RedPrairie Delivers Supply Chain Execution Capabilities for the Automotive Industry

RedPrairies acquisition of ALTA and its manufacturing event management solutions enables automotive OEMs and suppliers to reduce costs and eliminate waste
  
RedPrairie Corporations recent acquisition of ALTA A/S, a leading provider of Manufacturing Event Management solutions for automotive suppliers, has proven to be beneficial to automotive OEMs and suppliers with the combined suite of supply chain tools for build-to-order processing, warehouse management, and logistics.

Todays automotive industry is plagued with financially burdened manufacturers who have cut margins too thin, while trying to maintain profitability. There continues to be an industry-wide initiative to remove waste from the car making business, while reducing the redundancy found in parts supply production. RedPrairies supply chain execution solutions are designed to manage the automotive chaos with build-to-order processing, lot track & tracing abilities, error proofing, in-sequence part production, and logistics handling.

Specifically, RedPrairies build-to-order (B2O) solution provides a unique process flow control application that uses icons to pictorially illustrate the parts and sequencing process required for each customized end product. Once the business processes have been defined, the tool automatically plans the most advantageous and efficient process to dramatically reduce throughput times and allow significant flexibility to change the process should the manufacturing line require.

Simon Bragg, ARC Advisory Group, commented in ARCwire, This is a really smart acquisition. RedPrairie is focusing on the supply chain execution rather than the supply chain planning problem. Besides ALTA, few other software companies offer a robust solution for assemble to sequence, JIT manufacturing. Yet, sequencing is also important, as the automakers are increasingly offering more features and options, and they want to shorten the order-to-delivery cycle. Other 'Pick to Sequence' type solutions just lead to bloated inventories.

The automotive practice is extremely important to RedPrairie. We already help many of the major auto makers manage their spare parts distribution, stated RedPrairie Company Leader John Jazwiec. Our new automotive practice with its sequencing capabilities will enable us to better serve these customers and the entire automotive supply chain. Also, because this functionality is integrated to our comprehensive supply chain solution suite, RedPrairie will provide expanded functionality for third-party logistic providers who serve the automotive industry.

RedPrairies automotive suite for discrete manufacturing includes: Build-to-Order Assembly, In-Sequence Shipping, Tracking & Tracing, Build Compliance, Line Balancing & Scheduling. The Inbound and Outbound Logistics offering includes: Finished Vehicle Distribution, Transportation Optimization, Warehouse Management System, Labor / Work Force Optimization, Customs / Duty Management.