Manhattan Assoc. demonstrates hi-tech supply chain command center

The software supplier provided a glimpse into the future of supply chain technology during its annual customer conference.

By Corinne Kator, Associate Editor -- Modern Materials Handling, 5/30/2008

Supply chain software provider Manhattan Assoc. created some buzz at its annual customer conference last week with a futuristic demonstration of a hi-tech supply chain command center.

The demonstration starred “Dave,” supply chain manager for a fictional company with a new product coming to market. Dave stood in his command center in front of two flat-screen monitors that displayed data about forecasts, inventory levels and transportation plans. During the demo, he received news alerts and held impromptu video conferences with colleagues that prompted him to make changes to sourcing and distribution plans—changes he made with the touch of a finger.

The command center was a collaboration between Manhattan Assoc. and Microsoft, with Microsoft proving most of the whiz-bang visual technology.

Manhattan executives say the demo generated an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from conference attendees. (Software analyst Steve Banker wrote a flattering note about the demo, calling Manhattan a “supply chain visionary.”)

The main purpose of the demo, says Manhattan executive vice president Eddie Capel, was to demonstrate the power of having all of a company’s supply chain applications running on the same platform, allowing one application to use feedback from another application to make decisions.

Another purpose, he says, was to explore the idea of capturing unstructured data—such as information from news alerts and social networking sites—and using it to make supply chain decisions.

One of the most popular features of the demo, Capel says, was Dave’s ability to monitor his “total cost to serve.” During the demonstration, Dave made changes to orders from Asian suppliers and then was able to see the total cost of bringing those orders into the port at Los Angeles and the cost of bringing them into Seattle. He easily compared the costs and, with the touch of a finger, changed his shipping plans from L.A. to Seattle.

This “total cost to serve” capability, Capel says, is not as futuristic as it seems: Manhattan is actively developing a total-cost product right now and will launch it in the next year. In fact, he says, all of the technology used in the demonstration—both the supply chain technology from Manhattan and the presentation technology from Microsoft—is either available or in development now.