The implementation of stage one was based on the results of an analysis of supplier-related
processes and the successful development of a process and functional concept for the supplier
portal for CLAAS prepared in advance of the implementation. The implementation included
installation and configuration of hardware and software, development and implementation
of defined functionalities, and deployment and testing of the application.
The processes for order, delivery, proposal, and invoice have been implemented based on
the standard described from the VDA (German Association of the Automotive Industry)
The EPS system represents one of the purest forms of Web-EDI e-business models for B2B.
There is no EDI server needed. The data interchange between the Web-EDI-server and the
SAP-Systems are transferred via a WebSphere connector using XML (Steinert, 2002). IBM
Global Services consultants state that a return on investment for a Web-EDI project using
EPS can be achieved in approximately two years on average.
The goal of the project was the successful implementation of the supplier portal for
e-procurement and supplier collaboration for CLAAS, a leading manufacturer of
agricultural engines in Germany with customers around the world. This supplier
portal supports sourcing and procurement processes of the company by providing
a web-based interface to suppliers and enabling efficient data interchange over
the Internet. The implementation approach divided the implementation of the
system into three stages with each stage containing a subset of functionalities
of the total planned scope of the project.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Standards.and.Architectures
munication
standards to be used. With the increasing use of EDI, however, this procedure
has proven to be too difficult to practice. The Web-EDI standards are mainly driven by
different organizations that have relationships with different industries. For example, in
Europe the VDA standard of the German Association of the Automotive Industry is one of
the commonly accepted descriptions of Web-EDI and is based on the well-known EDIFACT
standards. Some Web-EDI software products based on these standards are implemented
several hundred times in Europe
Newer trends and solutions in Web-EDI (IBM, 2003b) ignore the need for EDI and the
EDIFACT standard and provide direct ways to connect the ERP-system of an enterprise
with a web-EDI portal using a Web-EDI server ().
The trend is that an explicit EDI server with translation to the intermediate format of EDIFACT
or ODETTE is considered unnecessary for small- and intermediate-size organizations since
an XML-interface performs the same service. illustrates an example describing
this model (EDI Comp., 2003b).
standards to be used. With the increasing use of EDI, however, this procedure
has proven to be too difficult to practice. The Web-EDI standards are mainly driven by
different organizations that have relationships with different industries. For example, in
Europe the VDA standard of the German Association of the Automotive Industry is one of
the commonly accepted descriptions of Web-EDI and is based on the well-known EDIFACT
standards. Some Web-EDI software products based on these standards are implemented
several hundred times in Europe
Newer trends and solutions in Web-EDI (IBM, 2003b) ignore the need for EDI and the
EDIFACT standard and provide direct ways to connect the ERP-system of an enterprise
with a web-EDI portal using a Web-EDI server ().
The trend is that an explicit EDI server with translation to the intermediate format of EDIFACT
or ODETTE is considered unnecessary for small- and intermediate-size organizations since
an XML-interface performs the same service. illustrates an example describing
this model (EDI Comp., 2003b).
Web-EDI
Web-EDI uses technologies and standards such as HTML, Java, CGI, or ASP for electronic
data interchange over the Internet (Thomas, 1999). The supplier of a Web-EDI system provides
its business partners with a Web site on which they can electronically transact business by
means of a conventional web browser that communicates with a Web-EDI server. The target
user group for Web-EDI is small and middle-sized business partners who cannot afford their
own traditional EDI system due to initial cost and/or ongoing maintenance costs.
Web-EDI systems are transaction-oriented; that is, the processes on the Web-EDI server
are steered by business transactions like orders or accounting. The user must complete the
authentication and authorization process on the website in order to mail an order or retrieve
and print an order. If the user has filled out the corresponding HTML form completely, he
can send the data back to the Web-EDI server. The transmission of data by the Web-EDI
server is carried to the in-house system of the supplier automatically. The integration of the
data into the supplier�s system can be carried out by direct correspondence with its import
interfaces or its EDI converter.
