Bombardier Transportation Improves Data Quality with POOL4TOOL

The purchasing department of the rail-equipment manufacturer benefits from the consolidated overview of data from all departments and multiple ERP systems

Bombardier Transportation
Bombadier 541c2a34617d5

Bangkok, Sept. 18, 2014 - Bombardier Transportation optimized its strategic supplier relationship management with the All-in-One Supplier Collaboration Platform provided by POOL4TOOL. The purchasing department of the rail-equipment manufacturer benefits from the consolidated overview of data from all departments and multiple ERP systems.

In today’s world, shorter development cycles, closer technology partnerships with suppliers, high supply chain quality requirements as well as ongoing monitoring of critical suppliers are all challenges faced in the transportation industry. Bombardier Transportation Thailand is no exception to this – coming to POOL4TOOL with multiple ERP systems and no way to unify the information coming from each individual system. In order to make the right decisions in purchasing, many data and ratios are used. “It is no simple task for us to use multiple ERP systems and we needed a All-in-One solution to link our ERP systems and bring data together. In the end we opted for POOL4TOOL to consolidate information and enable us full visibility on supplier performance modules in order to use this information as strategic tools to drive negotiations with suppliers,” remarks Phumintr Chongthurakit, Project Management Specialist - Procurement, Bombardier Transportation, Thailand.

Combined Analyses Presented on a Single Screen

The “All-in-One” platform provided by POOL4TOOL is specifically engineered to tackle the cumbersome problems associated with multiple ERP systems. POOL4TOOL Analytics – powered by QlikView – allows you to view your consolidated data from purchasing, logistics, development, and quality. Data from the POOL4TOOL interface and all ERP systems are seamlessly displayed together, ensuring transparency of new connections and relationships. This process enhances data analysis for companies such as Bombardier Transportation by streamlining all performance measures and other data through a single source, eliminating logistics errors and leaving employees with more time for other value-adding activities.

One goal of the purchasing specialist POOL4TOOL is always adapting its developments on customer needs. “Bombardier Transportation had over 60 plants using several ERP systems and all with different material number systems. We developed a ‘learning’ mapping mechanism that allowed us to map all spend data into one system which we then input it into our Spend Analysis,” explains Chandra Hie, Manager of POOL4TOOL Asia Pacific, Pte. Ltd. “The system is semi-automatic and first requires the user to manually assign material numbers of System A to the respective number of System B. It ‘learns’ all of the entered information and the more data are entered the more it works automatically. All non-assigned materials are clearly marked so that the user can look them up and map them as needed.”

Spend Management

Bombardier intricately uses POOL4TOOL to manage their spend. At their organization it is important for them to be able to see which parts they are buying, from what countries, from what suppliers, at what costs – all in a timely fashion. The spend management product provided by POOL4TOOL for Bombardier is based on a Drill-Down-Principle. This involves connecting invoice receipts with data from the ordering process, material- and supplier master data. These processes are all designed to heavily involve material numbers, which is extremely important to Bombardier as they have a strict policy for assigning material numbers to suppliers.

Remaining Flexible by Tracking Suppliers

Bombardier Transportation’s way of remaining flexible when managing suppliers is tracking their every move to the best of the manufacturer’s capabilities. This enables them to quickly make strategic decisions regarding suppliers in case of incidents such as a change in product requirements or slow delivery times. What the transportation giant is doing in particular with POOL4TOOL is using quality related information to better manage suppliers. The information can be used to track delivery and material lead-time, as well as the suppliers performance ratings. Case studies can also be made quickly and easily with the solution. “Although our requirements for POOL4TOOL are undeniably very complex, we believe the capabilities of the product are very promising,” notes Chongthurakit. Bombardier will continue to use products from POOL4TOOL in Thailand and continue to measure the benefits to decide on possible rollouts worldwide in the Americas, Europe as well as in the rest of Asia.

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