Managing Automation - September 2007 - (Page 41)

zation came under the umbrella of a much larger group — the supply chain and logistics division — which was not necessarily focused on customer service. In addition, much of the inventor y planning was done in the field by individual technicians who were justifiably inexperienced in demand planning. “We were relying on individuals to be supply chain people, who were technicians. They know about fixing systems,” Boza says. Most of the employees doing inventor y planning in the field were using spreadsheets, and the data being captured was limited and exclusive of demand history. “The data input into the spreadsheets was not holistic and was largely driven by opinions, not by factual data,” he explains. Moreover, Avaya was using a tool, Xelus (now part of Click Commerce), at the central level, but the software lacked capabilities for planning inventory in the field for more than 2,500 locations, Boza added. “It may be we had enough of a particular part in our network, but if there was a major outage and a customer needed support in four hours, it didn’t help if the part they needed was in Seattle if they were in Florida,” he says. “We needed to not only understand we need part A, but that we need part A in location 1.” To help Avaya get a handle of that level of planning, the team decided on Servigistics’ Strategic Service Management Solution. They opted for that package over functionality delivered in ERP systems because of usability features and, more impor tant, because Servigistics solved the problem of planning for the field, Boza says. Along with the software deployment, Avaya standardized inventory control processes throughout its organization, for the first time making metrics a core part of its regimen. The Servigistics rollout went live in the United States in January 2004, with the global deployment expected to be finished by October 2007. Avaya also revamped its service structure, boosting the number of strategic stocking “We needed to not locations to cover the footprint of the United States while reducing the number of individual only understand we field offices and trucks by nearly 50%. need part A, but that Making such sweeping changes on all three we need part A in fronts didn’t come without obstacles, Boza adlocation 1,” says mitted. To help employees embrace the culFernando Boza, tural transformation required, Avaya managesenior manager for ment did a lot of work quantifying results and global services planevangelizing the technology. The results have been fairly dramatic. Avaya ning at Avaya. has bolstered its service levels for on-time delivery from a sub-standard 80% prior to the Servigistics rollout to a best-in-class level of 95%-plus in the United States. In addition, the company reduced its inventory by 35%, from $200 million to $130 million, while avoiding nearly $4 million in repair expenses. The most telltale sign of the project’s success is the feedback from customers — a totally different reaction than what Avaya was hearing four years ago. Recent customer focus groups and indimanagingautomation.com vidual discussions with customers have shown positive imRELATED ARTICLES: provements and satisfaction with Keeping Your Customers Waiting? Avaya’s service levels. Moreover, www.managingautomation.com/service5 at the annual user conference this Servigistics Rides Post-Sale Service Trend year, there wasn’t one question www.managingautomation.com/postsale about par ts availability. Says Services, Spare Parts Potential Largely Boza: “Not that there isn’t any Untapped www.managingautomation.com/service6 room for improvement, but the message is loud and clear.” ■ maonline Photo: Cora Reed/ReduxPlus September 2007 41 http://managingautomation.com http://www.managingautomation.com/service5 http://www.managingautomation.com/postsale http://www.managingautomation.com/service6

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation - September 2007

Contents Take 1 Europe’s Automation Chiefs Upbeat on ’08 Business Prospects Vendor Coalition Pushes Human Element of SOA Wireless: Users Still Approaching with Caution One Year Later, IBM Shows Plan for MRO’s Maximo Study: More Work Needed to Lure Next-Gen Talent Executive Q&A Notes Cover Story: 2008 Companies to Watch Special Report: The 2007 Progressive Manufacturing High Achievers Progressive Manufacturer of the Year Business Model Mastery Innovation Mastery Customer Mastery Supply Network Mastery Data & Integration Mastery Education & Training Mastery Operational Excellence Mastery Leadership Mastery Transformation: Orchestrating the Multi-Tier Supply Network Integration: The Timeless Quest for Accurate Data Industries: Maintenance No Longer on Schedule Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - September 2007

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