If a supplier already has a traditional EDI system in use, conventional EDI methods are
preferred in order to avoid the additional efforts resulting from conversion into Web-EDI
formats. These in-house systems can normally be used with different EDI partners due to
the ability of the most EDI products to route information. The Web-EDI server is simply
a new data source for the converter. After the data arrives at the converter, the handling of
orders is the same as conventional EDI orders, and the translation process is completely
transparent to the end user.
data interchange over the Internet (Thomas, 1999). The supplier of a Web-EDI system provides
its business partners with a Web site on which they can electronically transact business by
means of a conventional web browser that communicates with a Web-EDI server. The target
user group for Web-EDI is small and middle-sized business partners who cannot afford their
own traditional EDI system due to initial cost and/or ongoing maintenance costs.
Web-EDI systems are transaction-oriented; that is, the processes on the Web-EDI server
are steered by business transactions like orders or accounting. The user must complete the
authentication and authorization process on the website in order to mail an order or retrieve
and print an order. If the user has filled out the corresponding HTML form completely, he
can send the data back to the Web-EDI server. The transmission of data by the Web-EDI
server is carried to the in-house system of the supplier automatically. The integration of the
data into the supplier�s system can be carried out by direct correspondence with its import
interfaces or its EDI converter.
If a supplier already has a traditional EDI system in use, conventional EDI methods are
preferred in order to avoid the additional efforts resulting from conversion into Web-EDI
formats. These in-house systems can normally be used with different EDI partners due to
the ability of the most EDI products to route information. The Web-EDI server is simply
a new data source for the converter. After the data arrives at the converter, the handling of
orders is the same as conventional EDI orders, and the translation process is completely
transparent to the end user.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
YANTRA STUDY POINTS TO THE POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS:
We now return to the Yantra/CellStar case study presented earlier, to emphasize
how these firms found real improvement through advanced supply chain management
network-type efforts. One of the most important factors in the effort
to improve the delivery system for the intended wireless customers was the
ability to handle reverse logistics. CellStar had determined that this factor was
the Achilles� heel in the wireless industry. Traditional reverse solutions, for
example, could not address the need to:
Maximize value of the returned handsets
Track handsets across the enterprise, including the repair process
Evaluate individual handset attributes (software, warranty, etc.)
Reconcile issues with multiple vendors and distributors
Manage multiple repair vendors
Assess product disposition at the unit level
Before developing its Omnigistics solution with Yantra, CellStar had little
chance of providing answers to these problems. Its returns management system
had no process-wide status. Reporting lacked a common format and was not
capable of handling details at a unit level. There was no ability to track unit
status (disposition decisions were made at the pallet level) and no mechanism
to track or manage warranty claims. In short, it was operating with a slow,
costly, and inflexible return-handling system.
With the help of its business ally, CellStar introduced Omnigistics and
brought a new and better dimension to reverse logistics services. In addition to
the software development cost, a multimillion-dollar investment was made in
business process reengineering the existing processes. With the help of Yantra
as the provider of the new and complex supply chain management system and
CSC as the systems integrator, CellStar also established a 230,000-square-feet
dedicated facility with specially trained forward and reverse logistics teams.
This facility became a certified repair center, with a dedicated account management
team.
Facing the issue of reverse logistics, the team adopted level 5 principles and
developed a new strategy and solution based on:
Collaboration � To integrate the customer�s business system, key
business partners, and CellStar�s logistics operations in order to provide
help from a seamless entity
Visibility � To provide electronic access into the processing at both
the enterprise and unit level
Speed � To compress event cycles
The solution delivered a single, seamless management system that streamlined
operations across the end-to-end reverse logistics process. Now the reverse
management system was centralized and could process at the unit level. Reporting
was on demand at the enterprise and unit level. Inventory management
decreased the amount of nonearning assets and maximized the high turnover
stock, while reducing or eliminating the slowest moving items. Asset reclamation
options were included in that part of the system. Multiple repair centers
were linked so they could monitor status at the unit level. Finally, multiple
warranty programs were in place to manage and track claims.
