Quintiq News 2010

Quintiq White Paper: Coping with the increasing complexity of employee planning in the Air Traffic Control sector

Saskia van Nieuwenhuizen — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:58:02 GMT

's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, February 26, 2010 – Quintiq, a leading provider of Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) solutions, today published a C-level White Paper on workforce planning in the Air Traffic Control sector. Download whitepaper here.

It reveals the emerging role of advanced employee planning and scheduling systems as strategic tools, as well as being a means of exercising better day-to-day business control.
According to Quintiq, yesterday’s rostering tools and spreadsheet planning processes are no longer fit for purpose. They struggle to span the different demands of long term strategic planning, tactical scheduling and real-time operational control.

“The increasing complexity of maintaining high safety and service levels while facing a shortage of qualified Air Traffic Control Officers is forcing Air Navigation Services Providers to re-evaluate their planning systems,” says Arjen Heeres, COO of Quintiq. “This makes it a perfect opportunity to raise the stakes and explore more advanced solutions that can add value all along the chain. Modern, advanced systems, for example, should be able to provide scenario management – the ability to create ‘what if’ scenarios, using different knowledge bases and assumptions to evaluate the implications of different planning decisions. ”

The White Paper describes why planning and scheduling solutions need to be aligned with corporate strategy, allowing managers to exercise strong business control using built-in KPIs that can, in turn, be fine tuned as the business model changes. The paper examines the benefits of real-time planning and the way it can be used to alert planners of the implications of their decisions, as they are made.

“Above all, it is a very readable document that within fifteen minutes will bring senior managers up to date with the very latest thinking,” says Heeres.

About Quintiq
Quintiq provides advanced planning, scheduling and supply chain management solutions. The fast-growing software company, established in 1997, offers solutions for planning and optimizing complex business processes throughout the enterprise. The company’s headquarters is located in the Netherlands and it has subsidiaries in Australia, China, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the USA, with implementations in 69 countries. For more information: www.quintiq.com.

For more information, please contact:
Quintiq
Martijn van Gils
Global Marketing Director
+31 (0)73 691 07 39
martijn.van.gils@quintiq.com

Quintiq supports integrated planning process at SIG Combibloc

tempeditor — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:26:34 GMT

Leading packaging producer opts for global implementation of the Quintiq solution for everything from scheduling to strategic planning

’s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, March 3, 2010 – SIG Combibloc, one of the world’s leading system suppliers of carton packaging solutions and filling machines for beverages and food, has again opted for Quintiq software. A major project is now under way to implement Quintiq software solutions across all the company’s planning horizons. The globally integrated solution will support planning decisions, improve customer service and optimally process resources.
SIG’s previous collaboration with Quintiq started in 2005 when the company decided on a worldwide implementation of the Quintiq Macro Planner, a strategic planning solution that optimally supports operational processes as well as resources and sales. That project was successfully completed in 2006. The advantages of the solution are plain: flexible real-time scheduling and clearly laid out visualizations of changes to the planning results at the various SIG Combibloc production sites.

Well-informed decisions and productive supply chains
In December 2009, when the company decided it was time to better organize its overall supply chain performance, increase productivity, improve delivery reliability, and optimize inventory levels, it opted for the Quintiq Company Planner for medium-term planning and the Quintiq Scheduler for detailed planning. The integrated business planning concept is due to go live in Europe in 2011 and in Asia in 2012.

The aim is to optimize company-wide planning, in other words, to enable transparent order processing across all sites and more objective planning decisions regarding customers. The company will also be able to issue order confirmations to customers immediately, and internal lot sizes are to be increased by 10%.

Securing a competitive edge
SIG Combibloc operates in a very dynamic market where orders need to be realized within a very short time window, yet raw material requirements need to be planned over the long term. To secure a real competitive edge, SIG’s stated objective is to improve delivery performance. By integrating the Quintiq scheduling solution into its existing SAP ERP system the company is making it possible to map all the most important planning stages and the entire production process in real time.

Andreas Haas, Head of Supply Chain Management at SIG in Saalfelden, sums up: “Our customers expect efficient and fast-responding production. Quintiq is helping us to continue building on our leading role as a flexible producer. By deploying the Quintiq solution across all of our planning horizons and sites worldwide, we are setting ourselves up well for the future as we now have a system that can grow with us.”

