Solectron chooses Kinaxis(TM) RapidResponse as global standard for response management

Deployments to begin immediately in Asia Pacific region

Kinaxis(TM) Corporation, a provider of Response Management solutions that deliver manufacturing performance management by rapidly responding to constant volatility at the point-of-action today announced that Solectron plans to deploy Kinaxis RapidResponse as the standard across all of their global manufacturing sites.

With 57,000 employees in 52 locations spanning 25 countries, Solectron is a leading global provider of electronics manufacturing and integrated supply chain services to a wide array of technology customers including such industry giants as Cisco and Nortel.

Solectron's customers demand high flexibility and responsiveness to the unpredictable demand patterns they experience in their markets.  In order to exceed customer service expectations while simultaneously improving performance, Solectron sought a software solution that would help manage this information and integrate seamlessly with its SAP system and supply chain management and lean methodologies.

"Given that we needed to rapidly and flexibly respond to customer changes, we had a specific set of requirements for the solution to ensure we would be successful," said Kevin Sachs vice president of Worldwide Account Operations Management for Solectron. "Kinaxis RapidResponse was the only tool that was able to meet all of our requirements, and since it was already in use at several Solectron sites that had experienced the rapid deployment and ease-of-use of the solution, we knew it was a sure fit."

Solectron will be deploying RapidResponse to 6 locations in Malaysia, Singapore and China. These sites will benefit from using the Solectron Global forecast and demand management process as well as standard RapidResponse functionality to provide a higher level of service to their customer base.

"Solectron clearly recognizes that the key to growing their business and protecting their margins is to be flexible and responsive to customer needs," said Doug Colbeth, chief executive officer of Kinaxis. "In the electronics market, change is both inevitable and constant. By building a core competency in response management, Solectron will remain a market leader in the EMS space."

Solectron will use RapidResponse to support its entire forecast and demand management initiatives with customers.  Most of Solectron's customers send new demand signals weekly. With RapidResponse, Solectron will be able to quickly assess its ability to respond to the changes, determine the inventory exposure implications of the changes, and identify key constraints that, if resolved, can help the customer to achieve the full requirements.

www.kinaxis.com