Vendor at a Glance Syncron General Category: Supply Chain Software Solution Area: Planning and Execution Software for the Service Parts Industry Solution Summary: Syncron offers an integrated suite of order management, forecasting, inventory planning, VMI, price management and related software modules, targeted at the service parts supply chain Example Customers: Komatsu, JCB, Volvo, Atlas Copco Market Coverage:   Global US Headquarters: Atlanta Stated Differentiators: Providing both planning and execution capabilities Ease of integration Strength of planning solutions/forecasting for the service parts industry SOA-based architecture URL: www.syncron.com Phone: (678) 638 6275

Last Update: Nov. 18, 2008

Syncron is a European-based company that is making inroads into the US market following success in Europe and Asia. It focuses on the aftermarket supply chain in the area of service parts management, especially in three major sub-segments:

It counts among its 100+ customers companies such as Alfa Laval, Atlas Copco, Electrolux, Komatsu, Metso, JCB, Renault, Sandvik, GE Aviation, Toyota, Volvo and VW Industrial Equipment, BAE Systems, and Volkswagen.

According to CEO Anders Grudén, what sets Syncron apart is a focus on both planning and execution.

“Most vendors in this area provide only the planning applications,” Grudén said in an interview with Supply Chain Digest. “Syncron combines deep forecasting and inventory planning capabilities with rich functionality around order management.”

Global Order Management (GOM) is a newer type of application that is designed to accept orders from multiple channels or sources and then route those orders at a line item level to the appropriate sourcing point. This application area has received the most attention in areas such as retail, supporting so called “multi-channel” strategies (e.g., retail stores, web, catalog, etc.). Syncron, however, believes the capability is also well suited to the service parts supply chain.

“Many of our customers have multiple ERP systems, as a result of acquisitions or other factors,” Grudén said. “They can’t afford the cost or time to go to a single ERP system. So they deploy our order management system to ride over top of all those ERP systems, take orders, and route them to the right facility and system for fulfillment. That could be a plant, a distribution center, or a supplier.”

The Syncron system provides full order management capabilities, as well as pricing management – a challenge for many companies, given custom pricing agreements, volume discounts, promotions, currency issues, and many other price management challenges.

Syncron also has a strong offering in the traditional parts planning arena.

Syncron also says its “Service Oriented Architecture” (SOA) is differentiator. While today almost all vendors claim to be SOA-based, Grudén says the Syncron solution was built with an SOA-based from the ground up, meaning in part it consists of thousands of discrete “components,” or specific pieces of functionality, tied together with SOA principles to make the solution. The result should be improved application flexibility and ease of integration, with the latter being especially key for Distributed Order Management deployments and many touch points to ERP, legacy aand supplier systems that may result.

The company has opened an office in Atlanta. Its big push into the US is helped by global companies such as the UK’s JCB, the world’s third largest construction equipment provider, which has deployed Syncron solutions in its US and other global operations.

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