Manassas, VA — May 14, 2003 — Supply chain planning specialist INSIGHT has released the latest version of its strategic supply chain design software, adding new model validation, inventory analysis, cost data and other features.
INSIGHT said that the Model Validation Wizard in version 3.00 of its SAILS 21 solution would enable faster and easier optimization of large, global supply chains. "The Wizard elegantly guides users to valid data for modeling, checking the data, assigning a priority to each issue and then directing you to the source for speedy resolution," said Robert Belshaw, an INSIGHT vice president.
Jennifer Smith, INSIGHT's recent appointment as product manager for SAILS, highlighted the products new post-optimization inventory analysis capabilities, which can help calculate the best safety stock. "This is required after the optimized realignment of customers with [distribution centers (DCs)]," Smith said. "It enables firms to set new safety stock level at each realigned DC based upon the day-to-day variability of customer demand."
INSIGHT also included functionality from its Global Supply Chain Management (GSCM) software within SAILS, specifically the assignment of tax and duty levels by country or trade zone, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) or the European Community (EU), according to Jeffrey Karrenbauer, another INSIGHT vice-president.
In addition, Version 3 adds new cost data, entirely within SAILS, that enable optimum DC location out-of-the-box, without requiring the user to load data, according to the solution provider. This data represent the costs of locating in 120 different, common DC cities across the United States. A new analysis capability is bounding the model by maximum DC volume and throughput, with the model selecting the most restrictive boundary.
Finally, a new ability to inspect the landed cost for goods at any point in the supply chain, throughout each point in the model, is designed to give companies insight into logistics costs throughout the supply chain.
