Product category:
Supply chain planning and execution software
News Release from: i2 Technologies | Subject: Supply chain software
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 14 March 2005
Supply chain software improves metals'
production
Supply chain software has empowered metals companies to achieve a better synchronization of the value chain through a whole range of production management improvements.
i2 Technologies (OTC: ITWH), a leading provider of demand-driven supply chain solutions designed to enable business agility, today announced that leading metals companies around the world are successfully leveraging the company's solutions i2 solutions have empowered metals companies to deploy collaboration, forecasting, supply chain planning, profit optimization, detailed planning, inventory allocation, mill scheduling, and transportation management systems, enabling a better synchronization of the value chain
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 17 May 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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"i2's long history in the Metals Industry began with our very first customer - Timken Steel.
For the past 17 years, i2 has provided its metals customers with the industry-specific solutions they need to improve operational efficiency, enabling them to improve their competitiveness on a global scale,'' said Michael Hilbrich, metals solution executive, i2.
* Edelstahl Witten-Krefeld - Edelstahl Witten-Krefeld in Germany, fully owned by Thyssen Krupp Steel, specializes in roller-mill and forged flat and long products in engineering, stainless, tool and high speed steel.
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The company produces approximately 430,000 tons of steel for the automotive, chemical and machine tooling industries.
EWK has implemented a comprehensive set of i2 metals solutions, including i2 Demand Planner, Supply Chain Planner, Demand Fulfillment, Factory Planner, Caster Scheduler and Mill Scheduler.
"We have been working with i2 since 1999, when we first started our SCM project and implemented i2 FP.
Since then, we have been expanding i2 solutions to address the different challenges of EWK's complex supply chain.
More recently we went live with a Vendor Managed Inventory solution.
The VMI workflows allow EWK to manage and replenish inventories for our customers, thus providing a differentiated service," said Mr Hans Dieter Nase, CIO and SCM Director, EWK.
"As a result of using i2 solutions, we were able to reduce the order quoting time from 5 days to less then 1 day (on-line quoting) and reduce WIP and finished goods inventories by more than 25%, while improving delivery performance to more than 80%, reducing lead-times from 5 to 4 weeks, and performing just-in-time shipments for defined product segments", said Dr Joachim Heidrich, Leader Capacity Planning/Material Allocation, EWK.
* ThyssenKrupp Mexinox - ThyssenKrupp Mexinox, Mexico's only manufacturer of stainless steel cold rolled flat products is serving a large number of customers who demand high levels of service and quality.
In order to comply with such requirements, the company recently started using i2 Factory Planner to provide detailed production requirements between the major production bottlenecks, to better synchronize material flow and to schedule production.
Additionally, the solution is designed to enable decision making support by providing insight into causes of late orders, analysis of shipping estimates and consideration of detailed scheduling constraints.
Mexinox also uses i2 Material Allocator to manage attribute based inventory assignments and re-organize inventory based on automated allocation through the different process steps.
Mexinox reports this solution has enabled the assignment of multiple orders to a single coil as well as an improvement in inventory utilization.
"Material Allocator has automated the allocation process.
The use of materials has been optimized and the human error has been eliminated in the highly complex task of allocating materials to customer orders," said Carlos Gallegos, scheduling and allocation supervisor, ThyssenKrupp Mexinox S.A.
de C.V.
"Factory Planner can allow visibility of several production scenarios with its 'what if' functionality, taking into account the dynamics of our processing restrictions, which is very important for the day to day decision making," said Francisco Molina, senior scheduler, ThyssenKrupp Mexinox S.A.
de C.V.
* Nippon Steel Corporation - Nippon Steel Corporation, Japan's top steel products manufacturer and a major supplier for Toyota Motor Corporation, leverages i2 Supplier Relationship Management (SRM).
The company uses the solution to increase its cost competitiveness by cutting delivery lead times when engaging in material-related transactions, allowing the Nippon Steel to optimize the supply of automotive coils.
Nippon Steel reports that i2 solutions have enabled value chain visibility and can exchange demand-supply information in real-time, whereas previously the company had to use phone, fax, or e-mail for correspondence.
* POSCO - POSCO is a leading steel producer in South Korea currently using more than 10 i2 solutions to run its business more efficiently.
POSCO has long led the Korean steel industry in the use of technology to reduce costs, enable better service and gain a competitive advantage in the worldwide market for steel production.
Leveraging i2 solutions, POSCO reports that it has been able to reduce planning lead time from 60 days to 15 days, reduce due date promise cycle from 10 days to 1 day and consolidate quality design functions to minimize product quality variance.
"It isn't enough to provide great customer service and to deliver your products on time.
In today's competitive global marketplace it is essential to use these types of tools to ensure you are running your business as efficiently as possible," said Dong-Kil Yeom, Team Leader, POSCO.
"Working with i2 we have been able to reduce our inventories, deliver enhanced customer service and reduce our overall supply chain costs." * About i2 - i2 is a leading provider of demand-driven supply chain solutions designed to enable business agility.
i2's flexible solutions can synchronize demand and supply across an ever-changing global supply network.
Nineteen of the AMR Research Top 25 Global Supply Chains belong to companies who are i2 customers.
Seven of the Fortune global top 10 are also customers of i2.
Founded in 1988 with a commitment to customer success and supply chain innovation, i2 has a history of delivering value by implementing solutions designed to provide a rapid return on investment.
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