2000 Press Release
Singapore, 28 March 2000 - Agilent Technologies Singapore Pte Ltd (Agilent) has successfully re-engineered its entire supply chain process, thanks to an Internet-based vendor-managed inventory portal.
A global leader in designing and manufacturing test, measurement and monitoring instruments, systems and solutions, and semiconductor and optical components, Agilent has created a holistic supply chain alliance with its logistics service provider and 52 local and 14 overseas suppliers using The Virtual Warehouse Management System.
Developed by Singapore Network Services Pte Ltd (SNS), this portal enables Agilent to facilitate its worldwide consignment of goods along the value chain of supply chain activities, and manage its market demands more effectively.
It provides real-time inventory level and movements held in the participating warehouses of Agilent's logistics service provider, MSAS Global Logistics (S) Pte Ltd (MSAS).
This allows Agilent as well as its local and overseas suppliers to track and monitor Agilent's inventory worldwide via the Internet, giving them total visibility on their global inventory level, stock despatch and delivery status.
In addition, both Agilent and its suppliers are alerted once inventory falls below the desired minimum or stocked above its maximum levels. Both parties are also able to forecast and analyse inventory more accurately as the portal is able to generate transaction reports on inventory levels held in the warehouses over the past four months.
In the next phase scheduled for the second half of this year, Agilent's suppliers can also gain direct access to forecast reports and Purchase Orders (POs) anywhere and at any time of the day easily as these documents would be posted on the Internet for easy viewing and downloading.
How the Virtual Warehouse Management System works
With the Virtual Warehouse Management System, Agilent and its suppliers can now check on their inventory movements via the Internet, at any time and any place, and thus improve the reliability of the deliveries.
Suppliers will be given a user-ID and password to access the status reports and data and conduct the following:
- Look at stock levels
- Enquire about the inventory status and print details such as vendor code, part number and description number of product groups, warehouse code, location ID and quantity of the stocks
- Save the data into files for their own resource planning
- Monitor inventory movement online, especially during times of urgent or conflicting demands
- Set minimum and maximum inventory levels so that e-mail alerts would be triggered to both Agilent and its suppliers once inventory falls below the desired levels
- Generate transaction reports of inventory levels over the past four months to allow inventory forecasting and analysis for both Agilent and its suppliers
Benefits
As a centralised portal providing direct access to the international housing of inventories, the Virtual Warehouse Management System eliminates the need for Agilent and its supply chain partners to connect to multiple host servers, locally or worldwide.
Attesting to the reliability and usefulness of the system is one of Agilent's suppliers. Mr Chong Boon Heng, Sales Executive of Enplas (S) Pte Ltd, said: "With enhanced visibility of inventory levels, we are able to manage our production schedules better. This would enable us to anticipate shortage in inventories and follow-up proactively with measures to cut down on buffer inventory supplies, thus we anticipated monetary savings."
For Agilent, it can enjoy the benefits of Just-in-Time deliveries as its suppliers are now empowered to make more informed decisions on inventory management. This optimises existing resources and reduces cycle times, translating into improved customer service.
Mr Tan Pui Hee, Purchasing Manager of Agilent Technologies, said: "The Virtual Warehouse Management System essentially brings about a paradigm shift in business processes. It provides intelligent information and real-time visibility on inventory levels to enable our partners in the supply chain to better manage their procurement processes and Material Resource Planning. In turn, this allows them to respond more efficiently to market demand for our products."
Mr V. Mathivanan, Chief Executive Officer of SNS, said: "Excessive or shortage of inventory in any supply chain is a problem that can cost an organisation staggering sums of money, if overlooked.
"With the Virtual Warehouse Management System, inventory information is readily available at the fingertips of all supply chain partners. SNS' uncompromising levels of integrated applications delivery and customer support will enable global manufacturers such as Agilent to manage its electronic supply chains more effectively, reinforcing our position in the global Integrated Supply Chain Management arena as an applications service provider."
Agilent is the first global manufacturer to reap the benefits of the Virtual Warehouse Management System in the supply chain. Third-party logistics service provider, Fritz Logistics (S) Pte Ltd is currently deploying the system for its customers.
Jointly released by Singapore Network Services Pte Ltd and Agilent Technologies Singapore Pte Ltd