Industrial equipment manufacturer expects software to drive excellence in supply network performance
Boston — August 12, 2005 — Vermeer, an industrial and agricultural equipment manufacturer, said it has selected Open Ratings' SBManager to ensure that the suppliers it depends on to deliver quality products to construction, farming and utility operations around the world are stable and strong.
The 57-year-old company evaluated vendors and selected Open Ratings based on the solution provider's unique ability to deliver robust and relevant data on suppliers that Vermeer will use to establish a benchmark for evaluating performance improvement.
We've built our business on quality, reliability and service, and our supply base is critical to meeting that promise, said David Corbin, vice president of manufacturing at Vermeer Manufacturing Co., based in Pella, Iowa. With Open Ratings' SBManager, we gain both visibility and actionable insight into any potential issues well before there's a disruption.
Open Ratings said that SBManager offers Vermeer the ability to capture better returns on the investments in the supply network with knowledge about partners and predictive analysis of risk. Using machine-learning technology, its solution combines third-party data from financial, legal and government compliance organizations with a customer's own information on supplier quality and reliability to profile, monitor and alert managers of potential problems in the supply base. This combination means that customers know more about their partners, which can drive better terms, and in cases where the flow of materials or services are at risk, customers get an early indication that allows them to take necessary steps to mitigate the impact of an interruption.
There are thousands of data points that may or may not be important in making decisions about the supply network. Determining what's relevant in time to make a difference can offer advantage, said Jim Lawton, vice president of marketing for Open Ratings. We're looking forward to supporting Vermeer Manufacturing's initiative to turn information into a catalyst for supply chain excellence.
