Web-based Supplier Collaboration Creates Value With VendorServer

(2006-01-12) Thomas Cutler

VendorServer Creates Value With Web-based Supplier Collaboration

An ETO (Engineer-to-Order) company manufactures highly engineered boilers and capital energy equipment used by utility companies. The firm faced key challenges including:

• Reduce cycle times for proposals and products

• Uncoordinated and lengthy purchasing process

• Improve collaboration between engineering, manufacturing and suppliers

• Lower cost of purchased goods

• Tighten integration with the enterprise application

The business process for collaborating internally and with suppliers prior to implementing VendorServer® needed improvement. A seamless process to work with engineering, buyers and suppliers to shrink the lengthy and cumbersome supply chain cycle was imperative. The need to communicate with design, engineering, sales and suppliers to quickly turn opportunities into proposals, and proposals into orders and executable plans, was critical. The opportunity for miscommunication throughout the entire supply chain was significant with countless departments and external suppliers involved in the process and extremely complex purchasing activities.

The lengthy and involved designing, buying and building process is further complicated by time based milestones and the proper timing of materials that can extend beyond a year. The previous business process had many manual and disconnected automated purchasing systems limiting the ability to effectively manage the supply chain process. There were no provisions for supplier interaction beyond telephone and fax methods.

Without adopting a more strategic approach, the client was faced with higher costs, less accuracy, long lead times, higher carrying costs and lower customer satisfaction. The client created a 360-degree view of requirements for taking its supply chain and supplier collaboration to a new level to enhance business operations in an area with substantial payback.

Visibility Corporation (www.visibility.com) is a leading developer and supplier of business software solutions designed for the unique needs of project-based, engineer-to-order and to-order manufacturers. Visibility's Enterprise Application solutions help midsize manufacturers of complex products operate their businesses effectively.

VISIBILITY.net is an integrated ERP solution and more. Offering unparalleled functionality and integrated workflow, this browser-based solution cost effectively delivers the power of .NET-based Web services for use with either a Microsoft SQL Server™ or Oracle® database. Conducting business any place, any time, any where is a reality, deployable with unprecedented flexibility.

Visibility
Jaclyn Aldrich
marketing@visibility.com
978-694-8000