Johannesburg, 15 Mar 2002
Leading analyst recognises Baan and Komatsu e-procurement project in Direct Procurement category
Leading marketing analysis and positioning services company, Aberdeen Group, Inc., has selected Baan's e-B2B project at Komatsu Mining Systems Inc., one of the world's leading developers of mining equipment, as a winner in its 'Best Practices in e-Procurement' report. Baan is the global provider of B2B collaborative commerce solutions and a unit of the Production Management division of Invensys plc, and this recognition follows Komatsu's successful implementation of Baan's Internet-enabled iBaan B2B Server solution to support collaborative commerce with over 200 existing Komatsu suppliers. Baan and Komatsu have been recognised in the Direct Procurement category of the Aberdeen report that defines best practices in e-procurement applications for emulation by global solution providers, consultants, and enterprises.
Komatsu Mining Systems and its e-Procurement solution vendor, Baan, were one of 18 winners recognised by Aberdeen for successful deployment of Internet-based procurement (e-procurement) and supply chain technologies. Komatsu Mining has upgraded its existing iBaan enterprise system with the iBaan B2B Server solution to synchronise and accelerate its purchase order business process across the entire extended supply chain. This has provided Komatsu Mining with the functionality to enable migration to dynamic planning and collaboration with suppliers, and increase the velocity of information across the organisation; putting it in a position to reduce inventory and procurement costs.
Using iBaan B2B Server, Komatsu Mining can now communicate planned, outstanding and open purchase orders to its suppliers over the Internet, enabling it to update
information on estimated deliveries and availability, raising information visibility and speeding cycle times. The company uses the iBaan B2B Server platform to create a supplier portal which has resulted in greater information visibility, dramatic reductions in time such as for changing plans and forecasts, and an increase in process efficiencies for all supply chain participants. For example, using self-service tools provided by Komatsu in the portal, suppliers can notify the company of planned shipments, and can also print shipping documents and labels to Komatsu's exacting specifications; this enables them to give error-free shipment information to Komatsu, increasing the accuracy of open requirements calculations and reducing receiving errors.
Tim Minahan, Vice President of Aberdeen's Supply Chain Research practice commented: "At a time when cost control is vital to survival, forward-thinking organisations such as Komatsu are viewing e-procurement as a key strategy for controlling costs and maintaining profitability."
Henk de Ruiter, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Alliances for Baan added: "This recognition confirms Baan's position as an innovator in the provision of critical e-business solutions for manufacturers looking to build 'agile' operations. While we are delighted to receive this award from Aberdeen, we also enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that our iBaan solutions have helped Komatsu successfully meet the challenges of today's networked economy."
Kenneth Ryburn, Director IT Development & MIS at Komatsu said: "As we looked at moving to a B2B solution, we set goals to shorten lead times, collaborate with our suppliers, integrate with our Baan enterprise system, and automate the PO creation. We wanted more than just sending POs through the Internet - we wanted a win/win solution. Baan's B2B server met this need as the backbone for our Portal, which allowed us to re-engineer our business process on the Baan enterprise side."
For its findings, Aberdeen interviewed more than 50 enterprises that had implemented Internet-based procurement automation technologies this year. The information showed that enterprises adopting e-procurement solutions were able to improve control over costs, streamline processes and enhance responsiveness across the supply chain. Aberdeen identified 18 enterprises and their respective vendors that demonstrated industry best practices and achieved significant benefits from deploying e-procurement in the following areas: non-production (indirect) procurement automation; production (direct) procurement automation/supply chain management (SCM); and e-sourcing. Baan and Komatsu were selected in the Direct Procurement category.
More information will be given at inForum - the event for business leadership - to be held on 17-19 April in Rome, Italy. For details, please visit http://inforum.baan.com.
The iBaan suite of Internet-enabled solutions combines proven Baan technology with new developments that enable customers to take significant steps towards seamlessly integrating systems and processes. It provides end-users with personalised and easy-to-use information, and empowers businesses to collaborate with their customers and suppliers over the Internet.
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