Newton, MA June 25, 2001 NEC Computers has used systems integrator Canopy International to automate order fulfillment processes between the computer equipment and components supplier and Stratus Technologies, a manufacturer of highly reliable server technologies, according to an announcement today from Canopy.
Also today, Canopy announced an expanded set of service offerings that its says will enable manufacturers to optimize and automate trading partner relationships by helping the companies understand and improve their supply chain performance.
NEC Computers (NECC) manufactures and supplies Stratus with industry-standard, fault-tolerant servers. Stratus made its fault-tolerant technologies and intellectual property available to NECC for its own respective customer base. In support of their trading partner relationship, the companies have agreed to automate shared business processes.
Canopy was tapped to design, develop and implement automated processes between NECC and Stratus, which Canopy says will allow the trading partners to streamline order fulfillment, reduce procurement/part cycle time and reduce purchasing processing time.
Canopy's objective for the collaboration project was to design a solution that not only supports current business requirements for NECC and Stratus, but also provides the basis for enabling B2B collaboration with other NEC Computers trading partners.
"Canopy has enabled NECC to reduce operating expenses and to improve its ability to respond to Stratus' business needs," said Kozo Yoshimatsu, NEC Computers.
"Canopy was able to implement a solution that allows us to conduct business with our partners as seamlessly as we do within our own organization," said Gary Okimoto, vice president and chief information officer of Stratus Technologies.
"In the computer and electronic products industry, companies are focusing on their core competencies and increasing their reliance on trading partners to build products faster, lower costs, maximize return on equity and meet competitive market demands," said John Campbell, CEO for Canopy International. "The ability to automate business processes among trading partners is critical to creating the 'virtual enterprise' IT [information technology] infrastructure required to accomplish this."
NEC Computers is a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC Technologies.
Also Monday, five-year-old Canopy announced new services to help companies optimize their supply chains. Canopy said its new services are designed to guide clients from identifying business requirements to achieving measurable return on investments (ROI) on their supply chain investments.
Offered as discrete modules, the services introduced today include Direct Procurement in 90 Days, a business process integration service targeting purchase order processing, advance shipping notices, invoices and price lists. The "90 Days" refers to Canopy's goal to provide a measurable solution in a very short time frame for a rapid ROI.
Canopy also offers a services called Direct Procurement Roadmap and Workshop, intended to provide companies with an overview of supply chain collaboration challenges and benefits within their industry, and Direct Procurement Diagnostic and Prescription, a quick assessment of business processes to identify opportunities for improvement in the supply chain and where automating trading partner collaboration can provide revenue enhancements and cost reductions.
Canopy's Direct Procurement Implementation service involves the execution of selected initiatives and solutions to improve business processes as a way to realize quantitative benefits for the organization. The service includes final supplier evaluation and selection, project planning, prototyping, integration, testing, training and other related requirements.
