Supply chain pilot project using Microsoft Dynamics
Updated: February 20, 2007
KiMs A/S has a thriving business manufacturing and exporting snacks to grocery stores in Europe and bacon products to the United States. What's more, they own 51 percent of the snack market in Denmark. Business is great. So why did they get involved in an ambitious supply chain management pilot project with Microsoft Dynamics?
KiMs may have been market leaders, but that doesn't mean they didn't face the same challenges as their competitors. The mid-sized manufacturing company, which employs 270 people and ships about 100,000 pallets a year, was looking for greater visibility across its supply chain. KiMs believed that participating in the Microsoft Dynamics pilot program could result in more efficient operations, more intelligent decision-making, and better customer service.
An Innovative Solution Up and Running in Three Months
In the pilot project, KiMs has added four of the newest supply chain management products to their existing Microsoft Dynamics AX product. The project, which went live in December 2003, was conceptualized, developed, and deployed in three months.
All together, KiMs has gotten an innovative solution, one which Nigel Montgomery, European research director with AMR Research Inc. in London, has called a critical differentiator and significant step forward for mid-sized businesses (The AMR Research Alert, January 25, 2004).
Four New Ways to Gain a Competitive Advantage in Action
1. | More accurate forecasts.
Demand planning allows companies to use sales data to estimate future demand with a known degree of accuracy. At KiMs, all key account managers and brand managers use Microsoft Demand Planner to make strategic, tactical, and operational demand-related decisions collaboratively. This streamlines the workflow and improves the visibility and quality of forecast data, sales history, and campaign information. The company anticipates an improvement in forecast accuracy of about 3 percent to 4 percent. |
2. | Cost efficient document exchange.
In the past, KiMs used phone and fax to exchange sales and purchase orders with suppliers and customers. Now, they've automated the process using XML templates and a hosted subscription service, which are part of Microsoft Business Network. Employees can use the time saved for more strategic purposes. |
3. | Automatic response to critical situations.
Event management helps you respond to the unexpected. For example, KiMs uses it to have an SMS sent automatically to the relevant sales rep if a supplier of raw materials is unexpectedly late on a shipment. The sales rep can then inform the customer the order may be delayed. Independent software vendor Categoric currently offers event management tools for Microsoft Axapta, and Microsoft plans to build an event management solution that will also integrate to Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics GP later this fiscal year. |
4. | A new level of product visibility.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology can provide an unprecedented level of product visibility and process efficiency across the supply chain. Unlike with traditional bar code readers, products don't need to be scanned manually—all the relevant information is read from the items automatically. At present, KiMs uses RFID technology to track inventory from the manufacturing floor to the warehouse. This is the first pilot of its kind that uses RFID technology in a mid-sized company. |
For more information about Microsoft Demand Planner, explore the product information links below, or request contact from a Microsoft Dynamics representative.
Related Product Information
An Introduction to Radio Frequency Identification Technology
Press Release: Pilot Project Demonstrates Opportunities for Future Supply Chain Management Solutions
