This new trend is technically one of the most valid areas of the e-volution and is based on the principal aim of anticipating and encouraging the development of new models of business directed towards using internet technology to improve the supply chain, paying particular attention to pre- and post-sales service.
The idea behind this project was to set up a single documentation centre containing all technical documentation of interest to the customers which can be navigated via Intranet and Extranet. By following a certain set of procedures, both the company and the customer have to keep the documentation, which is accessible via the web, in the "Client Carpet", up-to-date. For example, all customers who modify the layout or individual machines themselves must inform Sacmi's technical documentation department of any changes to the mechanical or electrical parts. Sacmi will then update the Client Carpet.
From the Client Carpet, the application for the on-line spare parts service is automatically opened at the same time. This provides a little push to encourage the customer to choose original spare parts over the alternative solutions often found in developing countries (e.g. home made). The web interface is in line with the company's ERP system, Sap R3, from which it receives updated information about client details, price lists, solvency, product details, codes and part numbers, prices, availability in stock, etc. The user can consult all the catalogues and machine manuals in a hypermedia format. This means that the customer can draw up a spare parts order and at the same time, again by referring to hypermedia documents, access information such as engineering diagrams or wiring diagrams etc.
The user has the advantage of being able to draw up a list of spare parts required whilst having immediate on-line access to the price lists relevant to his particular company and information regarding availability of the parts in stock. Once the order has been filled out it can be sent to Sacmi as a request for an offer or, if it is an urgent matter, directly as a purchase order.
Once the order has been sent, the SAP system directly selects the spare part in question or sends the piece into production via MRP. This means that a quarter of the time that previously elapsed between ordering a part and putting it into production is now required. This system is currently in the trial stage but is giving excellent results in terms of efficiency both for the Customer and the Spare Parts Department for 2 of Sacmi's most important clients.
The introduction of Client Carpet and the on-line spare parts service has resolved a problem that has been felt for some time i.e. the need to unify all the technical documentation and to make it more widely accessible. A further benefit is the elimination of numerous intermediary procedures (bureaucratic and contractual procedures but also operational and management ones). One imagines that these procedures must have hindered the growth of sales, especially with a high profit margin, generated by spare parts.
It is important to emphasise that the user (the customer, a Sacmi technician or sales rep. on site, the Spare Parts department of Sacmi or an associated company) can access the system via a simple internet connection without any client station but using freeware software, in particular Internet Explorer 4.5 or the Acrobat SVG viewer available free of charge.
In short, the objective is to bring together the various stocks on the company's ERP system so that spare parts can be handled more efficiently and delivery times are cut down.