Arthur Torsy, Quintiq’s Business Unit Director Metal & Manufacturing, adds: “We are delighted about SIG’s confidence in our ongoing collaboration. The Quintiq Macro Planner project for strategic resource planning has made a positive contribution toward affirming the value of Quintiq scheduling solutions in complex planning environments, such as that of SIG. The rollout of the short- and medium-term planning modules shows us that integrated business planning concepts are the way forward in production engineering.”

About SIG Combibloc
SIG Combibloc is one of the world’s leading system suppliers of carton packaging and filling machines for beverages and food. In 2009, its workforce of around 4,250 people in 40 countries helped the company to realize a turnover of 1,260 million euros. SIG Combibloc is part of the New Zealand-based Rank Group.

About Quintiq
Quintiq provides advanced planning, scheduling and supply chain management solutions. The fast-growing software company, established in 1997, offers solutions for planning and optimizing complex business processes throughout the enterprise. The company’s headquarters is located in the Netherlands and it has subsidiaries in Australia, China, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the USA, with implementations in 69 countries. For more information: www.quintiq.com.

For more information, please contact:
Quintiq
Martijn van Gils
Global Marketing Director
+31 (0)73 691 07 39
martijn.van.gils@quintiq.com

Innovative production planning and scheduling: “live” at Alunorf

tempeditor — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:09:46 GMT

Quintiq and Alunorf support manufacturers with seminars on innovative planning and scheduling strategies

Mannheim, Germany, January 28, 2010 – Alunorf, a joint project from Novelis and Hydro, has now been running its successful planning and scheduling seminars for over five years. Alunorf is the largest aluminium smelting and rolling mill in the world. Up to four times a year, participants at the one-day seminar at their plant in Neuss, Germany, receive training about Quintiq’s planning solutions and strategies and how they have been successfully implemented at Alunorf. The participants themselves are planners, managers and IT professionals from the metal or manufacturing industries.

Alunorf has been a customer of the planning and scheduling software specialist Quintiq for more than ten years and during this period has posted some more than impressive results:

33% reduction in inventory
44% increase in productivity
90% delivery reliability (previously 40%)

Hubert Bürgel, Head of Planning and Logistics at Alunorf, explains: “In cooperation with our suppliers and customers, we have implemented Quintiq scheduling applications along the entire supply chain – from operational scheduling right up to integrated company planning. At our seminars we provide our participants with real-time demonstrations of our planning environment and discuss the direct consequences that planning changes can have on the supply chain. Quintiq is a pioneer of innovative solutions for our company.”

Big-name companies such as ThyssenKrupp Steel, Bayer, Salzgitter, SIG Combibloc and RWE, to name just a few, have already taken part in the scheduling seminars and often subsequently opted for Quintiq planning solutions.

The next seminar takes place on February 24, 2010, at Alunorf in Neuss, near Düsseldorf.

You will find more information at: www.quintiq.com/production-planning-seminar

About Quintiq
Quintiq provides advanced planning, scheduling and supply chain management solutions. The fast-growing software company, established in 1997, offers solutions for planning and optimizing complex business processes throughout the enterprise. The company’s headquarters is located in the Netherlands and it has subsidiaries in Australia, China, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the USA, with implementations in 68 countries. For more information: www.quintiq.com.

More information:
Quintiq
Martijn van Gils
Global Marketing Director
+31 (0)73 691 07 39
martijn.van.gils@quintiq.com

Successful implementation of Quintiq scheduling solution at copper specialist KME in Osnabrück

tempeditor — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:15:19 GMT

’s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, March 1, 2010 – Following the swift and smooth installation of the Quintiq scheduling solution at the end of 2009, the rolling mill in Osnabrück has been able to call on a professional tool for the day-to-day detailed planning of its business and manufacturing processes. Important goals, such as coil optimization, shortening lead times and improving delivery dependability are now being realized with the help of the Quintiq solution.

KME decided to implement the Quintiq Scheduler in March 2009 after seeing positive results at the KME production site in Fornaci di Barga, Italy. The KME sites in Fornaci di Barga and Osnabrück produce various rolled metal products suitable for building and industrial applications.

Challenges at the KME rolling mill in Osnabrück
Manufacturing a range of different products is a complex process. The large number of different materials and the varying order lot sizes demand a high level of detailed planning. The goal is to achieve optimum utilization of the coil capacity despite daily adjustments to the schedules. This can lead to significant reductions in material usage.

