Consumer durablesVertical industry brief

Production and design: Global Sales and Marketing department

IBS, ASW and IBS VIRTUAL ENTERPRISE are registered trademarks of IBS AB, in the European Union and in other countries. IBM, AS/400, iSeries, Lotus Notes, andWebSphere are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. All other trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned herein are the propertyof their respective holders. The information contained in this document is summary in nature, subject to change and intended for general information only. The details

pertaining to functionality and routines are based on IBS software, post release 5.50. For updates of this information, please contact your local IBS representative. © Copyright IBS 2005.

ContentIntroduction

Market situation and trends 4Global economic factors

Commercialisation of consumer durables

Seasonal influences on supply

Customer dynamics

IBS software - a competitive advantage 7

Tailored for the consumer durables industry 8

IntroductionIn the 1990s, ERP software solutions catered to a broad range of

requirements, including manufacturing, order processing, distribution

and financial accounting. As the decade drew to a close, many compa-

nies had to replace their old legacy software systems with ERP solutions

that were Y2K-compliant, while others were caught in the dash to

become dot.com-enabled. ERP implementations took much longer than

planned, consuming more staff time and resources. The objectives and

expectations of many companies were not met, because the ERP func-

tionality did not match specific business requirements without extensive

modifications, which had negative impacts on both costs and timelines.

Companies have become more cautious with their IT spending, looking

for a faster ROI and solutions that are attuned to critical business needs.

They now want a payback in less than twelve months, requiring a better

fit without time for extensive customisation. What is required is a soft-

ware solution aligned to business requirements that can actually solve

business problems. Companies want to partner with people who really

understand what their business is about.

This vertical industry brief highlights some best practices and current

trends specific to the consumer durables distribution sector. It is directed

toward distributors who are faced with industry-specific challenges and

opportunities and who are looking for solutions. It focuses on competitive

advantages to be gained from a fully integrated, demand-driven business

solution specifically designed for consumer durables distribution.

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Market situation and trendsConsumer durable goods consist of products that are often expensivefor the average household, and that are usually expected to last for twoor three years. These goods are often purchased as gifts on a seasonalbasis or for special occasions. The category includes but is not limited to:recreational goods, sporting equipment, toys and hobby goods, jewellery,watches, kitchenware and other durable household goods with longproduct life. White goods such as washing machines, refrigerators andcoffee machines, as well as brown goods such as DVD players, televisionsand stereos are often grouped into this category. (For more informationon white goods and brown goods, please refer to the IBS electricalproducts vertical industry brief.)

The consumer durables market is huge, as high as EUR 3,500b andgrowing by five percent annually, as family disposable incomes increaseand people devote more time to leisure, fitness and sporting activities.The increase in GDP of many developing countries has also created a new,buoyant market for consumer goods, with a steadily growing demandfor consumer durables. In Shanghai, for example, disposable income percitizen rose by almost 10 percent in just one year, from 2000 to 2001.These developing markets will spur further demand for consumerdurable goods of high quality.

Global economic factors The distribution and manufacture of consumer durables occurs in differentpatterns for various categories of products. China has a long tradition ofproducing toy merchandise, and now almost all children's toys arestamped 'made in China'. Technology innovations, along with competitivelabour and overhead costs, have helped to foster new consumer goodsindustries in Southeast Asia and other regions. The development of thedigital watch, for example, sparked a whole new generation of digitaltimepieces from Malaysia, reducing the demand for the low-end analogueclocks and watches. While some corporations retain partial production inthe U.S. or Europe, others have transferred lock, stock and barrel tosuch countries as Malaysia and China.

Expensive, high-end luxury branded items, such as watches and jewellery,have a tradition of being individually crafted. They have exclusive profitmargins, so high labour costs are not as important as using horologiccraftsmen whose skills are handed down through generations. Themanufacture of giftware and kitchenware products is often tied to specificlocations where they have been made for centuries, often using locallyavailable raw materials and craftsmen who traditionally belonged to cityguilds. Typical examples are European-based manufacturers of high-qualityporcelain and cutlery.

