Barloworld Optimus makes it to Top 100 supply chain solutions

The Solihull-based software developer and consultancy has been included in the publication’s list of 100 top performers. Barloworld Optimus’ contribution forecasts a global swing towards carbon reduction and optimisation, inventory optimisation and risk management in supply chains. Global business development director Fraser Ironside says that the next few years will see companies turning more to technology to address increasingly complex supply chain issues. “Against a background of supply chain costs escalating by a massive 60% over the past decade, and an economic world hit by increased global volatility, rising interest rates, rocketing fuel prices, the growing industrial aspirations of China, Russia, India and other regions, having the right software in place, alongside the required skills to make it work to its best advantage, is likely to prove the key to ultimate success or failure” he says. Addressing risk management issues, Ironside goes on to say: “As in the high-profile case of Ericsson when a 10-minute, seemingly petty fire in a manufacturing plant escalated all the way up the supply chain to result in a staggering $1.68billion loss in its mobile phone division, many potential disasters can be predicted and alternatives planned to reduce or cope with the associated risk. Those that learn from the event and redesign their supply chains to make them more robust to the disruptions will be more resilient in the future.” Last year, Barloworld Optimus posted good results, boosted by record sales of applications, including the CAST network modelling program, CAST-CO2 carbon emission application and inventory optimiser Optimiza. CINO (Combined Inventory Network Optimisation) – a new tool specifically developed to address the supply chain complexities of multi-sourcing and multi-echelon inventory flows across a network – is due for formal launch later this year.