APICS enters partnership with Software AG

Supply chain management professionals’ body APICS has announced that it is to enter a strategic partnership with Software AG to incorporate APICS’s Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model and other frameworks into Software AG’s ARIS Business Process Analysis platform.

The collaboration will enable organisations to analyse their global supply chain operations using the world’s leading supply chain framework SCOR, and from there easily take action on recommendations using the ARIS platform as the underlying technology. It will also give enterprise access to process-level benchmarking and performance management tools, as well as process based supply chain talent development opportunities.

“As supply chains continue to become increasingly complex, businesses need meaningful insights into the dynamics of business processes, supply chain management systems, and systemic knowledge development,” said Peter Bolstorff, executive vice president, APICS.

“Furthermore, once inefficiencies are identified, they need access to tools that make refining those business processes possible. By incorporating SCOR’s global framework into the ARIS Business Process Analysis platform, businesses can easily measure, manage, and make improvements to their global supply chain performance using the SCOR framework.”

A core part of Software AG’s Digital Business Platform, ARIS Business Process Analysis (BPA) Platform documents, analyzes and optimizes processes to achieve business process excellence across departments, disciplines, systems and geographies.

The platform leverages existing IT investments to lower total costs while offering integrated products to speed implementation. The SCOR framework links business processes, performance metrics, practices and people skills into a unified structure.

The Software AG and APICS SCOR framework enables organizations to:

– “Increase supply chain flexibility to enable informed reactions to changing conditions, business models, and customer requirements

– Reduce the time to design and implement new supply chain processes by building on existing best-practice processes from the SCOR model

– Improve the performance of supply chains by analyzing and simulating processes to remove bottlenecks, and identify and remove inefficiencies and duplication

– Enhance process and IT quality through better definition of processes, avoidance of system breaks and better communication”

“We’ve already seen first hand the positive impact the partnership between Software AG and APICS has had on customers around the world – some have reduced inventory up to 30 percent,” said Sean Riley, global industry director, manufacturing, supply chain and logistics, Software AG.

“Our Digital Business Platform is a critical enabler for this partnership and we’re proud to offer it to APICS Supply Chain Council affiliates. Both organizations are at the forefront of innovation and leadership in the supply chain industry and we can’t be more proud to combine forces with APICS to offer the most comprehensive solution on the market.”

“With more than 16 years of leadership within enterprise architecture, Software AG is held to high industry standards, much like APICS,” continued Bolstorff. “Our partnership is one of the many ways APICS continues to deliver unmatched industry resources and offerings to our affiliates, sponsors and the industry at large.”

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