Viasystems Driving Response Management across Global Operations and Supply Chain

Deploying Kinaxis solution to increase customer service while decreasing excess and obsolete inventory levels and freeing up cash

Deploying Kinaxis solution to increase customer service while decreasing excess and obsolete inventory levels and freeing up cash

Ottawa, ON — May 19, 2006 — Hi-tech manufacturer Viasystems Group has deployed a supply chain solution from Kinaxis as part of a drive to decrease excess and obsolete inventory and free up cash by becoming more responsive to changes and events in its global operations and supply chain.

St. Louis-based Viasystems Group is a worldwide provider of printed circuit board (PCB) and electro-mechanical manufacturing and assembly solutions, primarily for the automotive, telecommunications, computer and data, industrial, instrumentation and consumer industries.

As a global PCB and EMS provider, Viasystems must balance flexibility to meet changing customer requirements within very short lead-times with cost management to ensure profitable operations. Viasystems needed a tool to assist in supply chain management and responsiveness to their customers constantly changing needs.

In addition, excess and obsolete (E&O) inventory is always a potential problem. Kinaxis said that RapidResponse not only identifies what is on hand, but also what is on order so E&O can be dealt with before it even arrives. At the sites where RapidResponse has been deployed, E&O has been reduced significantly, according to Kinaxis.

"Inventory is a key risk for any EMS provider given the volatile nature of the industry", said Dan Smith, materials manager at Viasystems. "RapidResponse helps us take a more proactive approach to managing our operations, enabling us to reduce inventory risk while at the same time increasing our agility to meet changing customer demands."

Viasystems currently is using RapidResponse at its plants in Mexico and China, with plans to add additional sites on a global basis.

Kinaxis said that RapidResponse delivers technology that enables manufacturers to anticipate potential problems, review multiple action alternatives and align operations to rapidly and effectively respond to changes in their supply and demand chains.

"The market today requires EMS providers to be highly responsive while being ever more flexible in meeting customer requirements", noted Randy Littleson, vice president of marketing at Kinaxis.


Additional Articles of Interest

— What are the skill sets that will catapult your supply management group to its peak performance? For a guide to help unlock their potential, read "Building a Better Supply Chain Professional" in the April/May 2006 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.

— What do CEOs want from their supply chains, and is Supply Chain delivering? Read more in "The Supply Chain Disconnect," the Executive Memo column in the April/May 2006 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.


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