Improving delivery dependability
One of the company’s key goals is to improve delivery performance. Due to the complexity of operations, it had previously proved difficult to plan and calculate lead times precisely, which had the potential to lead to missed delivery targets. With the help of the Quintiq Scheduler, the company is now able to respond immediately to deviations and ensure that it still meets planned deadlines.

The new scheduling process at KME – mapped in real time
Before the recent Quintiq implementation project, all scheduling was carried out using software that was developed in-house. However, this was not capable of scheduling or reviewing individual processes and operational stages in real time; nor was it possible to intervene in ongoing production processes. Now that the Quintiq Scheduler has been integrated in the existing SAP ERP environment, the company is able to benefit from these options. Thanks to real-time alerting and rescheduling, users are able to react immediately to changes and implement new, optimized detailed plans.

Jürgen Kriesche, Head of Supply Chain Management at KME in Osnabrück, sums up: “The complexity of rolled metal production is enormous. Thanks to Quintiq, we are reducing lead times, have a clear overview of the production sequences and are thus able to eliminate bottlenecks. Our goal is to boost long-term customer satisfaction by achieving delivery reliability of more than 90%.”

Arthur Torsy, Director Metals & Manufacturing at Quintiq, adds: “By deploying our scheduling and detailed scheduling solution, our customers have a tool in their hands that will boost their commercial success, even during financially difficult times.”

About the KME Group
As a company group active throughout Europe, KME occupies a leading position on the global market for copper products.
• Annual production of more than 600,000 t of semi-finished copper and copper alloy products.
• Group revenue of more than €3 billion.
• 14 production sites in the major European markets as well as China
• 2 leading research centers
• A network of sales offices throughout Europe, America and Asia

Positioning of the KME Group:
• Worldwide no. 1 in the production of copper and copper alloy semis, including high-quality, high-tech products
• In the worldwide top 8 in the non-ferrous segment (NF)
• Among the world’s top 30 metals companies (ferrous and non-ferrous)

About Quintiq
Quintiq provides advanced planning, scheduling and supply chain management software solutions. This fast-growing company, established in 1997, offers and implements software for planning and optimizing complex business processes throughout the enterprise. The company’s headquarters are located in ’s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, with subsidiaries in Australia, China, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the USA. Quintiq systems are implemented in 68 countries worldwide. More at www.quintiq.com

More information:
Quintiq
Martijn van Gils
Global Marketing Director
+31 (0)73 691 07 39
martijn.van.gils@quintiq.com

Quintiq and Trim Informatica enter partnership for the Italian Market

tempeditor — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:17:23 GMT

‘s-Hertogenbosch, February 8, 2010 - Quintiq, a leading global provider of Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) solutions, and Trim Informatica, a software consulting services firm based in Brescia, North of Italy, today announced a partnership agreement covering Quintiq software implementation services in Italy.

The cooperation between the two companies enables them to deliver enhanced capabilities to their customers in Italy and open up new opportunities for Trim Informatica and Quintiq.
Quintiq focuses on providing the most advanced planning, scheduling and supply chain optimization solutions for targeted markets. As the market leader in its chosen markets it provides solutions that significantly improve the main KPIs of its customers.

The Quintiq solution has been implemented at a wide range of manufacturing, metal, logistics, transportation and other companies in Europe and around the world. The new partner arrangement builds on this success, enabling Trim Informatica and Quintiq to offer solutions in planning and scheduling within the Italian metals and manufacturing markets.

Carlo Gozio, Commercial Director at Trim Informatica commented: "Trim Informatica is a leader in MES solutions based on service oriented architecture and object oriented programming, with customers like IVECO, Arvedi Group, Calvi Group and many more. We have been looking for innovative solutions to face our customers’ complex operational activities and supply chain processes. The partnership with Quintiq will offer to our customers the opportunity to improve the capabilities of their SCM and rely on a technological innovative solution that is able to solve any planning and scheduling issues to speed them up to achieve their SCM targets.”

Francois Eijgelshoven, Director Metals and Manufacturing at Quintiq: “This agreement underscores our joint willingness to invest in the Italian market. Trim Informatica demonstrated that they are well versed in the complexities of planning and scheduling with a depth of knowledge that has been built upon over many years of experience in the supply chain market. Trim Informatica recognised the tradeoffs many businesses are making when implementing APS, complimenting Quintiq’s unique 100% fit commitment to our clients.”

