Web system to turbocharge Holset

Holset Turbochargers, part of Cummins, is undertaking a five-month pilot with supply chain execution software developer Wesupply, with which it hopes to reduce cycle times and improve supplier lead times. The company, based in Huddersfield, but also with sites in Brazil, India, China and the USA, plans to increase production over the next three years. Its pilot, which will involve key end housing suppliers, including one global supplier, is the result of an internal Six Sigma investigation of Holset’s business, which demonstrated the requirement for better supply chain interaction. Wesupply conducted what it calls collaborative value assessment (CVA), involving all parties within Holset’s supply chain network, including overseas and UK suppliers, foundries, machinists and third party logistics providers. Says Steve Fritchley, Six Sigma blackbelt at Holset: “The CVA allowed us to formally assess both current and future supply processes, and helped the team to understand where we could derive most benefit and ROI within our supply chain network.” Once the benefits had been established Holset signed up for Wesupply. Holset and its trading partners will get a single real-time view of their supply chain network, regardless of size, IT sophistication or degree of business process integration. The system will also accommodate Holset’s kanban pull systems, while providing supplier performance and capacity statistics. Fritchley: “We spent a long time looking at various supply chain management partners and were impressed with the speed of implementation that Wesupply could offer. [Its] ability to integrate with our existing manufacturing and logistics systems was another key factor that led us to undertake this pilot.”