Cupertino, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/20/2010 -- Franke is a world leader in comprehensive systems for domestic kitchens and for professional applications in food service, coffee preparation, beverage delivery and hygiene solutions. Franke has a global presence and a local commitment to its customers, with some 10,500 employees worldwide operating through more than 70 subsidiaries in 37 countries. The Franke Group, whose head offices are in Aarburg, Switzerland, generated consolidated sales of 2,415.8 million Swiss Francs in 2009.

The Ultriva Lean Supply Chain Solution, www.ultriva.com, is live at over 140 plants across 10 countries. Our customers include AGCO, AO Smith, BE Aerospace, CNH, Dresser, Emerson, FRANKE, Ingersoll-Rand, McKesson and Owens Corning among others. Ultriva customers collaborate with over 5000 suppliers and transact over $1.5 billion of purchased parts every year within their demand driven supply networks.

In 2009, Franke selected the Ultriva Lean Supplier Platform to execute its materials replenishment process. Franke initially selected those customers that represented significant amounts of their spending and also those suppliers that were candidates to be put on a consumption based replenishment or kanban. “Our inventory levels had reached unacceptable levels as our markets became more unpredictable and variable over the past few years. Many of our suppliers were resorting to exaggerating their lead times to provide a delivery cushion and expediting our orders to do their best to meet the needs of our business,” said Franke’s David Morrison.

“When we audited our material planning and procurement processes, we recognized we were causing a lot of the problems that were frustrating our suppliers. Our demand was too unpredictable to use as a basis to plan materials on. Rather than trying to address the challenges of Franke’s forecast driven, MRP system with the same approaches they had used in the past, we decided to leverage the lean philosophy that is used within their business and extend those principles across their value chain”, stated Morrison. With the Ultriva lean Supplier solution, Franke was able to provide real-time visibility of consumption to their suppliers, trigger kanban releases via the supplier portal and track supplier performance. The Ultriva solution has provided Franke with a platform to migrate from a push-based supply chain to a pull-based network.

“We’re proud to be able to help a worldwide leader like Franke solve some of their critical supply chain challenges,” said Narayan Laksham, CEO of Ultriva, Inc. “Inventory reduction and improved supplier performance are key drivers for today’s leading manufacturers.

Franke Food Service, the the world’s leading provider of intelligent systems for domestic kitchens, professional food service, coffee preparation, beverage delivery and hygiene solutions was recognized at Ultriva’s user conference for its achievements in inventory reduction and supplier performance.

Ultriva
http://www.ultriva.com
Cindy McGowan
pr@ultriva.com
408.248.9803