Distribution for these highly crafted goods, however, usually involves aworldwide network to move goods to both existing and emerging markets.The distribution infrastructure that is required for global business dependsheavily on automated IT solutions that link distributors, manufacturers,business partners and consumers.

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Global indicators:

• Diverse manufacturing and distribution patterns

• Production is increasing in linewith disposable incomes andhealth and fitness trends

• Manufacturing and distribution are spread worldwide

• Many companies have moved production to Southeast Asia.

The focus that IBS has onthe wholesale distributionenvironment will allow us tomove our systems forward inline with our business goals.

Lawrence Jennings, Chief Operating Officer, Enesco

Commercialisation of consumer durablesOver the last twenty years the consumer durables industry has becomemore and more commercialised. Marketing and advertising have targetedthe middle to upper income groups that have the disposable income topurchase durable goods and luxury items. The film industry is now closelyaligned to the toy industry, and merchandising revenue from new filmreleases often exceeds movie ticket revenue. Crazes for the BMX bike,roller blades and skateboards have created a whole new sporting category,so-called X sports, fostering a boom in sales of sport and leisure equipment.

The consumer durables industry and the media now influence our lifestylesmore than ever. Product lifecycle management and three-way collaborationbetween retailers, distributors and manufacturers are vital if consumerdurables are to be manufactured and distributed in sufficient quantitiesto satisfy consumer demand. Product lifecycles are short and consumerrequirements change quickly.

The market's window of opportunity is sometimes no more than a fewmonths, especially in conjunction with goods that are produced as partof marketing campaigns for new films. New products have to be designedand their sales forecast in short cycles that require extensive supplycoordination. Consumer durable goods are often shipped around theworld to be available in retail stores to coincide with a film's release -country by country. A resurgence in demand is probable when the videois later released. This requires careful planning and coordination betweenthe film industry, advertisement agencies, merchandisers and the wholesupply chain.

Integrated product and services managementExtremely thin margins and increased global competition are forcingconsumer durables distributors to adopt new strategies for survival.Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Professional Services Automation(PSA) are two emerging concepts that can help to secure bottom-linebenefits for the consumer durables industry. IT systems that support PLMand PSA can help businesses to integrate project planning and reportingwith production and distribution processes. These systems allow companiesto gain tighter control of time, materials and material sourcing, processes,and costs. The benefits to be gained include shorter lead-times, reducedcosts and increased revenue.

IT business solutions that integrate PLM and PSA with sales ordermanagement, product configuration, inventory control and otherprocesses offer more than margin protection and resultant profitabilitypotential. They also let companies take advantage of value-added revenuepossibilities. Many consumer durable goods - such as kitchenware,recreational equipment and vehicles - offer clear profit incentives andCRM advantages through service and maintenance opportunities. Thesesolutions can also help the industry create quick responses to consumerdemand through the automated management of product portfolios,customer needs, collaborative product design, and integrated data.

For companies that manufacture and distribute consumer durables, PLMand PSA provide ways to integrate product engineering and after-salesservice directly into the supply chain. These same companies often relyheavily on outsourcing and collaboration with business partners, suppliersand customers. Consultants ranging from legal firms to PR and advertisingagencies are often partners in the consumer durables industry. Integratedsoftware that supports PLM and PSA can provide maximum control andoversight of costs, schedules and all phases of product development,production, distribution and service.

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Commercialisation:

• Film industry closely aligned withtoy industry

• Growth of X Sports sector

• Product lifecycle management isessential

• Three-way collaboration between retailers, distributors and manufacturers is crucial

• Short window of opportunity

• Sales forecasting is vital.

Product and services management:

• Two emerging concepts: PLM and PSA

• Tighter control of time, materials,processes, costs

• Margin protection along withvalue-added revenue possibilities

• Project planning, product engineering and service integratedinto supply chain.

Seasonal influences on supply The sales of many consumer durable products are highly seasonal, withmore than seventy percent taking place in the three months beforeChristmas. Plans for new products are made twelve months in advance,so that they can be displayed at annual trade shows where retail buyerscongregate to place their orders. Production is scheduled over the summer,and wholesalers stockpile the product in time for the Christmas rush.

