AAPICO Hitech, an automotive parts company based in Thailand, implemented Oracle applications and technology to enable lean manufacturing operations, Oracle has announced. AAPICO will soon be ready for fulfilling complex customer requests while reducing waste in its supply chain.
AAPICO wanted to move towards a demand-driven supply chain to accommodate the just-in-time manufacturing schedules of its customers to reduce inventory and fulfillment times. The company, a progressive jig, die and automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts vendor with facilities in Thailand, Malaysia and China, supplies parts to all major car manufacturers in Thailand including Toyota, Honda, Isuzu, Ford, Mazda and Nissan.
AAPICO began its migration to lean manufacturing through a pilot program with the support of Auto Alliance Thailand and Toyota. The program brought about quick success, as AAPICO received Toyota's coveted TPS (Toyota Production System) Championship Award in 2004 and again in 2005. After the conclusion of the program, the company decided to implement an enterprise software system to provide the platform for lean manufacturing and integrate the network of facilities.
After a careful evaluation of several vendors' offerings, AAPICO chose Oracle to support lean manufacturing using Oracle Database and the Oracle E-Business Suite, specifically the Oracle Supply Chain Management (SCM) suite, which includes Oracle Discrete Manufacturing, Oracle Flow Manufacturing and Oracle Order Management applications. AAPICO also selected Deloitte Consulting LLP to lead consulting services and additional software from A-Host, a Certified Partner in the Oracle PartnerNetwork.
"The competitive landscape in Asia has grown more challenging in light of the region's booming manufacturing business," said Yeap Swee Chuan, AAPICO Hitech President and CEO. "We moved to lean manufacturing to eliminate waste in our supply chain and boost customer service. Oracle was an integral partner in bringing lean to all of our facilities."
Companies relying on Oracle SCM are able to explore "lean" techniques for all facets of supply chain operations, such as creating a demand-driven supply chain. Oracle SCM supports lean capabilities such as scarce inventory allocation for fulfilling orders; license plate number and lot/serial receiving to help reduce labor costs; catch weight support to help companies accurately measure and price variable order sizes and amounts; and, lot specific costing to enable companies to accurately account for and measure cost variability in production output.
"There are clear advantages for a company like AAPICO using Oracle to enable lean manufacturing," said Maha Muzumdar, Oracle Vice President SCM Marketing. "Oracle SCM helps to reduce the risk in lean manufacturing and provides a flexible framework to bring new facilities online."
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