Integrated Solutions - WMS, ERP and AIDC Drive... -
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Published on: 7/3/2003
Last Visited: 7/3/2003
In addition, Tony Chadwick, CIO for Porsche Operations in the United States, discusses how an enterprise resource planning system is helping the Reno facility more efficiently process parts orders sent by dealerships and repair facilities.
Manual Processes Prove ProblematicPorsche Cars North America's distribution center is staffed by 30 people.
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The facility employs an ERP system developed by American Software, according to Tony Chadwick, CIO for Porsche Operations in the United States. (American Software is the parent company of Logility.ERP systems track areas like raw materials, labor, financials, etc.).
As part of the ERP system, the Reno distribution center and its 200-plus dealerships are connected via a wide area network (WAN), Chadwick says.WANs allow facilities in disparate locations to be "connected" electronically, in terms of information sharing.
The dealerships and service centers electronically send their orders for parts over the WAN to the distribution center in Reno.This electronic transmission of order information is called electronic data interchange (EDI). (Chadwick considers electronic data interchange a critically-important aspect of enterprise resource planning).
Because the distribution center receives orders electronically, dealerships' orders are immediately available for picking and dispatching, according to Chadwick.
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Chadwick continues, "Using a fully enterprise-wide, electronic system allows us to operate with four or five times fewer employees than if we had a 100% paper-based system."