Moves to Logility version 6.5 to increase visibility with sister companies
Atlanta September 23, 2003 Electornics distributor Farnell InOne has upgraded its logistics management solution from Logility, going live in less than a month with a solution intended to help increase visibility between itself and its sister companies and to enable increased visibility throughout its supply chain.
Farnell InOne, based in Leeds, U.K., is an international marketer and distributor of electronic components, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and tailored services. The company has upgraded to Logility Voyager Solutions version 6.5.
The company's initial implementation of Logility solutions in 1999 enabled it to increase customer service levels without a corresponding rise in inventory levels, according to the solution provider.
Since that initial implementation, the company, along with sister companies BuckHickman InOne (in the U.K.) and Newark InOne (in the United States), have all been rebranded with the suffix 'InOne.' This common brand identity is intended to communicate the ability of the companies to work together to provide all their customers with the backup and support of a global organization.
The new upgrade to Logility's Voyager Demand Planning, Inventory Planning and Replenishment Planning solutions provides greater scalability to accommodate the growth in product availability and services as a result of developments represented by the rebranding. It also enables Farnell InOne to integrate its supply chain and logistics functions across several group companies and supports efforts to drive partnerships with key suppliers.
"The upgrade took less than one month and caused no disruption in our business processes," said Jon Bates, head of supply chain for Farnell InOne. "As a result of the upgrade, we now have the capacity to accommodate Farnell InOne product growth."
Logility said its Demand Planning solution reconciles demand history, orders, point-of-sale (POS) data and other information to produce overviews of demand by item, location, customer and/or group. Inventory Planning is designed to calculate the optimal balance between inventory quantities and desired levels of service based on industry best practices. Replenishment Planning determines the best balance between customer service levels and inventory requirements, factoring in current orders, commitments and desired inventory investment.
Bates said that Farnell InOne would be looking to add the BuckHickman InOne and other product sets into the Logility solution, which will enable it to extend the service and inventory benefits seen with Farnell InOne to its other companies. "Obviously, demand forecasts are critical to this process," Bates said, "and Logility enables us to generate more accurate forecasts and to share valuable global demand information with our key suppliers."
"Logility Voyager Solutions will enable Farnell InOne to gain visibility and bring together its subsidiary operations under a common supply chain management solution, and to facilitate the cross-selling of more than 400,000 products across Premier Farnell companies," said Jeff Sillett, Logility vice president of international operations.
