Epicor iScala Supply Chain Management: Higher profit through process optimisation

The Epicor iScala Supply Chain Management solution is an efficient way of achieving higher profit levels for any organisation involved in production and distribution, from small single local warehouse environment through to complex, multiple warehouse enterprises operating on a made-to-order (MTO) basis.

Whatever the environment, the one thing these organisations have in common is the need to work with supply chain partners. Epicor supply chain tools integrate with the material management, warehouse management and manufacturing modules of this collaborative ERP suite to allow each component of the business to interoperate more efficiently.

This closer co-operation in turn results in better relationships with suppliers, reduced transaction costs and increased levels of customer satisfaction.

Comments Tiaan Grobbelaar, General Manager of Epicor Scala Africa: "It is by driving these three main improvements that the business is able to realise substantial increases to their profit margins. By making the processes involved in fulfilling a sales order more efficient and visible to the enterprise as a whole, the organisation is able to identify and eliminate process inefficiencies and become leaner and more agile to customer requirements, reducing operational costs and increasing satisfaction levels."

This solution enables higher levels of internal efficiency through advanced features such as detailed lead-time management. Users are able to define each underlying activity which make up processes to build up an accurate view of just how each of these activities combine to create overall lead times. Simply by knowing that suppliers take longer to deliver certain goods and that not all deliveries are fulfilled in the same time frame, the organisation is better able to manage delivery expectations and ensure a higher percentage of customer deliveries are made on schedule.

To ensure customers remain satisfied, it is important for sales staff to only make delivery promises which can be kept. The available to promise (ATP) inventory feature allows sales representatives to do just that by automatically calculating stock levels at the proposed delivery time based on real information from supporting iScala modules. The sales team can immediately see if the proposed delivery date can be met, or propose an alternative if the required stock is not going to be available. Should an unexpected problem occur, like a supplier unable to meet its delivery dates, the system will flag sales orders which will be affected for the attention of sales staff so that the customer can be contacted immediately or an alternative supplier can be found.

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For internally-manufactured items, a graphical ATP capacity planning tool is also built in to the solution. Sales staff in an MTO environment are given the ability to reserve production capacity while finalising a sales order so that the customer can be assured of on-time completion and delivery. Work orders can be manually assigned to work centres or moved from one work centre to another with full visibility of previously allocated work orders so that production is kept strictly on schedule for delivery to the customer.

Comments Grobbelaar: "The primary purpose of any supply chain is to satisfy customer needs while generating profits for itself. Supply chain activities begin with a customer order and end with the fulfilment of that order to the complete satisfaction of the customer. Through the features built into the iScala SCM solution, orders can be satisfied on time, every time, and the graphical representation of the processes involved ensures sales staff can be kept up to date with what is happening at the warehouse or manufacturing plant in near real-time and even make on-the-fly routing adjustments if required."

The system also allows the organisation to effectively take advantage of drop shipments where possible, that is orders which are delivered directly to the customer by the supplier. This fulfilment model allows the organisation to turn a profit even on traditionally slow-moving items by saving on storage and shipping costs, releasing operating capital which might otherwise be tied up in stock for more profitable operations.

"These operational improvements together build an organisation which is lean and very efficient, enjoying the benefits of higher customer satisfaction while eliminating unnecessary costs which will reflect on the bottom line driving up profits," ends Grobbelaar.

For more information, contact info@scala.co.za.