Denver January 8, 2002 Cosmetics giant Mary Kay is getting a supply chain makeover from J.D. Edwards & Co., the solution provider reported this week.
As part of a strategy to enhance supply chain operations companywide, Mary Kay will use J.D. Edwards' software to streamline purchasing, inventory, shop floor, manufacturing and accounts payable processes.
Mary Kay could also begin a pilot program, using J.D. Edwards Vendor Self Service, to better interact with its suppliers.
"Once Mary Kay integrates their supply chain systems with back office functions, they will be able to communicate with suppliers and distributors more quickly and cost effectively," explained Herbert Klein, consumer packaged goods industry manager for J.D. Edwards. "In today's volatile economy, it is imperative that manufacturers have full visibility of their orders and inventory."
J.D. Edwards said its software will provide Mary Kay with a systems foundation that will allow for business process improvements. With the software in place, Mary Kay will be able to improve its supply chain productivity by increasing visibility and streamlining such activities as "order-to-cash" and "procure-to-pay."
"We were looking for a fully integrated, Web-based business system that was easy to use, install and implement while still offering the full range of functionality we needed," said Ron Olson, director of product supply process for Mary Kay, in explaining the choice of J.D. Edwards. "We reviewed several competing software packages and determined that J.D. Edwards software will integrate best with our new advanced planning and warehousing systems at the lowest cost of ownership."
Mary Kay, headquartered in North Dallas, Texas, is in the process of migrating from its homegrown warehouse management system to a suite of extended supply chain execution solutions for its worldwide operations. Just last month Mary Kay announced that it will implement a supply chain execution system from Atlanta's Manhattan Associates to decrease the company's order cycle times and increase productivity through improved reporting.
The cosmetics company had 2000 wholesale sales of approximately $1.2 billion, which Mary Kay says equates to more than $2.5 billion in sales at the retail level.
