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    • Aluminium Konin – Impexmetal S.A. Implements Advanced Planning Technologies

    Aluminium Konin – Impexmetal S.A., the sole Polish Aluminium producer, adopted the intention to implement an Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) system under the scheme of company advancement, intending to make use of i2 Factory Planner solution by the American i2 Technologies. The project shall be taken care of by SPIN, co-operating with their Czech Republic-based partner LOGIS, boasting of extensive experience in APS projects.

    01/04/2005

    Marek Kacprowicz, Chairman of the Managing Board of Aluminium Konin – Impexmetal S.A. had the following to say on the reasons that led to the project: “The metallurgical sector is in for development t u r m o i l . A n d those who can take the opportunity and offer more than the others, set the pace. Although we’ve arrived at a high quality of production, we see customer requirements becoming ever more stringent in the domain of flexibility, promptness, precision and reliability of deliveries. Therefore, if we intend to boost customer satisfaction, we have to improve control quality in a significant way. To back up this objective, we decided to employ advanced planning technologies.” Advanced planning technologies are capable of backing up changes designed to improve operational efficiency and customer service standards. As shown in a score of examples involving similar projects implemented in a number of metallurgical plants, inventory turnover may be increased substantially (with the increase ranging between 30% and 50%), production lead times may be reduced (by 30% to 40%), due date prerformance may be increased (by 30% to 50%), etc. Although there are many firms declaring to be suppliers of advanced planning technologies, only a small fraction of these can actually turn the promises into solid results. Jan Woźniak, Production and Technology Director and Member of Aluminium Konin – Impexmetal S.A. Managing Board, maintains: “The contract award was preceded by a robust analysis of the bids submitted by both Polish and foreign companies. The top quality of the i2 Planning Technologies was not the only factor in our decision-making; the experience demonstrated and capabilities on the part of the supplier of the present project had a role to play, too. During the upcoming ten months, the APS system will be implemented, as a result of which we will obtain a very powerful tool to support production planning and control. We will be able to produce more efficiently while being able to accommodate our customers’ needs in a better way.” The implemented solution employs the i2 Factory Planner state-of-the-art planning and control tool designed by i2 Technologies with regard to the needs of metallurgical production, which makes it possible to:

    • identify pending problems relating to production and order performance in advance;
    • optimise capacity utilisation;
    • define material purchasing needs in a precise manner;
    • respond to situational changes and client requirements;
    • determine the possible delivery dates in a rapid and reliable manner;
    • provide updates on the course of order performance;
    • etc.

    Included in the project is the delivery of the application for operational control and withdrawal of finished products that will allow the operators to manage production efficiently in manual or automatic mode. Due to the implemented project, Aluminium Konin – Impexmetal S.A. will be able to plan and control the processes of order reception and performance more effectively, which will ultimately have a favourable effect upon profitability and customer satisfaction. Dalibor Konvička, LOGIS Chief Executive Officer stressed: “Aluminium Konin – Impexmetal S.A. is the first Polish company to employ any of the top planning technologies with a view to enhancing its competitiveness. We’re pleased that our first Polish customer is a company capable of defining their priorities and allocating additional resources with the intention to undertake the project within a short period of time and with maximum certainly. With the progress in the implementation achieved up to this point, it seems the project may be completed by the original deadline, which is an excellent reference for us.” The project was scheduled to take place in four gradual stages, with a total duration of ten months. Each stage consists in undertaking component tasks leading to the commissioning of the defined system functionality with regard to the changes that need to be introduced in the plant processes. There are clearly defined aims for each of the stages and the stages themselves are assessed separately. The project rules are described in detail in LOGIS Project Methodology appended to the Supply Contract and is a document of key importance to the project team. Thanks to the above methodology, which is based upon i2 Technologies Best Practices and is subject to updates with regard to experience collected from previous projects, the results may be achieved within very short times while maintaining minimum risks. “Last month, we concluded the penultimate stage of the project,” says Artur Głodek, Project Manager on behalf of Aluminium Konin¨ – Impexmetal S.A., adding that: ”We headed into the project with a negativity that stemmed from our experience in co-operating with other suppliers who were unable to comply with the agreed time schedule, thus negatively affecting the dates allocated for further projects we were pursuing. Soon, however, it became clear that this project was different both in terms of compliance with the deadlines and in project team readiness and competence. The project went smoothly and the outcomes of the individual stages met our expectations.” The competence of the project team on behalf of the supplier is an all-important factor in the success of advanced planning projects. LOGIS is a long-standing supplier of projects designed to improve corporate competitiveness through projects that seek to improve the quality of planning and control. While present in the market, LOGIS built a strong competence centre that not only implements the actual projects in Central and Eastern European countries, but also promotes projects undertaken by their partners, regardless of the geographical region. Michał Górski, Chairman of SPIN Managing Board said: “Our company has decided to be the first in Poland to invest in a team focusing upon APS/SCM technologies. Now, we’re on the verge of launching the first project of this kind. We can identify the still growing demand in the market for similar technologies. The success we had with the Konin project will show the way to additional similar Poland-based companies. We realise that the high sophistication of the projects requires the full involvement and willingness to co-operate of both the supplier and the customer. We are pleased to be able to rely upon LOGIS, who have been dealing with advanced planning project implementations for more than five years and have a score of highly qualified experts at their disposal.”

    About LOGIS

    LOGIS is a supplier of expertise services and information technologies. The deliveries are executed in the form of projects aiming at improvement of management effectiveness and development of business success at the customers’ businesses. Within the framework of their solutions, LOGIS applies advanced managing and planning methods and procedures, including high-performance information technologies in the field of Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS).