Intelligent Manufacturing € August € 1996 € Vol. 2 € No. 8

Three Manufacturers Sign On with American Software

Three manufacturers have selected Supply Chain Planning software from American Software (Atlanta, Ga.). The software has three components: Demand Planning, Replenishment Planning and Manufacturing Planning.

Coca-Cola Co. (Atlanta, Ga.) has licensed the software to automate its forecasting capabilities in its non-carbonated division, best known for PowerAde, Fruitopia and other beverages. Supply Chain Planning is expected to manage supply chain activities that occur with products that have a short shelf life and localized promotional events. The software was put into production in less than four months.

The software is able to handle forecasting within a highly-seasonal environment characterized by multiple regional promotions. Additionally, the bulk of the products are sold through convenience stores and petroleum stations, which reduces the amount of point-of-sale and other sales data available for analysis.

Supply Chain Planning has the ability to produce forecasts at a very detailed level in the supply chain, which can be used to pinpoint quantities shipped to individual stores. Many companies using this capability have reported reduced stock-outs and less obsolete inventory.
The software can maintain virtual views of multiple stock-keeping units (SKUs) or customers, providing insights into individualized forecasts or aggregate those forecasts into enterprise-wide overviews. The most appropriate business model for achieving forecasts is automatically selected while overrides for promotions, supply constraints or other variables can be accommodated. Potential increases in item level forecasts up to 40% have been documented.

Fina Oil and Chemical (Dallas, Tex.) will use the software to improve its forecasting capabilities and decrease inventories. This past year, Fina saw 50% growth in one major business line and 40% in another. The old system of tracking orders, inventory management and production scheduling needed an upgrade. Also, Fina wanted an automated system that could fit in with its current move toward a client/server environment that includes Windows NT servers.

And Land O'Lakes (Arden Hills, Minn.), a branded butter supplier, will use American Software's Supply Chain Planning to help maximize profits and minimize stock-outs across its product line, the shelf life of which ranges from two months to nine months. The closer synchronization between production and the complex variables of consumer demand will enable Land O'Lakes to maintain the most appropriate levels of inventory, especially in its forward distribution centers.

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