Hidden Value Exposed: Supply Chain Illumination at Fortune 100 Aerospace Systems Manufacturer

THE CHALLENGE

A global leader in Aerospace systems manufacturing lacked the data to aggregate internal and external demand for materials. They faced rising material costs, poor on-time delivery rates for long lead-time parts and materials, and difficulty negotiating optimal service levels with their suppliers. The manufacturer also had little visibility into their sources of supply. They needed better supply chain data to establish end-to-end, multi-tier supply chain visibility encompassing all assemblies, parts, and raw materials.

THE SOLUTION

The Aerospace customer contracted us to map the material requirements of their global supply network. We utilized Part Attribute Characterization (PAC) to get their data house in order and achieve uniform naming conventions and data taxonomies.

SDX, our supply chain visibility and analytics SaaS platform, is then utilized to facilitate supplier participation in data validation. It is also leveraged to analyze and report aggregated material demand and risk. These included the purchased part number, the machined part number, and even all the way down to the purchased raw material for 5 material categories: machined parts, sheet metal, fabrications, castings and forgings.

THE IMPACT

Using PAC, the attributes of 10,000 part numbers were characterized along with the mapping of their respective Bill of Materials. The SDX platform kept the data up-to-date and provided comprehensive visibility into all materials going into their procured parts.

They now had an accurate picture of the material requirements of their supply network, enabling them to better forecast demand and influence negotiations with distribution and mill sources. Business units, alliance partners and external stakeholders could now better collaborate, driving efficiencies by leveraging common raw material and off-the-shelf component demand from multiple sites and sub-tier suppliers.

With data up to date and accurate, hidden value was identified: the customer could negotiate better service levels from suppliers, mills and distributors. Mills and Distributors could, in turn, better anticipate demand and ensure the right materials were in stock, reducing raw material lead-times and speculation. Better visibility also provided enhanced insulation from volatile raw material costs. Our technology enabled the customer to leverage their real-time data to proactively manage supply chain risk and ensure on-time delivery.

About Exiger & Supply Dynamics

Recently acquired by Exiger, Supply Dynamics provides Fortune 500 manufacturers with real-time visibility and control over the material requirements of their extended supply chain. Supply Dynamics’ product, SDX, is a highly secure, multi-tier supply chain collaboration platform, designed for complex, distributed manufacturing supply chains. To learn more, read about Exiger’s recent acquisition of Supply Dynamics to Create the First End-to-End Supply Chain Visibility and Supplier Risk Management Solution here and learn more about our products here.