Benchmark Electronics Deploys Software to Deliver Improved Customer Service

Electronics contract manufacturer to use solution from Kinaxis to respond faster to change

Electronics contract manufacturer to use solution from Kinaxis to respond faster to change

Ottawa, Canada — August 16, 2005 — Response management solutions provider Kinaxis Corp., formerly Webplan, has said that Benchmark Electronics Inc., a contract manufacturing provider, has deployed Kinaxis RapidResponse to respond faster to change and deliver improved customer service.

Benchmark Electronics is a $2 billion electronics manufacturer and services provider to original equipment manufacturers of computers and related products for business enterprises, medical devices, industrial control equipment, testing and instrumentation products, and telecommunications equipment. Benchmark said its mission is to maintain a global leadership position in the high technology electronics manufacturing services industry through customer satisfaction as measured by customers' expectations for world-class quality, flexible manufacturing, product delivery, leading-edge technology, financial strength and managerial integrity.

Given the volatile nature of the electronics marketplace and the level of flexibility Benchmark provides to its customers, Benchmark sought the ability to respond more rapidly to customer scheduling changes.

After conducting a search for a solution provider, Benchmark said it selected Kinaxis RapidResponse because it offers the "what-if" simulation, material constraint identification and ad-hoc reporting functionality needed to empower its staff to respond to changes at a lower cost and shorter deployment timeframe than alternatives.

"Our ability to respond to change and do so rapidly is critical to our continued success," said Gayla Delly, chief financial officer at Benchmark. "After a thorough review, we found RapidResponse was a key part of our IT solution set going forward that could empower our staff to continue to meet our goals and support Benchmark's continued market leadership."

RapidResponse enables Benchmark to anticipate potential problems, review multiple action alternatives and align operations to respond to changes at the point-of-action, Delly explained. The RapidResponse architecture connects to front- and back-end systems, supports a continuous flow of information across multiple sites, as well as optimizes the value of existing infrastructure.

The initial project called for a deployment of RapidResponse at two Benchmark manufacturing sites. Using the RapidResponse Deployment Services, the software was integrated with Benchmark's Baan enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and began delivering value within the quarter.

Based on these results, Benchmark said it is going to extend the deployment to all 16 of its global sites in an effort to reduce the response time to customer requested schedule changes by 50 percent or more; increase customer satisfaction scores; increase inventory turns, lower overall inventory levels and improve the management of excess and obsolete inventories; and avoid inventory liability through better management of excess and obsolete inventory and simulation of schedule changes before committing.

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