To illustrate the advantages, a major national retailer became an early customer
of the enhanced system. This retailer�s handsets were returned at the store
level and replaced with new units from store inventory. The returned handsets
were sent to the retailer�s centralized return center and then to a carrier for
disposition. The issues were symptomatic of the industry at the time. The
process was marked by escalating costs and loss of profitability. The value of
the returned handsets to the carrier was not known, and returns were difficult
and costly to handle at the store level.
how these firms found real improvement through advanced supply chain management
network-type efforts. One of the most important factors in the effort
to improve the delivery system for the intended wireless customers was the
ability to handle reverse logistics. CellStar had determined that this factor was
the Achilles� heel in the wireless industry. Traditional reverse solutions, for
example, could not address the need to:
Maximize value of the returned handsets
Track handsets across the enterprise, including the repair process
Evaluate individual handset attributes (software, warranty, etc.)
Reconcile issues with multiple vendors and distributors
Manage multiple repair vendors
Assess product disposition at the unit level
Before developing its Omnigistics solution with Yantra, CellStar had little
chance of providing answers to these problems. Its returns management system
had no process-wide status. Reporting lacked a common format and was not
capable of handling details at a unit level. There was no ability to track unit
status (disposition decisions were made at the pallet level) and no mechanism
to track or manage warranty claims. In short, it was operating with a slow,
costly, and inflexible return-handling system.
With the help of its business ally, CellStar introduced Omnigistics and
brought a new and better dimension to reverse logistics services. In addition to
the software development cost, a multimillion-dollar investment was made in
business process reengineering the existing processes. With the help of Yantra
as the provider of the new and complex supply chain management system and
CSC as the systems integrator, CellStar also established a 230,000-square-feet
dedicated facility with specially trained forward and reverse logistics teams.
This facility became a certified repair center, with a dedicated account management
team.
Facing the issue of reverse logistics, the team adopted level 5 principles and
developed a new strategy and solution based on:
Collaboration � To integrate the customer�s business system, key
business partners, and CellStar�s logistics operations in order to provide
help from a seamless entity
Visibility � To provide electronic access into the processing at both
the enterprise and unit level
Speed � To compress event cycles
The solution delivered a single, seamless management system that streamlined
operations across the end-to-end reverse logistics process. Now the reverse
management system was centralized and could process at the unit level. Reporting
was on demand at the enterprise and unit level. Inventory management
decreased the amount of nonearning assets and maximized the high turnover
stock, while reducing or eliminating the slowest moving items. Asset reclamation
options were included in that part of the system. Multiple repair centers
were linked so they could monitor status at the unit level. Finally, multiple
warranty programs were in place to manage and track claims.
To illustrate the advantages, a major national retailer became an early customer
of the enhanced system. This retailer�s handsets were returned at the store
level and replaced with new units from store inventory. The returned handsets
were sent to the retailer�s centralized return center and then to a carrier for
disposition. The issues were symptomatic of the industry at the time. The
process was marked by escalating costs and loss of profitability. The value of
the returned handsets to the carrier was not known, and returns were difficult
and costly to handle at the store level.
IMPROVEMENT STARTS IN A COMPLICATED ENVIRONMENT
Any discussion on the possibilities of achieving total enterprise optimization
begins with an understanding of just how complex an extended enterprise supply
chain has become. While the original supply chain efforts were directed toward
achieving optimum operating conditions across a linear set of tightly linked,
internal process steps, from beginning raw materials to final delivery of products
and services,Any analysis that is limited to internal processing
is doomed to operate with suboptimized conditions. There are simply too many
players in a typical business network, most of which are global in extent. The
end-to-end processing that has come under scrutiny for improvement now includes
a multitude of business partners. Concurrently, the necessary flow of
information and knowledge within a business network has become as important
as the physical flow of goods and the transfer of money across what is clearly
an extended enterprise. Supply chain optimization now requires the collaboration
of a host of business partners working in concert for the same end results.