After Christmas, the industry focus is on returns from mail order companiesand retail stores for redistribution to the secondary markets. It is commonpractice for payment terms to be extended: this enables retailers to takeproduct deliveries early, on the understanding that they will not have tosettle invoices until their own cash tills are full.

Wholesale distributors of consumer durables need extremely efficientreceiving and dispatch operations to handle the throughput velocity ofpallets, cartons and cases. During peak periods, nothing stays on the shelffor long: in fact, many products are cross-docked or delivered back-to-back,direct to customers. The importance of having efficient supply chainsoftware aligned to warehouse operations is crucial in avoiding peak-season bottlenecks.

Customer dynamicsMost consumer durables customers are retail operations, both large andsmall, requiring outstanding service, just-in-time product availability andcustomised value added services. The customers can be grouped into fourmain categories:

• Major retail chains, many of which have separate toy, craft, sport andfitness and jewellery departments

• Mail order companies which sell through catalogues, direct mail andinternet web stores

• Tele-commercial operations, using third-party logistics (3PL) operationsto manage their order fulfilment

• Smaller specialist retail stores, typically gift shops, toy and hobbystores and jewellery outlets.

All expect outstanding service, but larger customers will inevitably getspecial attention, especially when consumer demand for a new productexceeds supply and some form of rationing is unavoidable. Efficienttechnology solutions play a key role in catering to the needs of consumerdurables customers. Products must be labelled and packaged to customers'individual requirements, including bar coding and retail price labelling.Most of the major retail chains interact with their supply chain partnerselectronically, via EDI or XML messaging. Customer delivery forecasts(efficient consumer response), purchase orders, pricing and catalogueinformation, advanced shipment notifications and POD payments arenormally transmitted electronically. Wholesale distribution companiesthat are unable to process business transactions electronically and deliveras promised will not survive in today's competitive marketplace.

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Seasonal influences:

• 70% of consumer goods sold during Christmas season

• Plans are made 12 months inadvance

• Unsold items are returned

• Requires extended payment terms

• Need for efficient receiving and dispatch operations

• Fast pace requires efficient software solution.

Customers demand:

• Outstanding service

• Just-in-time product availability

• Customised labelling and packaging

• Communication via EDI or XML

• Consumer demand forecasting.

IBS software - a competitive advantageIBS provides complete solutions for supply chain management and distri-bution, including application software, implementation, training andservice support. With 25 years of research and development, the company'sproducts have a solid history of supporting the specific requirements ofthe consumer durables supply industry. IBS consultants have consider-able domain experience helping our customers who are suppliers anddistributors of consumer durables.

ASW from IBS is world-leading business software suite for distributionand supply chain management. It is designed to fulfil the requirementsof worldwide business-to-business trading. According to recent studiesconducted by AMR Research and Frost & Sullivan, IBS is a consistent topmarket leader and supplier for supply chain execution and managementsoftware.

Software that aims for business valueSupply chain software from IBS is designed to help your company increaseyour profits and be flexible in managing your business operations. Ourvertical market solution enables you to achieve a faster return on yourtechnology investment. We also work with you to identify the businessbenefits and returns you can expect. The database structure of oursoftware and our own IBS Business Intelligence module can enable youto set targets and measure performance over a period of time to monitoractual ROI.

The IBS solution provides you with a comprehensive modular solutionthat can be customised to your needs. IBS' intelligent supply chain softwareautomates and optimises routines and is completely scalable, able to growwith your business. The solution helps to streamline processes throughautomation and real-time control of information.

IBS gives you software that pays for itself, helping to reduce operatingcosts and capital outlay without cutting service. You can allocate moreresources to setting and fulfilling goals for products, sales and customers.The IBS solution fits any size of enterprise, including global multi distributionsystems with full language, currency and regulatory support.

In addition, IBS provides top-level hardware and after-the-sale servicesupport, including project management and implementation throughthe IBS Implementation Control Process, which has a proven successrecord. IBS consultants work on-site with your company to provide asmooth transition to an integrated solution. Your business processesdrive the system and we work with you to implement best practices foryour industry.

