Palo Alto, CA December 12, 2002 Supply chain solution provider SeeCommerce this week rolled out industry-specific applications tailored to meet the demands of the automotive aftermarket parts industry and the electronic manufacturing services (EMS) industry.
SeeCommerce offered what it calls supply chain performance management (SCPM) applications, essentially supply chain visibility solutions that allow business managers and trading partners to monitor, manage and improve business performance across complex supply chains.
In the automotive sector, the provider suggested that aftermarket parts organizations frequently lack visibility into the performance of their suppliers and inventory at distribution centers, resulting in shortages and overages and the associated costs.
SeeCommerce said its two auto industry-tailored SCPM solutions Supplier Performance Management and Inventory Performance Management can help companies gain greater visibility into supply chain problems and therefore lower costs and improve customer service.
The offering will enable companies to address supplier and inventory performance issues through methodologies that deal with performance problems in four steps:
" Identify: The provider's SeeChain application notifies buyers with prioritized alerts when supplier performance drops below acceptable levels in such areas as quality or timeliness, giving companies the opportunity to address the problem before it can affect the bottom line.
" Understand: The solution then evaluates the reasons for problem and enables collaboration with original and alternative suppliers, allowing companies to see the implications changes have on the rest of the supply chain.
" Act: SeeChain enables companies to create responses to the performance problems such as expedited shipments from supplier, cross-consumption from other locations or alternate supplier selection allowing them to make the most efficient improvements for their business.
" Validate: Finally, the solution allows companies to continuously improve by validating the results of their actions.
In the electronic manufacturing services (EMS) sector, SeeCommerce said its EMS package better enables companies to address problems such as shrinking margins, limited visibility into global inventory positions and increased inventory liability.
EMS companies face increasing pressure to lower the cost of procurement and increase their ability to respond to changes in demand, and they need to be able to rapidly identify and correct such supply chain problems as poor responsiveness, variable lead times, non-compliance with contract terms and low quality.
The EMS solution, also based on the Supplier Performance Management and Inventory Performance Management applications, provides functionality similar to that offered in the automotive aftermarket parts solution.
"In today's economic environment, OEMs rely on EMS providers to continually trim their costs; however, due to issues stemming from their rapid growth by acquisition, EMS companies do not have the control they need over their supply chains," said Jason Amaral, director of product marketing for SeeCommerce. Implementing the provider's solutions could help manufacturers identify and eliminate the inefficiencies in their operations, Amaral added.