It becomes imperative in such an environment that the firm seeking optimized
conditions make a passage from an internal-only perspective, in terms
of generating process improvement, to one where willing and trusted business
allies are made a part of the process improvement effort, with the end result
focused on customer satisfaction. To accomplish this objective, the leading
firms are merging their advanced supply chain management concepts with their
customer relationship management efforts, yielding a framework and roadmap
for progressing through a series of levels until the highest possible return on
the effort, in terms of value for the customer and benefits for the providing firm
and its allies, is attained. Along the way, a concurrent effort must be made to
balance supply chain progress with the firm�s customer relationship management
capabilities and synchronize the results of the two efforts. In the next
chapter, we will delve into these necessities, as we explain how firms partnering
in level 5 can take advantage of their intelligence sharing and outdistance
competitors in the creation of new revenues.
begins with an understanding of just how complex an extended enterprise supply
chain has become. While the original supply chain efforts were directed toward
achieving optimum operating conditions across a linear set of tightly linked,
internal process steps, from beginning raw materials to final delivery of products
and services,Any analysis that is limited to internal processing
is doomed to operate with suboptimized conditions. There are simply too many
players in a typical business network, most of which are global in extent. The
end-to-end processing that has come under scrutiny for improvement now includes
a multitude of business partners. Concurrently, the necessary flow of
information and knowledge within a business network has become as important
as the physical flow of goods and the transfer of money across what is clearly
an extended enterprise. Supply chain optimization now requires the collaboration
of a host of business partners working in concert for the same end results.
It becomes imperative in such an environment that the firm seeking optimized
conditions make a passage from an internal-only perspective, in terms
of generating process improvement, to one where willing and trusted business
allies are made a part of the process improvement effort, with the end result
focused on customer satisfaction. To accomplish this objective, the leading
firms are merging their advanced supply chain management concepts with their
customer relationship management efforts, yielding a framework and roadmap
for progressing through a series of levels until the highest possible return on
the effort, in terms of value for the customer and benefits for the providing firm
and its allies, is attained. Along the way, a concurrent effort must be made to
balance supply chain progress with the firm�s customer relationship management
capabilities and synchronize the results of the two efforts. In the next
chapter, we will delve into these necessities, as we explain how firms partnering
in level 5 can take advantage of their intelligence sharing and outdistance
competitors in the creation of new revenues.
HIGHER GROUND CAN BE GAINED:
A recent survey by CSC, in conjunction with Supply Chain Management Review
magazine (Quinn, 2004), clearly documented that savings and improvements
are real for serious supply chain efforts, often reaching three to eight points of
new profits. This study, as well as ones conducted by AMR Research and other
major consultancies, also shows that the important savings (particularly those
related to revenue increase) are eluding most firms, which are still bogged down
in the early levels of the maturity and SCOR� models and not inclined to work
with external business partners.
We see an enormous possibility in such a context. The opportunity to use
supply chain as a driving force behind further performance enhancement, and
to move a firm into a position where the distinguishing feature is being solidly
linked in an intelligent value network, has become the means to reap the greatest
return from an end-to-end supply chain improvement effort. Internal obstacles
and cultural conflicts tend to be the greatest inhibitors to achieving such aposition,
the most important of which are good data management and overcoming
process difficulties.
Distancing an individual business from its competitors in areas of importance
in a market has long been the goal of most enterprises. The chance to
extend market leadership, however, and to gain a dominant position through the
application of collaboration and technology focused on customer satisfaction,
the key ingredients of the intelligent value network, is not so well known and
has never been greater � for those businesses willing to overcome normal
cultural barriers and the traditional unwillingness to work cooperatively with
external resources to cope with process problems.
This opportunity is achieved by linking together four topics of importance
to today�s businesses: supply chain management, customer relationship management,
technology application, and customer intelligence. The last topic is our
terminology for the acquisition, management, and integration of customer
knowledge in order to create a differentiating customer value proposition for
the whole extended enterprise. By looking holistically at these usually disparate
topics, companies can develop integrated strategies and solutions for delivering
products and services to key customers better than any competitors. When the
effort is extended through business process management techniques to include
willing and trusted business allies working across an extended enterprise for the
same purposes, the advantages are unmatched.
magazine (Quinn, 2004), clearly documented that savings and improvements
are real for serious supply chain efforts, often reaching three to eight points of
new profits. This study, as well as ones conducted by AMR Research and other
major consultancies, also shows that the important savings (particularly those
related to revenue increase) are eluding most firms, which are still bogged down
in the early levels of the maturity and SCOR� models and not inclined to work
with external business partners.
