Collaborative Supply Chain
Distributed Production Planning
TERPSICHORE has created an electronic commerce network connecting users, manufacturers and suppliers in the textile production chain.
This provides a quick response system by interconnecting each company's information systems, databases, planning tools and supervision systems, taking into account inputs from sales employees and procurement departments.
The project has not only delivered substantial benefits in term of costs and time reduction to the users, but has also demonstrated merging new communication technologies with traditional information and management systems while integrating establish and emerging standards.
The Textile Supply Chain
The TERPSICHORE project addresses the supply and production chain in the volatile (seasonal) environment of high fashion wool garment manufacturing.
The end-to-end process encompasses spinning, weaving, dying/finishing and ready made clothing in a multi-site multi-supplier international supply chain.
The TERPSICHORE Solution
TERPSICHORE has re-engineered the whole business process by developing and implementing new e-commerce technology to create an internet-linked 'virtual factory' in which the separate industrial partners form part of an integrated supply network.
Information is passed between corporate systems by secure mobile agents, transferring order and stock details automatically along the whole supply chain.
Actors in the supply chain have direct access to the operational data of about SKUs, production orders, transport orders, etc. thus providing information about its availability or status in the production process.
This enhanced visibility leads to:
- Improved customer service/satisfaction
- Better trading relationship
- Reduction of lead times and improved availability of data
- Decreased inventory holdings and costs
- Less paperwork and less errors
- Increased employee productivity and decreased operational costs
Key components of the TERPSICHORE solution are MJC²'s PIMSS and e-Stock modules, which provide real-time manufacturing scheduling and inventory optimization respectively.