Tier-one automotive industry supplier to use inventory management app to gain visibility up and down supply chain
San Mateo, CA — May 20, 2005 — Air International (US) Inc. has signed an agreement to use i-Supply, the Collaborative Inventory Management application within TradeBeam's integrated global trade management (GTM) platform.
The application is expected to provide the tier-one automotive supplier with supply chain visibility from customer requirements all the way to component supplier inventory levels.
Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Mich., Air International specializes in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), and provides engineering and manufacturing services to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in North America.
"We operate on 'just-in-time' and often 'in sequence' delivery timelines, and any potential impact on supply deadlines must be minimized," said Jeremy Tom, Corporate Quality manager of Air International. "Effective communication up and down our supply chain is critical. TradeBeam has proven to us that they can not only meet the messaging requirements for this initiative, but also provide visibility throughout our supply chain, regardless of our suppliers' systems and capabilities. They also have demonstrated that the solution can be implemented in a very short amount of time."
The implementation, which is due to begin this month, will integrate the Collaborative Inventory Management application with all of Air International's manufacturing provider and direct-ship supplier systems so that the company receives advanced shipping notification when materials are sent to the OEM customer.
TradeBeam also will provide Air International with visibility into its partners' finished goods inventory levels and customer forecast information. The supply chain visibility initiative will be extended ultimately to include component inventory and supplier forecast information from the company's manufacturing providers and direct ship suppliers as well.
Through the improved supplier collaboration system, Air International said it should be able to realize reductions in inventory levels, premium freight and other supply chain costs.
Also, by helping to ensure that OEM delivery deadlines are met, Air International expects the TradeBeam application to play an important role in maintaining high customer satisfaction levels.
