Apriso launches FlexNet Lean Material Flow solution

Apriso, a leading provider of adaptive software solutions for global manufacturing operations management (MOM), on June 11 announced general availability of a new solution to support Lean Manufacturing: FlexNet Lean Material Flow. The solution was developed in collaboration with Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, to leverage “best practices” gained from years of Lean manufacturing deployments. This new FlexNet solution fills some of the “white spaces” or gaps around enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications in lean manufacturing environments, benefiting manufacturers who seek to reduce waste and cut cycle times while improving quality in logistics operations, production and customer responsiveness.

“This solution is a collection of industry best practices Accenture gained by implementing 150-plus Apriso deployments at world-class manufacturers within the automotive, mill products and consumer goods industries” said Christophe Mouille, managing partner at Accenture. “We see this solution as a way to extend and enhance enterprise resource planning deployments, and consider FlexNet as an ERP module, bringing improved adaptability, responsiveness and visibility to our client’s shop floor operations.”

Valeo, a $12 billion industry-leading global automotive supplier, played an important role in the design of this solution by identifying key Tier 1 automotive supplier requirements while ensuring the solution adhered to lean principles. As an existing Apriso customer, Valeo is now successfully implementing Apriso’s latest FlexNet solution.

This jointly developed solution, built on Apriso’s FlexNet platform, offers a collaborative approach to dramatically improve MOM and execution by:
• Synchronizing material flows spanning manufacturing operations to eliminate idle inventories;
• Improving global visibility and control to add efficiency while lowering IT costs;
• Enabling comprehensive traceability and root cause analyses to improve quality;
• Delivering integrated quality execution and packaged logistics with best-in-class label printing and “poka-yoke” or error-proofing to reduce manufacturing costs;
• Reducing IT implementation and maintenance costs by integrating seamlessly – as an “out-of-the-box” solution – with SAP’s material, quality and production management applications.

The new solution is architected to extend the value of ERP by bridging the gap between a manufacturing enterprise’s business system processes (transaction-based) and its plant-floor processes (real–time) to improve manufacturing efficiency, quality, compliance and agility, delivering a rapid ROI while improving cash flow. By aligning Apriso’s MOM expertise with Accenture’s ERP implementation success, this innovative solution can be deployed quickly on an enterprise basis. Because FlexNet’s functionality leads the market in supporting enterprise wide deployments, this solution can dramatically increase global IT deployment efficiency, helping to drive down enterprise IT costs while removing waste from operations.

“We are pleased with how our Accenture relationship has evolved, and are now at a point where the experience gained can be packaged into an innovative new solution,” said Jim Henderson, president and CEO of Apriso. “Accenture’s in depth knowledge has certainly helped us expand our reach, as evidenced by Valeo’s implementation, letting more manufacturers benefit from Apriso’s capabilities for improved efficiency through synchronized material flows across the enterprise.”