Daikin Europe NV
European Manufacturer Transforms Supply Chain in Dynamic Market
Daikin Europe NV, based in Belgium, is the European branch of Japan’s Daikin Industries, a leading manufacturer of commercial, industrial and residential air-conditioning systems. In 2000, the company began a fundamental supply chain transformation program with the mission of gaining competitive advantage by establishing a shortage-free supply structure. The new supply chain would follow market demand, enabling a drastic reduction in inventories. Implementing these changes would require key process and organizational changes, as well as a new integrated IT environment to synchronize operations across the continent and support Daikin’s sales, supply planning, logistics, procurement, production, distribution, and related financial and costing processes. The company had four major business objectives:
- Reduce inventories by 40 percent and lead times by 50 percent
- Enable new processes, including direct deliveries and collaborative forecasting
- Enable monitoring and control of key business processes in the supply chain on a European level by introducing decision-support capabilities
- Support acquisitions and integration, as well as organizational changes, by providing a robust standard IT solution
Daikin decided SAP’s integrated enterprise and supply chain management solutions could effectively address these needs. But to get maximum benefit from the new system, the company needed a partner with deep expertise to bring it all together. Daikin chose EDS.
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