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Video Excerpts:
"We have seen a nine-fold improvement in reduction of cycle time."
"Reduced our inventory by 300 percent..."
"We don't miss delivery schedules..."
"The U.S. Government has never seen that kind of dependability before."
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Tactical Vehicle Systems, LP
Tactical Vehicle Systems (TVS), LP, a division of Stewart and Stevenson, is a manufacturer, distributor and service provider for medium tactical, engine-driven, wheeled equipment. With over 800 employees, a 200-acre facility and 510,000 square feet of manufacturing space, the company sells to the U.S. army and other armies in the world.
TVS uses MAPICS (now Infor) solutions to streamline outsourcing processes by automating its supply chain and identifying constraints as they arise. The company is very proud of its world-class delivery performance - 34 months of 100 percent on time delivery of vehicles. It has also reached five plus Sigma for delivered truck quality and six Sigma for delivered trailer and spares quality.
The Challenge
A few years ago, TVS realized that their enterprise system lacked business
management tools and other key functionality needed to succeed. With a mixedmode
assembly line, the company needed the flexibility to meet shifting schedules
according to customer requirements.
"Even though we first purchased MAPICS (now Infor) in 1992, we did not implement all the
modules we should have up front. As a result, some functionality was missing." says
Jim Pantano, vice president for program management and technical services. "We
decided to upgrade and re-implement our MAPICS (now Infor) solution to focus on what is
important to us: automating our outsourcing processes, improving supplier
collaboration and continuous training."
Management at TVS decided to overhaul the company's business processes and
used technology as the catalyst for change.
The Solution
TVS now uses MAPICS (now Infor) solutions to streamline outsourcing processes by automating
its supply chain and identifying constraints as they arise. For example, the company
utilizes the contract and PO release functionality to make certain the majority of
trucks coming and going from their facilities have a full load.
MAPICS (now Infor) supply chain management solutions provide real-time, Internet-based
synchronization of manufacturing, distribution and external supply to customer
demand. The application forms the foundation for proactive communication
across the supply chain and balanced capacity throughout the enterprise to
assure that promises made are promises kept.
"Over the last 3 years, MAPICS (now Infor) has helped us come a long way in streamlining our
acquisition, outsourcing and procurement processes. Our goal is to virtually
eliminate all of the paper and manual processes we use in purchasing. We are
very close to reaching that goal and becoming totally automated with the
interface to our suppliers. And that is quite an accomplishment," says Richard
Hammond, Vice President, Operations.
Real Results
Management at TVS is very proud of its world-class delivery performance — 36
months of 100 percent on-time delivery of vehicles. The company is now the
number one provider to the U.S. Department of Defense for delivery performance.
It has also reached Five-plus Sigma level for delivered truck quality and Six Sigma
for delivered trailer and spares quality.
"This year, we were one of the finalists for the Shingo award, which recognizes lean
manufacturers in the U.S. Over the last three years, we have truly embraced lean
principles and techniques, for instance, in the area of inventory management. With
the help of the MAPICS (now Infor) solution, we have reduced our inventory by 300 percent.
We now use less than 30 percent of the space we did three years ago," states
Hammond.
"Another example of how MAPICS (now Infor) has helped streamline operations can be seen in
our reduced cycle times," says Pantano. "Before we went into this continuous
improvement program, cycle times were anywhere between 80-90 days. Now, with
MAPICS (now Infor) in place, it's reduced to 10-12 days. That is a nine-fold improvement from
the time we start a truck until the time the customer is satisfied and has accepted
that vehicle."
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At-a-glance
Company name:
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Tactical Vehicle Systems, LP
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Headquarters:
Products manufactured:
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Tactical Vehicle Systems, LP, a division of Stewart and Stevenson, is a manufacturer, distributor and service provider for medium tactical, engine-driven, wheeled equipment.
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Related download:
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