Delphi’s New Web-Based Logistics System Sharply Reduces Supply Chain Costs – Brief Article
Delphi Automotive Systems said it is using a new web-based management tool to significantly increase the efficiency of the company’s sophisticated logistics operations. The new system is being piloted by Delphi Automotive Systems at its Ellesmere Port SILS (Supply In Line Sequence) Center in Ellesmere Port, UK.
The Ellesmere Port SILS Center schedules deliveries from 73 suppliers around Europe, Delphi said. The operation is exceptionally lean, with just three to four hours of stock for some product lines. Because components and modules are supplied to the adjacent Vauxhall car plant in the correct sequence for vehicle-build within a time window of just one to three hours, outages can not be permitted, Delphi said.
“Our traditional systems use telephone, fax and EDI messages to schedule and confirm deliveries from each supplier,” says Stan Chadwick, manager of Delphi’s Ellesmere Port SILS Center. “It works very well, but is resource intensive. EDI in particular has proved to be complicated and expensive and its uptake among our suppliers has been understandably poor.”
The new system, developed in partnership with EDS, holds the scheduling information on a Web server, according to Delphi. Every supplier reads and updates relevant fields in real-time using a conventional Web browser, receiving order information from Delphi and confirming quantities and timings for dispatch, the company said.
Delphi said it can confirm acceptance within minutes and immediately respond to any shortages.
“The benefits are numerous,” Chadwick said. “The new system focuses our attention on the exceptions, rather than on confirming every transaction, which may eventually save up to 20 man days a month. It increases accountability, we have transportation savings on 30-40 vehicles a day, better quality data, and all at significantly reduced cost to both ourselves and our suppliers.”
Trials of the system have been so successful that it will be rolled out to all suppliers to Delphi’s Ellesmere Port SILS Center by the end of the year, the company said. The full system will also be evaluated for use at other Delphi manufacturing sites around the world, it added.
“Information is the key to an efficient supply chain. The Internet will have a big impact,” concludes Chadwick. “Our new scheduling system has shown how a simple idea can increase flexibility, reduce inventory and help us drive costs out of the supply processes. This will allow us to improve our service to the vehicle manufacturers and brings the three / five day car much nearer.”
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