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IBS solution for consumerdurables distribution

Solution:Software: ASW 5.50+

Modules:

• ASW DISTRIBUTION

• ASW FINANCIALS

• ASW INVENTORY CONTROL

• ASW NETSTORE

• ASW SERVICE

• ASW SUPPLIER MARKETING SUPPORT

• ASW WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT

• IBS BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

Hardware: IBM eServer i5

The system paid foritself in the first year.

Chuck Wright, VP of Operations Roland US

Tailored for theconsumer durables industryConsumer durables suppliers and distributors can benefit from the inte-grated IBS business software solution in these major functional areas:

• Customer relationship management

• Sales order management

• Reverse logistics support

• Inventory control and collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment

• Warehouse management

• Procurement

• Service management

• Financials and business intelligence.

This section highlights some of the many advantages that your consumerdurables business can gain with IBS software.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)Distributors of durable goods must seek out new ways to sell productsand to attract and retain customers. As a result of this pressure, youmust have a more intense focus on CRM. Many major account customershave large buying departments, often for different branded products,and staff rotation is to be expected. You need to be able to manageyour contacts, because the consumer durables business thrives onmaintaining close personal relationships.

IBS' solution addresses specific CRM needs, storing and automaticallyoptimising information about your customers and their employees. TheIBS solution enables you to manage customer relations with these benefits:

• A complete chronological history of all contact information relatingto meetings, phone calls, emails, mail and quotations. You can createuser-defined views of this information to easily organise it for yourneeds.

• Portable customer information that can be stored locally on a laptopso that it is always accessible for customer meetings.

• Event management - Marketing events, such as toy fairs and tradeshows, can be managed, invites or mail-shots sent out to selectedcontacts, event activities planned and follow-up actions documented.

• Sales promotions and campaigns management, with costs andsales recorded to measure success. This may help you manage jointmarketing campaigns where media material has to be provided forthe retail outlets. You are likely to be called on to manage the mediadistribution and there is usually an agreement to share costs.

• Automatic generation and submission of quotations with supporting technical documentation. Follow-up can be prompted withalerts. Your lost sales can be recorded and analysed by reason code.

• Call scheduling, activity lists and calendars all help to make sureyou maintain regular contact with your customers, making sure theyremain loyal to you, not your competition.

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Sales order managementSales order management is at the heart of the IBS solution for theconsumer durables industry. The solution is designed to handle verylarge transaction volumes and to communicate electronically with suppliers,business partners and customers. This means that order processing is asefficient as possible, providing excellent service and follow-up for yourcustomers.

Some of the IBS solution's enhanced order fulfilment features include:

• Electronic order entry - For your company to process a large volumeof daily orders, it is both necessary and a great advantage to receiveorders electronically. You can receive orders via EDI, XML, web services,direct communication lines, PC or PDA devices. Electronic communicationcan shorten lead-times and help to reduce errors, which can result inincreased customer satisfaction.

• Manual orders can be taken over the phone with built-in features tomake sure that the call-centre operator has the right information toservice the customer's requirements quickly and with no need to callback. Customer's shopping lists, quick look-up of previous order historywith copy functions and quick order scheduler are three ways theorder can be entered quickly.

• Flexible order types to control the business process and the orderflow. Special order types can be used to process trade show orders,one for forward orders and another for cash and carry sales with creditcard payment support.

• Time axis allocation (sometimes called 'availability to promise')directly benefits the consumer durables business, especially in regardsto long forward-order booking for seasonal inventory. This capabilitymakes sure that you can monitor predicted stock situations at anytime. Time axis soft-allocates stock and can show the stock availabilityposition by warehouse by day, week or month on your calendar. Thisinformation feeds the inventory control demand-forecasting model,generating purchase suggestions or supplier delivery schedules. Re-planning, priority rationing and inventory reserving are optimisedthrough automatic monitoring and routines.

