• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile

  • CORONAVIRUS
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • THINK TANK
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Creating Global Data Standards

Creating Global Data Standards

February 15, 2017
SupplyChainBrain

In a general sense, customers worldwide want many of the same things in the cars and other vehicles they buy. The differences, however, are great enough that meeting their requirements is a highly complex undertaking, Thomas says. Customer centricity necessitates having factories in every part of the globe and a supply base that caters to individual needs and quantities. The downside is an inaccurate forecast. Getting the demand side wrong drives cost throughout the system.

“My role is to help make certain that we have the most efficient supply chain, and the lowest possible inventories to enable us to sell the maximum possible number of units. It’s minimizing holding costs and maximizing revenue. That is becoming more and more critical as a competitive differentiator. It’s simply too expensive to have vehicles sitting in inventories, whether at factories, at dealers, at ports, or anywhere in the supply chain, because that’s dead money. You have to eliminate as much of that as possible,” Thomas says.

Every manufacturer in the automotive vertical has some kind of supply chain management system, Thomas says. The question is, what tool do they have to make that supply chain as accurate and as lean as possible?

Recognizing that it needed something to consolidate data about company performance both regionally and globally, Ford initially engineered its own tool. Its objective was to analyze data from all functions from each internal organization. Though it saved Ford quite a bit of money, Thomas says, the company needed something more powerful.

“We needed something to better see the problems,” Thomas says. “Regional issues can cause global problems, and global solutions have regional implications. Unless you can see both sides of the business, close to the ground to see what’s happening regionally, yet be able to step back and see the global picture, with global product coming out of global factories with global suppliers, you just can’t manage efficiently.”

After 18 months of vetting a number of software vendors, Ford partnered with Kinaxis, and is implementing its RapidResponse tool to enable and enhance its comprehensive supply chain processes.

Building its own system taught Ford executives what they needed to do, but Thomas says it was never intended to be a long-term solution. “We’ve kind of plateaued the capability of that tool. We needed to go to the next step.”

Vehicle manufacturers like Ford look out 18 to 24 months, and plans take time to work through. At the moment, SUVs and trucks are “king” in the U.S. market, but Ford has to keep its eye on such game-changing trends as autonomous vehicles. RapidResponse will enable Ford’s sales and operations planning in that effort, Thomas says.

“S&OP is the beating heart of a company,” he says. “Unless you get the S&OP right, the longer term is always in question. You can have a view of the longer term, but you still have to get there.”

To view the video in its entirety, click here

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Technology Sales & Operations Planning SC Planning & Optimization Order Fulfillment Automotive Consumer Packaged Goods
KEYWORDS Automotive consumer packaged goods order fulfillment Sales & Operations Planning SC Planning & Optimization Technology
  • Related Articles

    Creating Global Data Standards

    Creating Supply Chain Value with Big Data Analytics

    Creating Supply Chain Value with Big Data Analytics

SupplyChainBrain

100 Great Supply Chain Partners Issue 2009

More from this author

Wake up to Coronavirus Updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • Coronavirus-watch-Armada

    Virus Update: Biden Sees Fast Rollout of J&J Vaccine; Astra CEO Defends Delivery Shortfall

    Coronavirus
  • West Coast Port Congestion

    Shippers Need Alternatives to West Coast Port Congestion

    Logistics
  • Mexico

    The Near-Shoring Trend: Will China’s Loss Be Mexico’s Gain?

    Logistics
  • Robotic automation

    Autonomous Supply Chains Are on the Horizon

    Coronavirus
  • Drugmakers

    Research Lays Groundwork for More U.S.-Made Drugs

    Coronavirus

Digital Edition

Scb feb 2021 lg

2021 Supply Chain Management Resource Guide

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • Remote Implementation: A Dose of the Right Medicine for B2B Pharmacy

  • LSP Saves Customer $1.5 Million a Year With MPO Global Inbound Management

  • Auto Supplier Wows Key Client Using riskmethods Supply Chain Savvy

  • Integrating Shipping and Compliance Saves Conglomerate Millions

  • How a Consumer Goods Giant Upped Its On-Time Delivery Performance

Visit Our Sponsors

6 River Systems ArcBest Armada
aThingz BluJay Burris Logistics
DSC Logistics DCSA (Digital Container Shipping Association) DHL Resilience360
Genpact Geodis GEP
Honeywell Intelligrated Infor Logility
Magnitude Software MPO Old Dominion
Oliver Wight OpenSky Ports America
Purolator QAD Precision Red Classic
Riskmethods Snapfulfil TGW Systems
Transportation Insights Watson Land Company Westfalia Technologies
Workjam Yang Ming  
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2021 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing