What did BAE Systems prioritise for Supply Chain technology?
We have always been strong in the A&D market place but sometimes it is good to take a moment to pause and reflect on why how this has come about.
One good example is BAE Systems, an organisation that we have worked closely with for a number of years.
As with any large, forward thinking company, BAE Systems were looking to streamline their processes. Importantly though, they realised that in order to do that they had to ensure that the master data they had was of a very high quality and that the system they went with, had the flexibility to cope with changes in the future.
They also wanted to be able to leverage economies of scale and have one global environment that allowed local capabilities and flexibility.
The starting point here was to implement a supplier portal. Crucially though, that data then had to be pushed into the multitude of ERP systems that any large company has to contend with.
So in short, these were the issues:
- Poor data quality
- Multiple ERPs leading to multiple processes etc
- Multiple geographies with no harmonisation
- No high level overview/authority
And this is what they wanted in order to tackle these issues:
- One single source of truth/master data
- A system that works hand in hand with multiple ERPs
- An automated system
- Ability to have global and local oversight
From this starting point, other opportunities have been discovered and acted upon. But, ultimately, this project was always about starting from the ground and working their way up.
A sensible approach that has, over the years, saved millions and enabled BAE to build onto this starting point with other best of breed vendors.
It’s no surprise that other A&D companies are in agreement regarding this approach.
