OLYMPUS TECHNOZONE Vol.51 2001-09
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INDEX
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Tackling One of Our Biggest Problems as a Manufacturer--
Inventory Reductions from Its Roots
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Concept image
of the Global Post Office.
(Click
on image to expand it) |
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----What is the background to the SCM project? And what are GPO
and G-SCDB as
its key support elements?
We can describe GPO and G-SCDB as elements that create a
sort of social infrastructure.
Why did we have to create the systems now known as GPO and
G-SCDB? Well, it came about because it appeared we had a problem in that our
operational flow as a manufacturer did not seem to be dynamically integrated.
The question arose of whether we were not inviting sales opportunity losses even
though our inventories were extremely large. Since inventory reductions are a
matter of life and death for a manufacturer, a company-wide instruction went
out to the effect that we must find drastic solutions. This is an issue that
every business sector needs to deal with. Creating the GPO and the G-SCDB, the
foundations of the information-sharing requirement for SCM, was what we in the
Systems Division could, and should, do.
If I'm not wrong, top management issued inventory cutback
instructions some three years ago in the form of "TLT50."
Yes, "TLT50" means "cut total lead times
by 50%." This name has spread worldwide. It was not just a question of cutting
lead times by 50%, but of taking things further and cutting costs along the entire
supply chain. Any attempt to simply cut inventories without SCM would certainly
lead to strains elsewhere. For example, the sales side requests the manufacturing
side to manufacture a certain product because it wants to sell that product.
However, communications between sales and manufacturing change over time. Furthermore,
circumstances, too, may change during the process of manufacturing certain products.
----It takes time to make products.
Yes, on the manufacturing side in particular, lead times
for parts procurement can be crucial. The recent trend toward computerization
means that related parts tend to be in short supply worldwide. Sometimes it can
take up to six months for orders to be delivered.
We therefore wanted to eliminate in any way possible the
inventory surpluses and shortages that could arise for one reason or another.
The company-wide information disclosure systems needed for this purpose are the
GPO and the G-SCDB. |
