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Technology Evaluation

 

Our unique agnostic approach to software platforms gives us valuable unbiased insight when evaluating competing solutions to solve business challenges.  Our consultants have either implemented, worked with, or evaluated almost all of the major supply chain software vendor solutions on the market today.  If we haven't worked with it directly, we have know the key questions to ask.  Want to protect yourself from the landmines behind the shiny demos?  Leverage our experience to get the solution you need, below budget.  Selected representative engagements:

 

 

Global Petrochemical Client:

Our global petrochemical client requested our assistance during their technology evaluation/procurement phase of an enterprise-wide advanced planning software selection project. Specific characteristics of their supply chain--commodity products/tight margins, high fixed costs, significant production wheel variable costs, and logistical constraints.  Commodity driven customer ordering patterns exceeded the capability of their supply chain to respond effectively.

 

What we did:

  • Led the client team through a structured, global requirements gathering and definition process.

  • Developed the financial value proposition and economic justification model based on specific supply chain performance metric target improvements.

  • Developed a formal request for proposal (RFP), and participated in the proposal evaluation process. 

  • Provided implementation recommendations, requirements gap assessment. and high level implementation workplan based on the RFP options.

 

Client benefits realized:

  • Projection of best practice process/software architecture to their future state requirements.

  • Clear visibility of the gaps between leading package software packages and the client requirements.

  • Specific go-forward options with implementation timelines, costs, and value propositions based on the latest market intelligence. 

 

 

National Beverage Bottler/Distributor:

A large domestic beverage bottler engaged us to help with a supply chain software RFP development and vendor evaluation.  The scope of the project consisted of demand forecasting, production scheduling, inventory management, and distribution planning functionality.  Our client's supply chain attributes--intensely seasonal demand, high volume automated lines with significant changeover costs, near just-in-time inventory with shelf life sensitive products.  Highly variable distribution demand orders created significant in season risks to inventory balance across a multi-plant production schedule.

 

What we did:

  • Assisted client in defining their requirements through day-in-the-life scenarios for key planner roles.

  • Assisted in the development of the formal enterprise software RFP package.

  • Participated in the evaluation and gap assessment of the vendor responses and provided overall best fit/value prop evaluation recommendations.

 

Client benefits realized:

  • Clear, objective third party evaluation of competing software proposals along technical, functional, and business value dimensions.

  • Exposure of subtle, but fundamental differences in the internal integration architecture within each vendors footprint and the associated business impact.

  • Specific go-forward recommendations with cost/benefit analyses against client requirements.

 

 

International Food Products Manufacturer:

Our dairy products client launched a project to replace local plant scheduling spreadsheets with best-of-breed detailed scheduling application for each of their 10 domestic manufacturing plants.  Key requirements included: ability to generate a forward 4-6 week resource feasible schedule on demand, interfaced to the manufacturing execution system and the cross-plant master production scheduling system.  Key challenges included: many shared mix resources, flavor wheel production techniques, run-time based cleanout requirements, and highmix to line resource optionality.

 

What we did:

  • Conducted a market software survey to pre-qualify vendors to ensure that each had a high probability of success in meeting the critical business requirements.

  • Developed the RFP package that included all requirements as well as a typical scheduling example case with data to be solved during the demo.

  • Managed the RFP response process.  

 

Client benefits realized:

  • Minimum number of RFP responses to review, each with a high degree of conformance to the business and technical requirements

  • A "standard" demo script based on the client's own data to better enable direct comparision of vendor differences and compress the selection process. 

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