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February 2002
Intra-enterprise collaboration in EXE's demand system
Demand planning, inventory balancing and replenishment are among the functions tackled by a new software package called EXceed AIM (Adaptive Inventory Manager) from EXE Technologies. The launch further underlines EXE's drive to extend its portfolio from its original heartland in warehouse management. Already it has achieved a presence in the supply-chain execution market with its EXceed Fulfill and Collaborate supply-chain execution systems. EXceed AIM is designed to integrate with these, although the company says it can also work on a stand-alone basis. "It's a non-invasive system," emphasises director Steven Smith. EXE describes the new product as being all about "intra-enterprise collaboration". Hence its focus on functions such as balancing stock between warehouses, which it calls tactical inventory management. It attempts to work out capacity bottlenecks, and assess the relative costs of moving stock or ordering more. 
"Typically, this is currently done on an unplanned basis," Smith says. "Our system provides coordination, and hence visibility." This means it can come into its own as a promotional planning tool, taking account of the price elasticity of different fulfilment options. Other benefits are said to include improved order fill rates, reduced stock-outs, lower overall inventory levels and lower purchasing costs. It can also reduce transport costs, EXE says. The product runs on a variety of platforms including IBM AS/400 and Windows NT, and EXE provides a toolkit to speed up the integration process. Although it is not pitched as a direct replacement for a dedicated demand planning system, Smith also believes it could take on many of those functions. "Yet it can undercut these by a wide margin," he says. He says a typical cost of $40,000 would be as little as a twentieth of the price paid for some comparable US applications. Crucially for EXE in a period of worldwide caution on software investment, the company says EXceed AIM should be very quick to show a return on investment. A system installed now could be live in time for next Christmas, it says. The system underlying EXceed AIM was developed by a stand-alone American software house, AIM, which was acquired last year by EXE.
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