B2B parts inventory software upgraded

An upgrade of a B2B application to equip manufacturers and their suppliers with real-time visibility into parts inventory levels includes tracking stock levels at supplier and 3PL logistic warehouses.

Seeburger has announced an upgrade to the Seeburger Inventory Monitor, a B2B application designed to equip manufacturers and their suppliers with real-time visibility into parts inventory levels to enable demand-based replenishment.

Enhancements to the new version include tracking of stock levels at supplier and 3PL logistic warehouses, support for dynamic minimum/maximum levels, supplier scorecarding and optional integration with RFID middleware.

The Seeburger Inventory Monitor extends the automated trading partner communications capabilities of the Seeburger B2B Gateway or can be added to other B2B platforms to support demand planning.

It provides graphical, colour-coded monitoring of parts inventory and automatically triggers parts shipments based on user-defined minimum/maximum stock levels.

These and other features help ensure parts availability for automotive, appliance and other manufacturers with just-in-time production schedules, while also reducing inventory carrying costs by enabling flexible fulfilment based on actual usage patterns.

The new release of the Inventory Monitor, available this month, will add: * Monitoring of parts inventories at supplier and 3PL logistic warehouses, making it possible to track inventory at the supplier facilities, consignment inventory and stock in transit.

When coupled with the solution's earlier ability to monitor all aspects of buyer inventory, including stock needed for manufacturers' production plans, inspection stock and stock scheduled for shipment, this provides a complete picture of parts inventories throughout the supply chain.

* Dynamic min/max settings for stock levels, allowing the manufacturer to define a min/max range for each part in order to accommodate fluctuations in production volume.

The min/max levels will automatically change based on the production plan contained in the manufacturer's ERP system.

Users also have the option to specify fixed min/max stock levels for each part.

* Supplier scorecarding, enabling manufacturers to evaluate supplier compliance with service level agreements based on factors such as adherence to agreed-upon minimum stock levels.

* Optional integration with Seeburger RFID Workbench, a suite of RFID middleware solutions providing advanced data, tag, and hardware management capabilities for radio frequency identification deployments.

Seeburger's Inventory Monitor can utilise inventory data collected by RFID and maintained in RFID Workbench to maximise inventory accuracy.

"The new release of our Inventory Monitor strengthens the demand planning process and expands on our 20-year history of providing the most advanced supply chain optimisation solutions to the market," said Rakesh Harji, managing director of Seeburger UK.

"With this application, manufacturers can fine-tune parts delivery to meet their production needs without carrying excess stock, while suppliers can improve their ability to forecast and meet customers' inventory requirements." The Seeburger Inventory Monitor is the only tool of its kind to be deployed as a B2B/EDI component, making data available at the point of transaction with all the benefits of web-based services.

Based on its unique ability to support multiple buyers it can be used with electronic marketplaces.

An open web-based architecture eliminates the need to install client software and also permits integration with any ERP, forecasting or other back-end system.

The solution offers a variety of additional advantages when used as an add-on to the Seeburger B2B Gateway, the industry's most comprehensive and cost-effective EAI and B2B integration suite.

It seamlessly integrates with Seeburger transaction processes such as demand forecasts, purchase orders, advanced shipment notifications, shipment status and receipt confirmations, eliminating the time and expense of integrating disparate systems.

It also enables users to take advantage of Seeburger's support for all major global message formats, communication protocols and exclusive ability to automate communication with smaller trading partners that still do business on paper.

* About Seeburger - Seeburger is a leading provider of global business integration solutions designed to optimise transactions throughout the extended enterprise by automating trading relationships with all partners regardless of their size and technical resources.

Launched in 1986 to provide integration solutions to the automotive industry in Germany, the company is now ranked as a leader among the business-to-business gateway providers by top industry analysts, and serves over 6,500 customers in 35 countries across more than 15 industries through its flagship B2B Gateway and related products and services.

Seeburger was formed in Germany in 1986 and now has 16 offices based in Europe, Asia Pacific and North America.

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