In most companies, supplier and item master data is entered and maintained in one or more ERP instances, procurement, maintenance, PLM, inventory, and other legacy systems. Consistency and synchronization among the various instances of the data are typically nonexistent as each system, location, and user group uses different data standards, naming conventions, and classification taxonomies. The problem grows exponentially over time as underlying systems and users change and evolve. Duplicate entries, incomplete records, and out-of-date information become all too commonplace. As a result, it is difficult or impossible to manage inventory effectively, compare alternate sources of supply, analyze spend, ensure Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, integrate new company acquisitions, and implement or upgrade ERP systems such as SAP and Oracle. It requires a coordinated effort to address handling this kind of scenario, which many companies are unprepared to handle on their own.
The PartsRiver Product Suite
The product suite is at the core of our solution. It consists of the following proprietary PartsRiver components:
- The Foundation Engine - Cleansing the Part Master
- Find the right manufacturer name, part number, and description
- Identify duplicates, obsoletes, and supersedes
- Find replacement and or equivalent parts
- Apply business rules if any (ex: preferred supplier)
- Assign categories (ex: UNSPSC, VMRS)
- The Cross-reference Engine
- Find Cross Reference Parts
- This engine is accessible at any Stage
- Find cross reference between OEMs, component manufacturers, distributors
- Find equivalent parts from preferred manufacturer
- Find equivalent parts with better price
- The Catalog Compliance Engine - Monitoring Supplier Catalog Stream Continuously
- Compare new catalog to old catalog
- Check for compliance to business rules
- Check for obsolete and superseded parts
- Check for price changes
- Obtain approval
- The Order Compliance Engine
- Help buyers Find the Right Price
- Display the contract price of the part to the buyer before purchasing
- Display prices previously paid for this part
- Find an approved equivalent of a new part that is not in the approved list
- Approve the new part if no equivalent found in the approved list
- The Dashboard Engine
- Analyze Purchase History
- Display summary tables and graphs
- Display deviations from contract prices by location
- Show saving potential
- Drill down to transaction level
- Provide pricing benchmark information