• Order line pricing - Pricing in the durable goods industry needs to beflexible, allowing for various pricing models. Your software solution mustbe able to handle contract pricing, multiple price lists, sales promotions,rebates and discounting. Automatic order line pricing results in fasterinvoicing, improved accuracy and reduced days outstanding.

• Flexible credit checking lets you create different credit profiles forindividual customers or group them under a common profile. Creditchecks need to be performed in different ways - the order entry functionmight check current orders but ignore forward order, or re-checks maybe required before pick lists are printed. The toy industry's supply chainis such that products are often shipped well before they are requiredfor sale. Customers normally take the delivery on the understandingthat payment terms can be extended or even paid by instalment.

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Nautor has had a 15-yearassociation with IBS. When wehad a need for new solutionsto cope with increasedrequirements for flexibility andprocess orientation, it was verynatural for us to turn to IBSagain.

Mikael Still, Financial Director, Nautor’s Swan

Reverse logistics supportThrough its ASW BUSINESS PARTNER REQUEST module, the IBS solution enablesyou to log all customer incidents, requests and complaints. Specifically,you can manage returned product in close collaboration with yourwarehousing operations. When an incident is logged a request number(RMA number) is issued, and the returns process can be managed in themost efficient way.

Mail-order companies have a tendency to return products in bulk, withno attempt to reference previous orders or invoice information, andclaiming a credit on their next remittance advice. High-value consumerdurables, such as jewellery and watches, require much closer individualattention, which could involve returning the item to the suppliers forrepairs. Either way, IBS software helps you to manage the incident andthe physical movement of any associated items.

The IBS solution's enhanced functionality for reverse logistics supportincludes:

• RMA request number - A Return Merchandise Authorisation (RMA)number can be assigned and used to track and facilitate productreturns.

• Full text notes - These can be entered as either internal or externalcomments on returns. External text is visible to the customer shouldthey log on to view the order status via web-enabled ASW NETSTORE.Internal text might contain discrete confidential information that thecustomer should not see.

• Incident time - The amount of time spent on any incident with eachperson working on its resolution can be recorded. This information isinvaluable when evaluating the true cost of a returns request.

• Automatic request routing - Requests can be automatically routedto other departments or levels if they require specific attention or ifthey are delinquent. This ensures that the customer does get the bestattention and prompt follow-up to their issues.

• Return credit updates - When products are returned, credits can beraised and sales statistics updated. These credits can be matched andsettled against customer debit notes that have been deducted fromcustomer payment remittances. This process can save time and effortwhen trying to reconcile customer accounts and their claims.

• Return batching - Returned products can be batched together forreturn to suppliers or for resale to secondary markets.

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We can track productnow from purchase order towarehouse, to bin location, tocustomer order - with just afew simple inquiries. We needtools and a good infrastructureto be successful. IBS softwareis part of that infrastructure,without it, we could not operate as a business.

John Henkel, CFO and VP Logistics,Zwilling J.A. Henckels

Inventory control and collaborative planningExcellent inventory control and forecasting with business partners, whocollaborate to minimise total procurement costs, is the key to efficientlymanaging the durable goods supply chain. Where demand is highlyseasonal, suppliers, distributors and retailers must share information toachieve a common objective of getting products to consumers just whenthey want to buy.

Major retailers have point of sale information and sales analysis datathat can be transmitted electronically to distributors in the form of deliveryforecasts. Distributors can consolidate it and translate last year's productlines into this year's equivalent products, submitting their own supplierdelivery forecasts to the manufacturers. This whole process, sometimescalled 'efficient consumer response', feeds the production planning processso that the products are made and delivered in time to the consumer.

IBS' solution can help you manage this whole process with the minimumamount of staff resources. One certainty is that nothing ever remains static -information relating to changed delivery dates and quantities must befed back down the supply chain to keep customers informed.

Specific inventory control and planning support for consumer durablesincludes:

• Product segmentation, which lets you separate low-value, high-turnover products from high-value, slow-moving items. You can classifyall stock items based on volume value classifications, helping balanceyour inventory holding and fill rates.

