MC Assembly Establishes Real-time Supply Chain within High Velocity Environment

MC Assembly is a mid-tier EMS provider offering a wide range of manufacturing, test and supply-chain services across the Aerospace, Defense, Medical, Industrial, Networking and Telecommunications markets. With state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Florida and central Mexico, MC Assembly has tier-1 EMS capabilities with a tier-3 customer focus and support culture.

The MC Assembly Challenge

From offering printed circuit board assembly to complex box build / integration, MC Assembly supports many diverse customers who have their own specific needs and requirements. It is critical that MC Assembly offer strong supply chain planning, monitoring and response capabilities throughout its high velocity environment.

"In 2004, we recognized the need to implement a solution that could enable us to respond to changes in real-time within our global supply chain. Specifically, it was essential that the tool provide us with world-class ATP (Available to Promise) capabilities and help us to mitigate inventory liability," explains Tom Rossi, vice president of procurement and materials for MC Assembly.

The RapidResponse Advantage

"Kinaxis RapidResponse provides us with that exact tool," says Rossi. "RapidResponse has allowed us to perform complex, real-time ATP simulations and quickly present our customers with comprehensive change analysis. Also, it provided the flexibility to communicate immediate changes to our global supply chain partners. These central processes are a must in order for us to successfully manage over 900 end items and over 20,000 different components in a highly dynamic and fast-paced environment."

By using RapidResponse MC Assembly's buyers and planners have been able to effectively and efficiently manage the daily changes in supply and demand. More informed and accurate decisions have led to proactive shop floor scheduling which has lowered cost and minimized waste.

MC Assembly also chose to leverage RapidResponse's platform to feed its B2B process, whereby suppliers pull demand forecasts and provide automated feedback. Via intranet scripting created by MC Assembly developers, these updates roll straight into their FourthShift MRP system without human intervention when all appropriate criteria are met without exception.

MC Assembly recognizes that inventory and liability management are paramount for both theirs and their customer's profitability. Monitoring and managing performance in this regard has improved significantly using RapidResponse. "Inventory turns have doubled and our excess / obsolete inventory is at an all time low," states Rossi. "Our customers feel secure in knowing that we are managing the supply chain and not letting it manage us!"

RapidResponse also permitted MC Assembly to develop a multi-site planning environment. "We have 2 manufacturing facilities that operate from one ERP system which did not segregate supply and demand efficiently. RapidResponse's multi-site solution allowed us to solve this important business issue," adds Rossi. It has added value and efficiency to our use of the information contained in our MRP system.

Overall, RapidResponse has become integral to daily operations and is used to solve multiple business problems. "The global electronics marketplace is a complex, dynamic and fluid environment," closes Rossi. "MC Assembly has made a prudent investment for itself and its customers by adopting RapidResponse."

About Kinaxis

Kinaxis™ helps manufacturers manage increasing business complexity and achieve operations performance breakthroughs with its proven solution for demand and supply chain planning, monitoring and response. Kinaxis RapidResponse is an on-demand service that enables collective risk tradeoff and response to change by empowering front-line decision makers with integrated tools for supply chain visibility, demand management, supply management, sales and operations planning (S&OP) and supply chain risk management. Global leaders such as Casio, Jabil, Qualcomm, and Raytheon are realizing superior customer satisfaction and a competitive advantage with RapidResponse. For more information, visit www.kinaxis.com or the Kinaxis blog at www.21stcenturysupplychain.com.

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