Saab's supply chain solutions story Part One
Saab Automobile Parts AB is Saab Automotive’s main warehouse and distribution center for spare parts and accessories.
Based in Sweden, Saab Automobile Parts AB’s warehouse was established in 1969 when the Saab Car Division of Saab-Scania was created.
Saab manufactures cars for 60 countries worldwide and primary markets include the US, UK, Sweden, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, Australia, Italy and France. Typically, the company produces 100,000 cars each year, and current models include the 9-3 and 9-5.
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Having been owned by General Motors (GM) since 1989, Saab was acquired by Spyker Cars NV in 2010. The automotive manufacturer has 6,000 employees and is based in Trollhattan, Sweden.
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Following its acquisition by Spyker cars in 2010, Saab faced two options with regards to its demand planning and supplier relationship management systems. It could continue to use those of its previous owner on a paid-for basis, or become completely independent from those systems.
The cost of ‘renting’ General Motors’ systems simply wasn’t sustainable so the parts company decided to implement its own.
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A timescale of six months was agreed for the data transfer, therefore Saab had to select and contract a supplier, and have absolute confidence that the solution could be implemented against the deadline. No contingency existed in meeting this deadline therefore Saab needed to work with a partner it could trust completely.
With 1,100 suppliers and 64,000 different parts, the specified systems had to be proven, scalable, robust and flexible.
Having used Infor10 Demand Planning (Infor SCM Demand Planning) in its capacity as a General Motors company, Saab decided to work with Infor to implement Demand Planning, as well as Infor10 Supplier Commerce Portal (SupplyWEB) which hadn’t been used previously, in its new entity.
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Edited by Kevin Scarpati