• Time axis forward sales orders, combined with customer deliveryschedules, update the inventory control demand information feedingthe forecasting process. This saves time and effort when producingpurchase suggestions and supplier delivery schedules.

• Seasonal and promotional profiles will help you adjust the demandinformation. Also, manual adjustments can be added, such as whennew store openings are planned and have to be stocked.

• Demand copy forecasting - If your products have a short productlifecycle because last year's model is replaced by this year's equivalent,you can use demand copy function to create a new forecast.

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Warehouse management IBS software supports advanced, automated warehousing to increaseresponse times, helping to manage throughput velocity while keepingerrors and inventory to a minimum.

The IBS solution helps you control warehousing operations and inventorylevels throughout both the internal and external internal supply chain,ensuring that products can be easily located and dispatched to wherethey are needed. The automated warehousing solution handles all phasesof product distribution, from reception all the way through put-away,picking and dispatch.

Specific warehouse management advantages for durable goods distributorsinclude:

• Full pallet and package tracking with information on inner andouter configurations from reception to warehouse location and out todispatch. Whether you handle pallets or break-bulk to forward picklocations, warehouse management will help you automate youroperations, maintaining visibility of inventory movements and yourwarehouse staff.

• Bar code and radio frequency (RF) support - Fully integrated supportfor bar coding and RF handling automates the recognition, trackingand communication of serial and batch codes. This helps to avoid pickand put-away errors, provide labelling accuracy and, ultimately, promoteshigher customer satisfaction.

• Repackaging and labelling - You can benefit from customer-specificvalue-added services like repackaging and the printing of customerlabels. Simple assembly to dispatching can be handled using orderstructures.

• Item serial number tracking provides total support for serial numberedproducts, required by the jewellery industry. IBS can also provideautomated support for servicing or repairs, which helps you keep acomplete service history during the lifetime of an item.

• Full support for inbound shipments and landed costs, as part ofthe receiving process. Outbound shipment preparation with routeplanning and shipment documentation enables you to build outboundloads. Both of these functions enable you to move product quickly,helping to avoid bottlenecks during peak periods.

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ProcurementThe IBS solution is built to allow procurement on a wide-ranging basis,including strategic sourcing, to help your business secure products at thebest price. Coupled with automated warehousing and inventory routinesthat maintain optimal stock levels, IBS' procurement measures help yourbusiness to minimise total supply chain costs through lower inventoryholding costs, operating costs and the most efficient purchasing methods.

The IBS solution gives you access to advanced purchasing methods, suchas automated sourcing categories, that drive down costs through betterprocurement processes and reduced overheads.

The IBS procurement solution includes:

• Advanced purchase simulation - Based on current information fromthroughout the system, this analysis helps you to determine realprocurement costs. It also gives you the capability for direct automaticreplenishment based on the analysis results.

• Purchase suggestion management - The IBS solution providessuggestion management capabilities with automatic review codes forproduct lines, helping to ensure accuracy, maximum line value, stocklevels and optimised reorder values. Functions include special buyevaluation and interactive line buying to help you benefit from supplierdiscounts or to fill a container.

• Automated purchase order creation - Purchase orders can be createdautomatically, based on system suggestions when user-defined criteriaare satisfied. The automated routine enables you to reduce labourcosts and errors.

• Landed cost - IBS software automates the calculation of landed cost,which can be spread over several purchase order lines in a containeror a reception. This helps to lower indirect overhead through moreaccurate inventory costing at goods reception.

• Advanced RFQ capabilities - Requests for quotations can be generatedautomatically and sent to suppliers through EDI, XML, web-servicecommunications, fax or email. This quick creation and transmissioncan result in lower administrative costs, better prices and the ability tonegotiate more favourable conditions and agreements.

In addition, the IBS solution includes other automated solutions forstrategic sourcing, including powerful reporting that helps you to followup rejected deliveries, back-orders, discounts and prices as well as provideinformation on supplier lead-times and service level analysis.

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The system gives us moretimely management data. It allows our managers toidentify and react to problemsinstead of pooling informationtogether and crunching allthe numbers to have a report.

