An interview with Thomas Kossmehl of Toshiba

Following Toshiba Europe's implementation of RapidResponse I talked to the man responsible for rolling out the software.


EMSNow: Thomas, can you give us a brief overview of Toshiba's activities here in Europe and your role within that business?

Thomas Kossmehl: Toshiba Europe GmbH located in Neuss, Germany, is the European headquarters for Computer Systems for Toshiba Corporation serving the European, Middle East and African (EMEA) markets.

With the majority of manufacturing done in Asia, Toshiba has several sales and distribution sites serving the EMEA PC mobile computer market. Each organization is responsible for the purchasing, sales, and inventory (PSI) process for their respective sales regions. Toshiba Europe GmbH's role is to verify PSI results, consolidate them for an integrated view and communicate it to Toshiba Corporation in Tokyo.

My role is senior expert for Toshiba Europe GmbH (TEG), responsible for the management of ERP and SCM projects, including the implementation and ongoing use of RapidResponse.


EMSNow: Can you tell me a little about how you selected RapidResponse and how you became aware of Kinaxis?

Thomas: Toshinari Sato, the former Information Systems Vice President of TEG - learned of RapidResponse's use in Japan and concluded that it might offer solutions to the problems faced In Europe. So he established the initial contact between TEG and Kinaxis (which was at that time, Webplan)

The company looked at several other solutions (including i2), but found that nothing provided the capabilities that RapidResponse did - it was unique in the value proposition it could offer us.

Also the price was very attractive compared to other solutions at this time.


EMSNow: Is RapidResponse deployed throughout the organisation globally?

Thomas: Toshiba Corporation in Tokyo uses RapidResponse

Toshiba Europe's PC mobile computer group is connected directly to Toshiba Corporation's system - the data exchange between systems is automatic

Toshiba Europe's Consumer Products Group is currently in the process of implementing RapidResponse


EMSNow: What were the key factors that made you select this solution?

Thomas: We selected RapidResponse because it could seamlessly consolidate demand data from multiple sources and allow users to easily work with the data to develop and analyze various supply plans in real time. Prior to RapidResponse, we were using excel spreadsheets for our PSI processes and that was extremely time consuming, prone to error and unsustainable given the growth in the amount of data handled, which was pushing Excel to the limit.

The implementation time and costs were low compared to the other solutions considered, and RapidResponse integrates fully with our Oracle ERP and product roadmap systems. RapidResponse also uses an Excel-type interface, so that was obviously familiar for the users, and therefore no extensive user training was required. All in all the time-to-value was very compelling.

Bottom line was that RapidResponse could allow us to reduce the operational workload of processing an increasing number of SKUs; enhance the granularity and integrity of the information gathered and disseminated; and most importantly, leverage the information to improve the PSI process.


EMSNow: Toshiba has a 'lean' approach to manufacturing, how does RapidResponse fit into that strategy?

Thomas: Through the use of RapidResponse, non-value adding steps were removed from our PSI process, while data integrity and synchronization improved immensely, reducing the need for manual intervention and the probability of error.

Overall, we have created a more consistent, succinct PSI process that provides more accurate results.


EMSNow: When did you initially deploy the system and how was that deployment?

Thomas: The initial roll out for Toshiba Europe's PC mobile computer group took place in July 2005.

We connected RapidResponse systems with Toshiba Corporation in Tokyo in February 2006.

The initial deployment of the solution took less than 5 months. Subsequent deployment phases have focused on further leveraging the tool.


EMSNow: And when will it be rolled out to the rest of the European operation?

Thomas: Given the success achieved, Toshiba is planning for the implementation of RapidResponse for its EMEA Consumer Product Business (TVs, DVDs, Video Recorders) in July 2007.


EMSNow: Can you outline the kind of supply chain that Toshiba operates and where the most significant benefits have been?

Thomas: As mentioned the majority of manufacturing is done in Asia, and Toshiba Europe acts as a distribution network. Toshiba has several sales and distribution sites serving the EMEA PC mobile computer market. Each organization is responsible for the purchasing, sales, and inventory (PSI) process for their respective sales regions. Toshiba Europe GmbH's role is to verify PSI results, consolidate them for an integrated view and communicate it to Toshiba Corporation in Tokyo. Toshiba Europe's main pain point is supply allocation - dynamically aligning supply with demand across regional sites.

Today, with RapidResponse, the PSI process has been both enhanced and streamlined to the benefit of Toshiba's bottom line.

PSI analysis and results are now executed on sales territory instead of sales organization (one organization can be responsible for several territories), which has resulted in significantly improved forecast accuracy and hence, better purchase plans submitted to Toshiba Tokyo.

Despite our structured PSI process, RapidResponse enables us to be a more responsive organization, providing us with a level of flexibility not achieved before given our fixed planning schedules and procedures.

Overall, we now spend significantly less time on data gathering and consolidating and more time on analysis and decision-making - which is where the business value lies.


EMSNow: Is the primary benefit to Toshiba internal or external, i.e. visible to your customers?

Thomas: I would say that it benefits our internal processes, which as a result, benefits our customers in that there is better alignment of supply with demand across regional sites. So we are more accurate in getting the products where they need to be, when they need to be there - which ultimately means superior customer satisfaction and service.