Supplier Exchange

The Infor Supplier Exchange is used by automotive manufacturers to publish demand (requirements) and Advance Ship Notices (ASNs) to the Web. The exchange of information takes place between two groups: customers and suppliers.

Supplier Exchange provides many features, such as:

Replenishment strategies
Event management
Alerts
Shipping
Receiving
Global track and trace
Supplier performance
Damaged material notices
Document management

Suppliers collaboration

Infor Supplier Exchange for Automotive is a web-based solution that integrates with your existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and supports online collaboration between every type of automotive supplier — including logistics service providers, outside processors, purchase parts suppliers, and discrete purchase order suppliers.

The solution includes support for Sigma Six initiatives and is compliant with OEM communication and quality requirements, such as IATF 16949, MMOG-7, and $. C.O.R.E./$. C.O.P.E. for automotive suppliers. Supplier Exchange additionally supports multiple currencies and languages.

With the option to implement the solution on-premises or in the cloud, no matter where you or your suppliers are located, you can meet all your customers’ current and future imperatives and compete more successfully.

Real-time collaboration with supply chain

Supplier Exchange works directly with suppliers to find the best and most efficient ways to quickly obtain additional critical parts and materials to deliver an order to a customer on time, or communicate important delivery details such as volumes, specifications, and shipping instructions in a timely manner.

The solution uses the capabilities of the Infor ION platform to simplify integration, which enables combining the data from diverse ERP into a single, unified view for suppliers and internal users.

Tender management

Supplier Exchange allows you to manage traditional, closed, and reverse tenders using the RFQ module.

After request creation in Supplier Exchange, the RFQ module notifies suppliers of the status of their offer throughout the tender process. In addition, the module allows you to attach additional files and documents related to the buyer and a specific supplier, negotiate with each specific supplier, and helps to communicate the supplier’s questions and the buyer’s answers in a timely manner.

In today’s fast-paced environment, auto suppliers cannot afford the potential delays due to traditional communication methods such as phone and email. Analytical data generated by Supplier Exchange allow you to react and take action in any situation immediately.

Integrated electronic data exchange

Supplier Exchange provides fully integrated machine-to-machine support for electronic data interchange (EDI), as well as support for other web-based communications systems and automatic fax capabilities, regardless of whether or not suppliers use EDI.

These capabilities improve the speed and accuracy of critical details such as volumes and specs, and automate shipment notifications and invoicing. As a result, costs, processing, and delivery times are significantly reduced by reducing manual operations.

Performance management

Supplier Exchange makes it easy to evaluate your supplier relationships by automatically tracking supplier performance and compliance. The capabilities of the solution allow to eliminate the time and effort spent collecting and calculating supplier performance data manually, while also making it easier for suppliers to respond quickly to alerts and exceptions regarding shipping, receiving, quality, and other events.

Some of the supplier performance metrics and KPIs you can monitor include:

Supplier ratings
Supplier action plans
Corrective actions
Root causes
Defective Material Notices (DMN)
Delivery Performance Reviews (DPR)
Production part approval process (PPAP)

These metrics enable to evaluate supplier performance over time to discover which suppliers are more likely to cause supply disruptions and delays, and select more reliable suppliers to reduce unexpected costs associated with expedited freight shipments, production downtime, and lost business.

Replenishment

The Supplier Exchange’s pull-based replenishment methodology is designed to best fit each supplier and part. The solution allows to control each part based on how it is used and consumed, with release schedules and different purchasing strategies that are applied across the enterprise.

Supplier Exchange allows you to set up workflows to manage plans and schedules, allowing you to receive automatic alerts for issues detected early in the process, before they impact delivery.

Supplier Exchange includes configuring event notification rules to manage and automate interactions by supplier, part family, or item level, and allows you to automate approval processes and document routing across departments and global locations. Enterprise data is synchronized and updated the moment a transaction occurs in Supplier Exchange.

By establishing real-time replenishment capabilities with your suppliers, standardizing processes throughout the supply chain, and driving your strategic sourcing decisions with crucial real-time information, you’ll be able to significantly improve efficiencies, speed delivery times, and reduce costs.