Clients in the consumer products manufacturing and process industry have revealed that many are interested in knowing more about how advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems can support them in making the right decisions to drive supply chain benefits. More and more companies are in the process of implementing such a system to further optimize their planning processes. To learn more, read the following book exerpt:

"How to Get the Most Out of Your Supply Chain"
An overview of Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) systems in the consumer products manufacturing and process industry by Deloitte's Rhiannon Davies, Nadine Diepeveen, Erik Diks and Vincent Vloemans. Published December 2002.

Requirements driving APS
Pressure on performance has been steadily increasing over the last decade, and it does not appear to be abating. But where can a company still squeeze out performance improvement? According to Gartner, a leading technology research and advisory firm, supply chain management is one of the key differentiators for the future. Gartner researchers predict that:

"By 2004, 90 per cent of companies that fail to apply supply chain management technology and processes to increase their flexibility will lose their status as preferred suppliers (0.8 probability)."

"Through 2005, organizations that implement supply chain planning applications with a continuous improvement program will increase ROI by 40% during a 5 year lifecycle (0.7 probability)."

Changing business requirements and markets are making effective supply chain management and the resulting competitiveness and flexibility more important. Customers are demanding more flexibility, more visibility of availability, more speed and highly customized products. To provide this information, more and more emphasis is put on the supply chain planning capabilities to allow the visibility along the supply chain to react quickly to changing customer demand in a cost competitive way.

The alternative to reliable planning is a fully flexible supply chain. Some companies have made good headway in this area, but for many, the cost of this full flexibility is till too high. At Deloitte, we recommend balancing planning improvements with increasing flexibility in the supply chain and continuous development of supply chain professionals.

Discussions with our clients in the consumer products manufacturing and process industry have revealed that many are interested in knowing more about how APS systems can support them in making the right decisions to drive supply chain benefits. More and more companies are in the process of implementing such a system to further optimize their planning processes. This book will help our clients to answer the following questions:

• What is an APS system and what role do they play in supply chain optimization?
• How APS is different from ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)?
• To what businesses could it apply? Will it apply to my business? How?
• What are the benefits that could be gained from such a system?
• Who are the key vendors of APS systems?
• How can I choose which vendor to use for my organization?
• How are APS packages implemented and how can I apply this methodology to my own organization?
  

The book is written in cooperation with the 10 major APS vendors in consumer products manufacturing and process industry. As sort of an APS primer, the book includes profiles of each vendor, listing the company, its strategy, product technology,  functionality and other important information. But the book also is appropriate for readers with a strong knowledge of APS, providing them with up-to-date knowledge of technology and vendors.

The APS vendor assessment
APS applications cover various domains in supply chain management. To structure the discussion on APS, we introduce our APS reference model. This model serves as a guideline for the general building blocks of an APS system, and allows for a level comparison of the functionality of the various vendors. Furthermore, we discuss the most common models and techniques used by APS packages and assess the level of sophistication of the functionality provided by each vendor in each of the areas outlined in the APS reference model.

Each industry has its own specific business issues and these must be addressed during the definition of the requirements that need to be met by an APS package. For example, in the process industry tank planning and dealing with shelf life are usually required, whereas in the high tech industry, complex capacity planning with many constraints. We concentrate on APS packages that cover most requirements in the consumer business and process industry. We provide a classification of consumer business manufacturers to explain the different requirements that need to be addressed by an APS package. We also describe how major changes in the business environment, as well as process and technology innovations impact the requirements on APS software.

To provide an up-to-date overview of the software capabilities offered by major APS vendors in the consumer products manufacturing and process industry arena, we performed a large survey among the largest APS vendors within the consumer business and process arena, including Adexa, Agilisys, Aspen Tech, Baan, i2, Logility, Manugistics, Oracle and SAP. We took a two-stage approach to the survey process. First, each vendor filled out a questionnaire that gave insight into the company, its strategy, its product and footprint, product strategy and development plans to allow us to better understand and position their capabilities. Second, we visited each vendor to discuss in more detail their answers to the survey, to view demonstrations of how their product functionality really answers supply chain planning requirements, and to get an impression of their product and company.

The vendor analysis in the book is structured to allow easy comparison of vendor capabilities. First, we inventarize the capabilities of each of the vendors per functional area as outlined in the aforementioned APS reference model. Second, we compare the vendors by their industry focus and their technology capabilities. Finally, per vendor we give an overview of their user interface functionality and development areas.

Selection and implementation methodology
One of the objectives of the book is to serve as a guide to support the initial selection of the APS application/vendor that best meets the business needs of our clients. As such, in addition to providing a vendor selection methodology, we explain Our proven five step methodology to implement an APS system. We explain each step in detail, as well as our methods and the tools we use during an APS implementation. Finally, we provide some lessons learned (secrets of our success) based on our practical implementation experience at numerous customers.