Mark Hester, Implementation Manager, Maui Jim

Service managementIBS provides an all-in-one service solution that handles both field serviceand internal service maintenance. The software's automatic functionalityhelps you to schedule and perform installations, preventive service andurgent maintenance both internally and out in the field. On-line call centrefunctions let you provide immediate responses to customer servicerequests. On-call engineers have instant access to all service informationneeded for the job, with the ability to enter reports and invoices fromcustomer sites. Support for replenishing van inventory (work tools andspare parts) helps to ensure high levels of job quality and customersatisfaction, as well as reduced return visits.

Transparency, scalability and easy-to-use features let your companyintegrate its service operations with the entire system. The IBS servicesolution includes agreement and warranty handling, extensive CRMfunctionality, graphical tools for resource planning, office-field entry andinformation updating, service kits handling, resource planning, flexiblepricing and charging methods, advanced follow-up capability, timereporting and communications with EDI, XML, web services and othermethods.

Financials Consumer durable goods suppliers must be able to analyse costs andmargins by customer and product. Complete accountability and controlof internal and external costs and billable revenue is also vital. In additionto comprehensive General Ledger, reconciliation and banking functions,plus powerful reporting capabilities, ASW FINANCIALS handles specificproblems that can help you improve your profitability and cash flow:

• Accounts receivable - Automated routines help your credit con-trollers manage their average days debt outstanding and their cash-to-cash cycles.

• Automatic G/L journal creation. Every time inventory moves orchanges in value, from receipt to sales and service, invoicing will triggerthe creation of a G/L journal. Physical inventory will always reconcileto G/L stock.

• Invoice registration and authorisation with three-way supplierinvoice matching, including matching of landed cost items.

• A/P payment scheduling to pay on time by cheque or electronictransfer, updating the cashbook for easy bank reconciliation.

• Full VAT analysis and reporting, country specific Intrastat reports,including plant and machinery movements across borders, and quarterlysales reports.

• Processing debit claims through the A/R ledger for returned product,without slowing down the cash posting and allocation process. Debitnotes can be automatically cleared by credits raised when product isreturned to the warehouse and examined.

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Business intelligenceIBS BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE uses information from throughout the system tolet you mine and use all the day-to-day transactions, suitably summarisedto make the best informed decisions. Accurate, timely analysis is criticalto the decision making process. All transactional information in the IBSdata warehouse can be analysed according to your own requirements.IBS can deliver business intelligence to your desktop and lets you easilydistribute reports and graphs to your organisation.

The IBS solution includes many useful features to help you analyse andmeasure your business to the fullest:

• Customer and product net margin analysis, ranking your customersaccording to the contribution they are making to your profits. Thecost information is generated as a by-product of daily transactionprocessing, so that costly, time-consuming, activity-based costingexercises can be avoided.

• Measure actual performance trends against set targets and industrystandards, providing real metrics KPIs and ROI.

• Critical Success Factor panels provide a graphical and numericpresentation of current vital business factors. It can be used to monitortime-sensitive information such as number of sales orders entered today,orders on credit hold, aged debt balances and critical stock balances.

• Management Report Writer enables you to construct your ownreports, which can be viewed on-line, letting you drill down to theunderlying details and the original source documents.

• Single click download to spreadsheets, conversion to graphs orHTML format for emailing or web publication.

IBS has the right software for you, and the experience of world-wide installations. Are you interested in finding out more?

Contact IBS today - consumerdurables@ibs.net or visit www.ibs.net

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ASW has proved to bevery flexible in coping with ourever-changing requirements.

Mikael Leckström, Logistics Manager, Duka

IBS corporate headquarters: +46-8-627 2300 • consumerdurables@ibs.net • www.ibs.net

IBS is a world leading provider of supply chain management solutions for distribution, demand-driven manufacturing,financials and business intelligence. IBS delivers measurable value through software solutions, services, hardware,outsourcing and financing. IBS offers industry solutions for electrical products and consumer durables with Cartier,Maui Jim, Maxell, Miele, Roland, Royal Scandinavia and Scribona among its 5,000 customers in 40 countries.