Infosys Technologies and Microsoft have joined forces to deliver products that promise to improve supply chain visibility, in a market they see as being under-served.
The companies cited analysts at AMR Research Inc who said the market “has been clamouring for a better supply chain user experience and tools that foster collaboration across an extended global network.”
The two suppliers will collaborate to deliver systems that should simplify workflows across supply chains using proven analytics and workbench tools, hanging off a pre-built framework and an agreed reference architecture.
The combination of software and services will address supply management, inventory visibility, demand visibility, and service performance management, the companies said.
Among the benefits being claimed of the approach is improved speed, accuracy, and cost effectiveness of a company’s supply chain.
Early results at sites assessed by AMR show that using the approaches being fostered by the two partners, a business could trim on-hand inventory by as much as 20%.
One semiconductor company had been able to cut order fulfilment lead-time in half, and an automotive systems manufacturer optimised IT infrastructure and claimed to have saved $1 million annually.
According to a survey carried out in preparation for the business alliance, there is plenty of evidence that supply chains are becoming unwieldy and complex.
Some 29% of high-tech manufacturers were found to produce more than 50% of their manufacturing output through third parties or contract manufacturers, and reported that the number of products or stock-keeping units managed across their chains had increased by 66%.
“Increasing complexity, coupled with poor real-time visibility are hampering high-tech supply chains” Infosys and Microsoft said in a joint statement.
