The increasing complexity of today's supply chains is challenging even the best companies to come up with new strategies on ways to better manage inventory.

One of those companies is Mercury Marine, a global supplier of marine engines with $1.6 billion in annual sales. A collaborative demand planning system enabled Mercury to reduce its non-current inventory by 53% and reduce their sales and operations planning process by 56%.

"Boat motors have a short shelf life," said Karin Bursa, vice president of marketing for Logility and one of the presenters at the Executive Edge educational sessions at the 2003 APICS International Conference and Exposition, held last month in Las Vegas. "Plus the products are highly-configured to meet specific needs and specific environmental regulations in different parts of the world."

That means excess inventory in North America may not be easily resold in Europe, Asia or South America because it doesn't meet local regulations.

"A collaborative planning system allows Mercury to gather real-time demand across their fourteen international distribution centers," Bursa told the conference attendees. "That provides visibility into demand in Asia versus demand in North America and enables Mercury to better synchronize their operations."