anufacturers face challenges integrating their enterprise resource planning (ERP) and business-to-business (B2B) systems with the information systems used by smaller suppliers. Small suppliers often do not have the system infrastructure and resources needed to fully integrate with the systems a large manufacturer has in place. Quality Excellence solution addresses these challenges.
B2B integration presents a number of challenges for manufacturers attempting to automate transactions with suppliers. Larger businesses often have an ERP system that provides a single integrated software system for purchasing. Their smaller suppliers, however, are unlikely to have systems with the same level of sophistication and capabilities because the size and cost of a full ERP system is prohibitive. Fully integrating all suppliers is impractical for other reasons as well, including:
Small trading volume: Even for those partners with appropriate B2B systems, integration can be costly and time-consuming. The volume of business between partners might not warrant full integration.
Disparities among partners: All partners might not be using the same protocols or technologies. Full integration with multiple, differing systems invites inconsistencies, which negates the value of integration. From the large manufacturer's perspective, the challenge is to provide the benefits of full integration to all suppliers-regardless of a supplier's system infrastructure and business volume-within a system that is efficient, cost-effective, and consistent. From the small supplier's perspective, the challenge is to implement industry-standard communication protocols and processes for a minimum investment. Only when both perspectives are satisfied can complete small partner integration function in an optimal fashion.
Supplier integration initiatives deliver superior co-ordination of the product and information flows.
Increased Business Agility: Increase your business agility with rapid sales order entry and outstanding warehouse throughput. Automated processes including inventory re-ordering, warehouse replenishment and product configuration significantly reduce administrative overhead. Implement best practice inventory control and resource management through synchronized transactions across the extended enterprise including shipping agents and carriers. Deliver in full, on time, every time.
Supply Chain Clarity: By offering a real-time view of your sales, purchasing and inventory, our solution provides unprecedented supply chain clarity. This enhanced visibility allows you to focus on customer service, schedule staff efficiently, optimize warehouse utilization and identify your most effective suppliers.
Extended Supply Chain: Our solution offers the ability to extend your Supply Chain beyond the boundaries of your business. By adding collaboration to your ERP system, you are able to share information upstream and downstream in your supply chain to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
Reducing the time and cost of order management, shipping and receiving logistics, invoicing, and payments.
Cutting order transaction time from days to hours.
Saving money by eliminating manual processing.
Decreasing errors and the cost of correction-that result from entering the same data multiple times.
Quality Excellence B2B integration solution covers everything from Purchase Orders to Production Forecasts, Advance Ship Notices, and Invoices. The B2B Supplier Network has many options to enable clients to connect efficiently - either through the Web portal or via system-to-system integration. Here is a schematic view of our solution.
Our solution offers extensive supplier on-boarding and support services. Standard features include:
Supplier On-Boarding: Supplier Adoption Program guides suppliers from online registration through activation and use of one of our suite of hosted applications quickly and without complication. The registration and activation process includes a simple online registration process, account provisioning in the supplier's chosen applications and the receipt of a Welcome Kit that includes login credentials, links to our wealth of training materials available online and first-time login instructions.
Transactional Exchange Management: Enables buyers and suppliers to exchange transactions electronically. Quality Excellence offers industry standard process flows for the following transaction types: Purchase Order (PO), Purchase Order Response (POR), Change Order (POC), Forecast/Schedule, Forecast/Schedule Commitment, Advance Ship Notification (ASN), Goods Receipt and Invoice. Exostar provides notification of new transactions, ensures non-repudiation and guarantees transaction delivery.
Intelligent Supplier Web Portal Interface: This Web interface enables suppliers to receive, respond to and create business transactions, such as Purchase Order (PO), Purchase Order Commitment (POC), Forecasts, Advanced Ship Notices (ASNs) and Invoices. Information download and upload capability is available to further automate information updates between manufacturer and the supplier's back-office system. Users may configure the Web interface to meet their specific requirements.
Buyer View: This Web interface enables buyers to view and download transactional information sent to, and from, suppliers. Buyer View gives visibility of the same data in the same format as the supplier, which enables "one version of the truth."
B2B Data Integration: Translation Services where customers have the ability to seamlessly integrate their back-office system directly into the platform for maximum automation and efficiency when exchanging transactions.