Managing Automation - March 2008 - (Page 42)

[ INDUSTRIES ] Transformation TechWatch Integration seeking lessly integrate across all stakeholders and tranfacturer receives an order, there are sometimes scend functional fiefdoms to address order manhundreds of line items,” Ramoutar says. To fill the agement challenges (see chart, below). order, the manufacturer must figure out how to “For example, engineer-to-order products go gather those items, based on company-specific through a number of changes as they pass factors, such as policies and rules, inventory lothrough the development stage of their life cycations, order fulfillment costs, ship times, etc. cle,” Forrester’s Wang says. The party that wants The more quickly a decision is made, the less it to see an engineering costs to fill the order. “An automated order manchange implementagement solution helps companies make the best ed submits an engidecision about how a particular order should be neering change orsourced,” he adds. der (ECO). Usually Sterling is not alone in helping manufacturers SYSTEM FLEXIBILITY, INTEGRATION that document conautomate their order management processes. POSE BIGGEST CHALLENGES tains a statement of Suppliers such as E2open, Exostar, Extol Interwhy the ECO is benational Inc., and i2 Technologies are bringing Systems are not flexible enough ing requested or automated, customer-facing order management 62% what design or mansolutions to market to help manufacturers exeSystems are not integrated ufacturing problem cute more perfect orders. 61% the ECO resolves. FACING THE CUSTOMER Not having the right or best applications Historically, such 54% ECOs have been paOne company on its way to achieving perfection Third-party business partners can’t access the systems or data per documents that in how it manages orders is Haworth Furniture, a 38% get filled out and leading manufacturer of adaptable office furnithen mailed or ture. With help from Sterling, Haworth created an None of the above faxed, Wang says. order management platform that can respond 6% Manufacturers in quickly to customer-facing e-procurement reOther many industries quirements, according to Jeff English, global 2% have been looking process manager-IS at Haworth. Base: 125 IT and business decision-makers for ways to ef fec“Our customer-facing solution has allowed HaSource: A commissioned study by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Sterling Commerce Group, August 2006 tively automate and worth to improve upon the standards that the streamline the procompany has defined for our furniture purchase cesses. One industr y-specific organization, orders,” English says. “It has also given the cusRosettaNet in the semiconductor industry, has tomer control of how they want to make their been developing a set of standard process steps purchase while ensuring that they are receiving that let manufacturers handle such ECO docuthe proper product and correct pricing.” mentation efficiently and electronically, Wang Prior to installing the Sterling software in 2003, says. But, without well-integrated internal order English had witnessed a transition in the compamanagement systems and processes, manufacny’s largest corporate accounts. These accounts turers will run into difficulty implementing such adopted e-procurement systems to streamline and standard order management processes. Multiple order management systems The order management process is further also often make it hard to manage complicated by orders containing multiple increasingly complex supply networks, Sterling’s Ramoutar says. “Large manu- line items that will be sourced from facturers are fractured internally because various external suppliers. they are managing orders that are often sourced from multiple divisions of their own standardize their internal procurement processes. company. The order fulfillment process is a comSubsequently, many customers asked Haworth to plex task. Manufacturers have to manage an link its order management system with their proecosystem where order information is sent to curement systems. This demand meant Haworth suppliers — inside and outside the enterprise — had to find an application with the ability to support which is later consolidated to appear to the cusnumerous customer-facing business processes. tomer as one order.” To address this requirement, Sterling’s softFor many manufacturers, the order manageware checks prices based on a customer’s pricing ment process is further complicated by orders agreements with Haworth and accesses approcontaining multiple line items that will be sourced priate discounts. It has also enabled Haworth cusfrom various external suppliers. “When a manutomers to select and configure products based order ma March 42 2008 Industries

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation - March 2008

Managing Automation - March 2008 Contents Take 1 Mailbox Mitsubishi, IBM, and ILS Team Up to Make Integration Easy for Automakers Former Agile Exec Takes the Reins at Arena Solutions The Next Phase for 2006’s PM Award Winner Integration Firm Boomi Redesigns for On-Demand Ex-Wonderware Chief Takes Helm at Apprion Notes Cover Story: A Rare Breed Special Report: Where are Control Architectures Heading? Transformation: Back to Reality Integration: Getting Standards Under One Roof Industries: The Quest for the Perfect Order Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - March 2008

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