We see an enormous possibility in such a context. The opportunity to use
supply chain as a driving force behind further performance enhancement, and
to move a firm into a position where the distinguishing feature is being solidly
linked in an intelligent value network, has become the means to reap the greatest
return from an end-to-end supply chain improvement effort. Internal obstacles
and cultural conflicts tend to be the greatest inhibitors to achieving such aposition,
the most important of which are good data management and overcoming
process difficulties.
Distancing an individual business from its competitors in areas of importance
in a market has long been the goal of most enterprises. The chance to
extend market leadership, however, and to gain a dominant position through the
application of collaboration and technology focused on customer satisfaction,
the key ingredients of the intelligent value network, is not so well known and
has never been greater � for those businesses willing to overcome normal
cultural barriers and the traditional unwillingness to work cooperatively with
external resources to cope with process problems.
This opportunity is achieved by linking together four topics of importance
to today�s businesses: supply chain management, customer relationship management,
technology application, and customer intelligence. The last topic is our
terminology for the acquisition, management, and integration of customer
knowledge in order to create a differentiating customer value proposition for
the whole extended enterprise. By looking holistically at these usually disparate
topics, companies can develop integrated strategies and solutions for delivering
products and services to key customers better than any competitors. When the
effort is extended through business process management techniques to include
willing and trusted business allies working across an extended enterprise for the
same purposes, the advantages are unmatched.
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT: A CONTEMPORARY VIEW
There is a high degree of complexity associated
with these efforts and a naturally high cost of integration across an
organization and its end-to-end network. As a result, current views of the potential
values are tempered by a need to bring focus to immediate process improvement
and bottom line returns. Nevertheless, when executed as part of a deployment
of strategies, with enhanced processes and enabling technology applications that
are used to acquire, develop, and retain an organization�s best customers, CRM
becomes a powerful tool for increasing revenue and profit.
In essence, a contemporary CRM operating model will serve to improve the
characteristics and performance of a customer-intimate organization. The inherent
characteristics for customer-intimate organizations will include:
Creation of the best business solutions for the key customers
Introduction of customized products and services to meet these customers�
unique needs
Presentation of a unique range of superior services, so customers can
get the most value from the products delivered
Establishment of the most flexible and responsive system of supply and
delivery possible with current technology
The operating model benchmarks will include:
Management systems geared toward creating superior results for carefully
selected strategic customers
A culture that embraces specific rather than general customer solutions
and thrives on deep and lasting relationships
Deep customer knowledge and breakthrough insights about the customer�s
underlying processes
Decision making delegated to employees close to the customer (Treacy
and Wiersema, 1995)
Reaching these conditions requires a lot of concerted effort and nurturing
a cultural imperative that is often hard for firms accustomed to working within
an internal-only focus. CRM has its roots in the idea that as a firm�s supply
chain moves toward maturity, it becomes more effective at both internal and
external processing; that is, it improves its ability to process within its four
walls, and then extends its learning, with the help of useful business allies, to
constructing a network of delivery that has superior features from the viewpoint
of the most important customers and consumers. Such an accomplishment meansWithin
the intelligent value chain, business allies are working together from
a right-to-left perspective. They begin with what it takes to have a competitively
advantaged value network in the eyes of the most important end customers or
consumers, and then they work backwards toward what the upstream side of
the value chain should be doing across the enterprise processes to achieve the
desired superior conditions. Together, the linked parties are working to find the
best solutions and practices for all of the key process steps. Beginning with
improved forecasting and moving through the necessary linked processes, the
network partners apply their best resources to find greater results with product
development and introduction, the ultimate distribution efficiency, the best
methods for product replenishment, jointly developed marketing strategies, and
the best possible order fulfillment system. Along the way, they work
collaboratively to find the best enterprise processes and become extremely
effective at any point of handoff between supply chain constituents. In short,
they are working in concert to develop business in a manner that greatly satisfies
the key customers and enhances profitability for all of the contributing allies.
