Joint venture to focus on supply chain solutions for chemical and fuel industries
Chicago, IL — June 28, 2006 — Skychain, LLC, a joint venture between supply chain firm Air Products and wireless enterprise monitoring platform nPhase, has officially opened for business, with a focus on of supply chain management efficiency in chemicals, fuels and related industries.
Skychain said it plans to deliver solutions for automating the replenishment of chemical and fuel products for both large and small organizations. The solutions include technologies for wirelessly monitoring tank populations, forecasting demand patterns, and integrating into inventory management and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, ultimately enabling automated replenishment of supply.
Skychain is operating as a solutions provider, delivering business solutions tailored to client needs. Skychain solutions are globally amenable and support electronic communications over wired and wireless networks, enterprise software, IT infrastructure, IT services, field services, equipment and sensors.
Nominal paybacks on implementation are in the range of six to 24 months, with IRRs often exceeding 50 percent.
Our view at Skychain is that to affect measurable change in such established industries as chemicals and fuels, we need to demonstrate the real benefits of change and create the atmosphere for that move forward with innovative business models and ideas, said Patrick Kuchevar, vice president of Business Development at Skychain. At Skychain we are resourcing our business with both industry veterans of over 30 years and people from outside the industry with backgrounds in wireless enterprise monitoring, IT services and telecommunications. We believe this rich mixture of backgrounds and expertise is another important distinction of how Skychain is unique and will affect meaningful change in the industry.
Buddy Eleazer, business manager of M2M (machine-to-machine) Solutions at Air Products, added that the leadership of Skychain understands that the chemical and fuel industries will face increasingly significant and complicated challenges over the next decade. Increased competition, a strengthening of buyer power, more complex supply chains, continued rises in raw material and distribution expenses, and new levels of security and safety, all point to the need for innovations that carve out profit opportunities in the supply chain. Skychain will be focused on delivering needed technology and business leadership to help convert these challenges into business opportunities and competitive advantages for its customers, he said.
