Optimization module (APO), Inventory Collaboration Hub (ICH) and Business Information Warehouse (BW) at SMART to improve the company's supply chain, which now includes online collaboration, execution and reporting. Bristlecone employed SAP's APO and ICH solutions, which were put into place at two of SMART's major facilities, as well as adopted by the company's most critical customers and suppliers.
With improved and integrated Web-based capabilities, SMART and its trading partners were given the ability to directly access demand and supply information, inbound and outbound forecasts, shortages, and change orders. Since the new supply chain has gone live, SMART has already begun seeing benefits in inventory reduction, forecast accuracy and inventory turns, according to Bristlecone. "We are pleased with the results to date and look forward to continuing our relationship with Bristlecone," Pacheco said.
"We leveraged our expertise and used this opportunity to support SMART with an innovative use of technology," said Padman Ramankutty, CEO and co-founder of Bristlecone. "Assisting in SMART's collaboration endeavors is only the beginning of our long-term relationship to design high-tech solutions and optimize the company's supply chains."
Additional Articles of Interest
— Increased opportunities for customer interaction create new operational challenges for Sales, Marketing and Service the Demand Chain. Organizations must look beyond technology to the true foundation of creating and managing demand. For more information, read the SCDExec.com exclusive "Trends in the Demand Chain."
— Eugene McCabe, architect of Sun Microsystems' Customer Fulfillment in Transit process, discusses the challenges and rewards of taking links out of the company's supply chain in "Anatomy of the 'Zero Touch' Supply Chain," in the August/September 2005 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
— Supply chain executives are discovering new ways to apply technology and innovative processes to the challenge of managing uncertainty. Read more in "Rethinking Risk," cover story in the August/September 2005 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
San Jose, CA — September 30, 2005 — Electronics company SMART Modular Technologies has completed an SAP supply chain management implementation led by Bristlecone, a provider of global business process and technology consulting services, with the goal of improving communication and collaboration with its trading partners.
Headquartered in Freemont, Calif., SMART Modular Technologies manufactures computer memory modules, compact flash cards, voltage regulators, wireless communications devices and wireline communication subsystems.
"We were looking for a better and more efficient way to communicate and collaborate with our trading partners," said Jack Pacheco, vice president and chief financial officer at SMART Modular Technologies. "We felt that we could reduce inventory and increase sales."
SMART selected Bristlecone to help improve the company's supply chain planning collaboration environment and to implement an automated solution to address its partners' requirements faster. "Our decision to partner with Bristlecone was based on its past history and merits of working in the high tech industry," Pacheco said.
Bristlecone said that it had successfully implemented SAP's Advanced Planning and Optimization module (APO), Inventory Collaboration Hub (ICH) and Business Information Warehouse (BW) at SMART to improve the company's supply chain, which now includes online collaboration, execution and reporting. Bristlecone employed SAP's APO and ICH solutions, which were put into place at two of SMART's major facilities, as well as adopted by the company's most critical customers and suppliers.
With improved and integrated Web-based capabilities, SMART and its trading partners were given the ability to directly access demand and supply information, inbound and outbound forecasts, shortages, and change orders. Since the new supply chain has gone live, SMART has already begun seeing benefits in inventory reduction, forecast accuracy and inventory turns, according to Bristlecone. "We are pleased with the results to date and look forward to continuing our relationship with Bristlecone," Pacheco said.
"We leveraged our expertise and used this opportunity to support SMART with an innovative use of technology," said Padman Ramankutty, CEO and co-founder of Bristlecone. "Assisting in SMART's collaboration endeavors is only the beginning of our long-term relationship to design high-tech solutions and optimize the company's supply chains."
Additional Articles of Interest
— Increased opportunities for customer interaction create new operational challenges for Sales, Marketing and Service the Demand Chain. Organizations must look beyond technology to the true foundation of creating and managing demand. For more information, read the SCDExec.com exclusive "Trends in the Demand Chain."
— Eugene McCabe, architect of Sun Microsystems' Customer Fulfillment in Transit process, discusses the challenges and rewards of taking links out of the company's supply chain in "Anatomy of the 'Zero Touch' Supply Chain," in the August/September 2005 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
— Supply chain executives are discovering new ways to apply technology and innovative processes to the challenge of managing uncertainty. Read more in "Rethinking Risk," cover story in the August/September 2005 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
- More articles about Bristlecone.
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