Two requirements must be met as this intelligent value chain is constructed
and nurtured. First, each participant or major constituent of what becomes the
network of delivery must have attained a high level of capability in the supply
chain maturity model (level 3 or beyond), an important element of which will
be the ability to use BPM and its enabling business language, BPML, to enter
and access parts of disparate databases so valuable knowledge can be extracted
without compromising the security of the various systems. Second, the enabling
technology applications must be selected collaboratively and be functioning
successfully across the end-to-end network processing. That means the collaborating
business allies are working in concert, with each making valuable contributions
toward finding the enhanced state in which ASCM and CRM converge
to create the desired differentiation in the eyes of the most coveted
customers. They are doing this with the help of enabling BPM technology and
superior systems across the end-to-end processing linking them into an intelligent
value network.
with these efforts and a naturally high cost of integration across an
organization and its end-to-end network. As a result, current views of the potential
values are tempered by a need to bring focus to immediate process improvement
and bottom line returns. Nevertheless, when executed as part of a deployment
of strategies, with enhanced processes and enabling technology applications that
are used to acquire, develop, and retain an organization�s best customers, CRM
becomes a powerful tool for increasing revenue and profit.
In essence, a contemporary CRM operating model will serve to improve the
characteristics and performance of a customer-intimate organization. The inherent
characteristics for customer-intimate organizations will include:
Creation of the best business solutions for the key customers
Introduction of customized products and services to meet these customers�
unique needs
Presentation of a unique range of superior services, so customers can
get the most value from the products delivered
Establishment of the most flexible and responsive system of supply and
delivery possible with current technology
The operating model benchmarks will include:
Management systems geared toward creating superior results for carefully
selected strategic customers
A culture that embraces specific rather than general customer solutions
and thrives on deep and lasting relationships
Deep customer knowledge and breakthrough insights about the customer�s
underlying processes
Decision making delegated to employees close to the customer (Treacy
and Wiersema, 1995)
Reaching these conditions requires a lot of concerted effort and nurturing
a cultural imperative that is often hard for firms accustomed to working within
an internal-only focus. CRM has its roots in the idea that as a firm�s supply
chain moves toward maturity, it becomes more effective at both internal and
external processing; that is, it improves its ability to process within its four
walls, and then extends its learning, with the help of useful business allies, to
constructing a network of delivery that has superior features from the viewpoint
of the most important customers and consumers. Such an accomplishment meansWithin
the intelligent value chain, business allies are working together from
a right-to-left perspective. They begin with what it takes to have a competitively
advantaged value network in the eyes of the most important end customers or
consumers, and then they work backwards toward what the upstream side of
the value chain should be doing across the enterprise processes to achieve the
desired superior conditions. Together, the linked parties are working to find the
best solutions and practices for all of the key process steps. Beginning with
improved forecasting and moving through the necessary linked processes, the
network partners apply their best resources to find greater results with product
development and introduction, the ultimate distribution efficiency, the best
methods for product replenishment, jointly developed marketing strategies, and
the best possible order fulfillment system. Along the way, they work
collaboratively to find the best enterprise processes and become extremely
effective at any point of handoff between supply chain constituents. In short,
they are working in concert to develop business in a manner that greatly satisfies
the key customers and enhances profitability for all of the contributing allies.
Two requirements must be met as this intelligent value chain is constructed
and nurtured. First, each participant or major constituent of what becomes the
network of delivery must have attained a high level of capability in the supply
chain maturity model (level 3 or beyond), an important element of which will
be the ability to use BPM and its enabling business language, BPML, to enter
and access parts of disparate databases so valuable knowledge can be extracted
without compromising the security of the various systems. Second, the enabling
technology applications must be selected collaboratively and be functioning
successfully across the end-to-end network processing. That means the collaborating
business allies are working in concert, with each making valuable contributions
toward finding the enhanced state in which ASCM and CRM converge
to create the desired differentiation in the eyes of the most coveted
customers. They are doing this with the help of enabling BPM technology and
superior systems across the end-to-end processing linking them into an intelligent
value network.
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