Making Maximizing Assets A Priority
One way leading companies consistently outperform their competitors is through better asset management. They have a better handle on what they control — both in-house and outsourced — and on how much it costs in each case. Whether they are in growth mode, or are having to retrench, the top performers in every industry closely match their mix of assets to their needs. They do so regularly, running checks once every quarter or so to ensure that the data is as up to date as possible. They do it systematically, using tools that capture and rapidly analyze multiple data inputs to present the best options in understandable formats. And they do it objectively. Where other businesses too often follow gut feelings to make critical decisions, such as plant shutdowns or new supplier selections, the industry leaders use hard fact bases to guide and justify their actions.
A pivotal article in Industry Week explains it well. The September 1, 2002 article, entitled "Blueprint for Survival," lists 10 ideas to prepare businesses for recovery in 2003. Number one on the list is maximizing assets. "Corporations that focus on overall equipment efficiency find they can add capacity without large capital investment. Replace those traditional reactive, function-based approaches with asset-management systems that are proactive and integrated into the production process. Search for solutions to replace labor-intensive data analysis with automatic analysis, fault resolution, and work notification," advises the article. The best tools used for the analysis make key data elements easy for companies to analyze and understand, and help business leaders quickly make key decisions that otherwise would take months of guesswork—literally. And they track the natural flow of the asset-management process, from mapping of the physical supply chains and inclusion of all relevant data to modeling scenarios and analyzing the results.
J.D. Edwards offers a range of Internet-enabled applications that amply support the key steps necessary for effective capital asset planning. The software balances the conflicting objectives and limitations of supply, production, and distribution. By performing a variety of detailed analyses, including expected profit, new markets, competitive threats, marketing promotions, sourcing, and inventory builds, realistic plans can be optimized. Modules can be implemented as a set or individually to address specific business needs, delivering value quickly.
To bring to life the concept of capital asset planning, we've created a scenario featuring a fictional telecommunications-equipment company — Statespan Networks, Inc. The story shows how the fictitious company, already a user of J.D. Edwards' software, meets a significant asset planning challenge. As the story line moves through discrete process steps — from identification of the underutilized assets to the results obtained by managing them effectively — it underscores the value of capital asset planning as a key management process and shows why the process is practical for companies in all sectors.