Intelligent Manufacturing € February € 1997 € Vol. 3 € No. 2

Snap-on Finds ERP Is a Handy Tool

Snap-on Inc. (Kenosha, Wis.), a manufacturer of hand and power tools, diagnostic equipment and tool storage units, is deploying an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to meet the requirements of multi-plant manufacturing operations and to generate higher levels of productivity. The company is implementing ERP applications software and tools across its operations in more than 20 North American locations in the first phase of its Renewal project, an enterprise-wide reengineering program focused on enhancing its customer service profile. Snap-on's customers include professional automotive technicians, shop owners and industrial tool users worldwide.

The Renewal project seeks to dramatically reduce Snap-On's customer order cycle times and improve the effectiveness of its marketing, credit operations and delivery service by leveraging new, open systems technologies. Snap-on is using Triton, an ERP solution from The Baan Co. (Menlo Park, Calif.; http://www.baan.com), to replace mainframe-based legacy applications in its planning, order processing, order fulfillment and channel management operations. This change will enable Snap-on to create a customer-driven, pull environment that supports the continuous flow of materials throughout the supply chain.

One key component of Snap-On's ERP system is its ability to provide integrated management of multi-site manufacturing operations. This capability will allow Snap-on to exchange data and centrally plan activities across multiple plant locations. It will also enable Snap-on to coordinate production activities and shipments to customers from multiple locations to fulfill individual orders, maximizing efficient use of its supply chain resources.

Tightly integrated with its manufacturing operations, Snap-on will also deploy distributed requirements planning (DRP) capabilities to manage the movement of materials among multiple inventory locations. This functionality will allow Snap-on to monitor inventory levels and requirements corporate-wide, and will facilitate replenishment and balancing at the distribution centers to ensure the proper level of service to their customers.

To support rapid system implementation across the enterprise, Snap-on is deploying Triton Target, Baan's implementation methodology to accelerate system installation and end-user training. Snap-on ultimately hopes to establish a enterprise-wide system that will support continuous improvement in every area of operation and maximize information technology (IT) investments.