Vanguard Software
Forecasting & Planning Solutions
Home Products Solutions Services Customers Partners Company
 

Manufacturing Solutions

Manufacturing companies today face increasing challenges to maximizing both profitability and customer service. Product mixes are more diverse, requiring advanced forecasting processes, portfolio analysis, and efficient Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP). To combat lower margins, manufacturers need to reduce costs by automating routine and complex decision-making processes. Supply chain networks are more complex. Manufacturers have no choice but to collaborate in real-time with suppliers and develop robust supply chains. Customers are more demanding and in highly competitive markets, outstanding customer service is essential.

Solutions

The Vanguard System™ is a comprehensive business solution for improving the quality, reliability, and speed of management decisions. It does this by helping you Collaborate with colleagues on important plans, Analyze alternatives using state-of-the-art modeling and simulation techniques, Automate routine decisions using expert system technology, and Improve overall management effectiveness by adding structure to a normally chaotic process.

Business improvement is all about working smarter. Vanguard brings together the people, analytics, and systems required to help your business operate intelligently.

Here are just a few of the ways Vanguard supports the manufacturing industry:

  • Demand forecasting: Predict demand for final products and raw materials, even when historical data is scarce.
  • Mix / Portfolio analysis: Optimize product portfolios, pricing, and promotions.
  • Product development: Estimate lifecycle costs and forecast adoption across all channels.
  • Sales and operations planning (S&OP): Enable real-time collaboration between Marketing & Sales and Operations to ensure production capacity can profitably support customer demand (and vice versa).
  • Supply chain planning: Optimize your supply chain network, inventory levels, distribution plans, and more.
  • Information sharing: Involve suppliers and customers in planning processes. Dynamically receive their latest demand and material availability estimates.
  • Operational efficiency: Conduct process improvement/Six Sigma projects to reduce costs, cycle times, and waste.
  • Equipment diagnostics: Expertly guide operators, technicians, and support agents through complex troubleshooting processes using automated question-and-answer sessions.
  • Surveys and research: Know your market and understand your customers' needs, wishes, and opinions using online surveys.

Content Management System (CMS)

Vanguard Content Management System (CMS) is a Web-based expert system development tool for non-programmers. CMS Web-based applications guide customers or employees through complex decision-making processes using interactive, automated question and answer sessions. They are core software applications that can improve the operational efficiency of your key business processes.

Using CMS, manufacturers can reduce costs by automating routine and complex decision-making processes such as processing orders and managing customer support queries. The global availability and real-time data processing of Web-based CMS applications makes them perfectly suited to the distributed, complex and dynamic supply chains in manufacturing.

CMS applications can support order processing as product selectors for their products and services. Customers can view different pricing options through CMS Web applications in their Web browsers by answering questions, receive a quote based on the volumes they want, and then place an order. Orders can then be routed to processing systems in real-time.

Manufacturing customer support specialists can walk through CMS support scripting applications to enforce consistency in communication and assist them in deciding which questions to ask customers. In addition, customer support can be augmented with CMS self-service helpdesk applications that customers can use to resolve common problems.

Questions?

Let us help. We can set up a Web demo, provide trial software, or just answer questions.

Contact Us

  Forecasting Software  |  Demand Planning  |  Financial Forecasting
Decision Support Software  |  Expert System Software  |  Online Surveys

Contact Us  |  Terms of Use  |  Privacy Policy  |  Site Map
Vanguard Software
© 2012 Vanguard Software Corporation
Print this page   Email this page to a friend