Major Wallboard Manufacturer Uses Business Intelligence to Tighten Supply Chain

Having undertaken an initiative to improve the order fulfillment processes of their supply chain, a major wallboard manufacturer (client) soon realized the limitations of performing analysis in their legacy mainframe systems. While the client was pleased with the overall performance of their existing systems, performing analysis was difficult and identifying cost reduction opportunities had been delayed. The client turned to Mariner and Springman Consulting to build a solution which leveraged the data in their existing systems while providing the flexibility needed to identify supply chain improvements. The resulting Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and Sharepoint solution gave the client the analysis tools they needed to identify several opportunities for transportation cost reduction.

Situation

The client manufactures gypsum wallboard, joint treatment products and cement board, in addition to plaster, ceiling and abuse resistant systems. The client operates more than 40 facilities throughout North America and sells its products to several thousand customers in the wholesale and retail building material industries.

The client is recognized within the industry as having exemplary customer service. However, they suspected there was additional room for improvement and potential cost reduction opportunities. Unfortunately, their homegrown order management and logistics mainframe systems did not support ad hoc analysis.

In one particular area, the client was having particular difficulty in performing the analysis needed. The client minimizes transportation costs by filling customer orders from the nearest manufacturing plant. However, the client noticed that in several cases each day, additional transportation cost was being incurred to ship orders from distant plants. While these were a small percentage of total shipments, at over 1,000 shipments per day, even a small improvement could result in significant savings. The client wished to measure the size of the problem, identify root causes and quantify potential savings opportunities. Armed with this information, they hoped they could then focus their improvement efforts and reduce costs while maintaining high levels of customer service.

Solution

The client selected the supply chain intelligence solution developed by Mariner and Springman Consulting to solve their problem. They selected this solution because it promised a rapid and robust supply chain intelligence solution built with their existing Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and SharePoint licenses. Within five weeks, the client had the supply chain intelligence tools they needed without having to buy additional software tools.

System Architecture

Mariner's business intelligence experts used SQL Server 2000 Data Transformation Services (DTS) to load data from the client's mainframe systems and existing SQL tables to a star schema database in Analysis Services. On top of this, Mariner built online analytical processing (OLAP) cubes. The data warehouse and cubes reside on a single server running Microsoft   Windows 2000 Server and Microsoft SQL Server 2000 with the included Microsoft Analysis Services component.  The client uses Microsoft Excel's data query to connect to the OLAP cubes which enables them to report quicker and smarter results from their warehouse data

 

 

Reporting and Analysis

A supply chain expert with Springman Consulting developed reporting and analysis requirements by comparing the client's needs against a standard supply chain data model and industry best practices. This resulted in a design that was customized for the specific freight problems and now serves as a comprehensive foundation for a permanent supply chain intelligence solution. Unique requirements and custom data loads were built to the client's particular specifications and mapped to the standard data model. OLAP cube designs were customized to meet their specific reporting needs. Reports were then built in Microsoft Excel to replace standard mainframe reports and to allow ad hoc analysis.

Benefits

The client was able to identify an estimated $5 million in annual transportation cost reductions using Mariner and Springman Consulting's supply chain intelligence solution using Microsoft SQL Server 2000. In addition, the client now has the foundation for a complete supply chain reporting and analysis solution.

Ease of Use

Excel has been quickly accepted as the front-end to the ad hoc reporting and analysis, due in large part to their existing familiarity with the tool and a single two-hour training session for the users. Now, users are self-sufficient for their reporting needs, resulting in the virtual