solutions overview

Rapid, Profitable Response to Change Drives Supply Chain Operations Performance Excellence

In today's customer-focused manufacturing environments, operations performance success is defined by how fast and how effectively companies can respond to volatile demand and changing supply chain conditions. Manufacturing is in the final throes of a massive shift from a production-centric to customer-centric business model. The world has transformed from minimal options and long production runs to a new world of strategic supply chains, global outsourcing, time-to-market, mass customization and delighting the customer.

Traditional demand planning and supply chain planning systems designed for cycles in weeks, months and quarters for use by a small number of highly skilled planners were not intended to empower people to deal with daily unexpected changes. Lacking multi-enterprise operational data, these systems do not offer the real-time collaborative environment needed for risk tradeoff and response. Analyst Sound Bite"Most organizations do not realize the complexities of getting the information that's required across the operations. It cannot just be managed in a spreadsheet and it can't just be managed in an ERP system. It requires an application that can actually help you manage your operational performance."
Mark Smith — Ventana Research ( video)

“Traditional planning cycles are obsolete. Internet connectivity and global markets have accelerated change so dramatically that businesses must revisit daily investments in product development, manufacturing capacity, and inventory. The 21st-century supply chain is no longer about matching supply with demand, but capability with opportunity.”

AMR Research, Supply Chain Saves the World, 2006.

Most manufacturers today tend to rely on an ad-hoc, labor-intensive "scramble mode"—a combination of people, paper and tools (dominated by spreadsheets) to accommodate supply chain volatility. Expensive "just in case" practices such as safety stock, expediting and capacity hedging are commonplace in many companies. This inefficient attempt at Response Management erodes margins and threatens customer loyalty. Clearly, manufacturers need a breakthrough in Response Management that can drive operations performance to new levels.

Response Management—A Breakthrough in Performance Management in Manufacturing

Kinaxis™ RapidResponse™ supersedes traditional demand planning and supply chain planning systems to deliver this breakthrough. As a Response Management solution for operations performance, RapidResponse empowers front-line supply chain staff to respond to real-world volatilities in demand, supply and product and achieve new levels of supply chain agility.

Unlike centralized planning processes, response processes are very distributed—calling on front-line decision makers throughout the supply chain to contribute to a rapid and accurate response. In the midst of constant change, "black box" optimization no longer works. Leveraging human capital and the unique business, customer and product insights they have is the key to risk tradeoff and response. Collaboration with colleagues and partners around the world leverages these collective insights to address problems. People need to be empowered with tools to simulate the possibilities and any impact their actions would have on business metrics.

What Response Management Can Do for You

RapidResponse delivers breakthroughs in operations performance across the supply chain. The results speak for themselves:

	Casio shortened lead times and optimized inventory management. Calculations that had previously taken 3 hours can now be completed in less than 50 seconds. Team members respond rapidly to changes in supply and demand, score various alternatives in seconds and benefit from comprehensive supply chain visibility provided by RapidResponse.
	Jabil Circuit gains competitive advantage. RapidResponse allows Jabil to model internal and external data with a high level of speed and granularity enabling them to make informed decisions in hours, not weeks.

“If you don't have RapidResponse, the only other solution for Response Management is a fully-functional crystal ball.”

Mike Peters, program manager, process development, Solectron (now Flextronics)

• Read the Kinaxis white paper: Response Management: Respond with Speed and Confidence to Deliver Superior Operations Performance
• View the webcast: Mastering Response Management—Today's Competitive Weapon
• Request more information