Sharing Data with Vendors:
Communication and Collaboration Tools

Background

Fortune 500 manufacturing client established a new business model which relied heavily on contract (outsourced) manufacturing partners.

Challenge

The rapid introduction of the new business model required the development of a collaborative tool to communicate bill-of-material and financial information, and to support price negotiation with contract manufacturing partners. The client needed a confidentially implemented system ready to go within 90 days.

Solution

ADC used its rapid development methodology and architecture to build a secure application to interface with the client's ERP and financial systems and its contract manufacturing partners. It supported collaboration on quotes, BOMs and contract costs between the client and manufacturers around the globe.

Results

The application introduction went smoothly and on schedule. To date, several billion dollars of contract manufacturing procurement have been processed through the system. The system's capabilities and flexibility far exceed the client's expecations and enabled them to expand its use to include manufacturers around the world.