About Trim Informatica
TRIM is a leading Italian company specialized in processes consultancy and developing MES solutions based on SOA architecture and object oriented programming technology. Born in 1997 and located in Brescia, TRIM offer integrates different and complementary skills from the Supply Chain Design to the capability to develop MES solution online connected with SAP, or other ERP solution, and at the factory level with the industrial automation.

About Quintiq
Quintiq provides advanced planning, scheduling and supply chain management solutions. The fast-growing Dutch company, established in 1997, offers software for planning and optimizing complex business processes throughout the enterprise. The company’s headquarters is located in the Netherlands and it has subsidiaries in Australia, China, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the USA, with implementations in 68 countries. For more information: www.quintiq.com

For more information, please contact:
Quintiq
Martijn van Gils
Global Marketing Director
+31 (0)73 691 07 39
martijn.van.gils@quintiq.com

Trim Informatica
Carlo Gozio
Commercial Director
+39 0302180446
gozio@triminformatica.it

In-flight Services Provider LSG Sky Chefs-Brahim Increases Operating Efficiency with Quintiq

alexandra.fromm@quintiq.com (Alexandra Fromm) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:32:38 GMT

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 22, 2010 - Quintiq, a leading provider of Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) solutions, today announced that LSG Sky Chefs-Brahim, a leading provider of in-flight catering and cabin handling services, went live in Malaysia with the Quintiq Advanced Ramp Operations Scheduling solution. The Quintiq solution provides LSG Sky Chefs-Brahim with a powerful decision support application for on-the-day scheduling, enabling higher productivity, more cost-effective operations and improved service delivery.

The LSG Sky Chefs-Brahim operating site at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia serves more than 40,000 meals and provides services to more than 220 aircrafts every day. Multiple aircraft types requiring different service carts and other equipment, numerous menu ordering options, dynamic flight schedules, and frequent last-minute aircraft, gate and passenger list changes together create a highly complex operational environment. The Quintiq solution supports LSG Sky Chefs-Brahim planners in maximizing resource utilization and in dealing effectively with the innumerable daily scheduling disturbances.

Greater Capacity Utilization and Better Cost Control
The Quintiq Advanced Ramp Operations Scheduling solution, based on the core Quintiq APS technology, is a single integrated system for full multi-resource planning and operational decision making. This advanced decision support application provides accurate and flexible on-the-day scheduling and revisions in real-time, including roster/shift assignment and optimal trip creation for delivery trucks. LSG Sky Chefs-Brahim has already reported a substantial increase in productivity in general and a significant improvement in efficiency through a reduction in corrective maintenance and preventative maintenance costs for its high lift operations. The company has seen a return on investment (ROI) in 6 months.

“The main benefits we are seeing from the Quintiq solution are in the areas of delivery performance and operational efficiency through increased productivity levels and better cost control,” commented Pieter Harting, General Manager, LSG Sky Chefs-Brahim. "With Quintiq, we now have the ability to take into account every possible variable to substantially optimize the deployment of our resources and workforce. The software's visualization features provide our planners with a full overview of how well resources are being utilized."

Sanjay Nair, Managing Director, South East Asia, Quintiq, added: "Against the background of the current weak economic environment, many companies are looking for ways to cut costs and improve operational efficiency. LSG Sky Chefs-Brahim is a good example of how a company has leveraged our advanced planning solutions to achieve significant cost savings."

About LSG Sky Chefs-Brahim
LSG Sky Chefs-Brahim’s Sdn Bhd (LSGB) is an airline catering company that serves more than thirty international airlines at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). LSGB prides itself on the preparation of 100% guaranteed halal meals and a fully integrated food logistics supply chain which includes cold rooms, warehouses and distribution support.

About Quintiq
Quintiq provides advanced planning, scheduling and supply chain management solutions. The fast-growing software company, established in 1997, offers solutions for planning and optimizing complex business processes throughout the enterprise. The company’s headquarters is located in the Netherlands and it has subsidiaries in Australia, China, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the USA, with implementations in 68 countries. For more information: www.quintiq.com.

More information:
Quintiq
Martijn van Gils
Global Marketing Director
+31 (0)73 691 07 39
martijn.van.gils@quintiq.com

Quintiq South-East Asia
Harveenpal Singh
Marketing Manager
+ 603 2382 1112
harveenpal.singh@quintiq.com

New Zealand’s Aviation Security Service Chooses Quintiq for Employee Scheduling

alexandra.fromm@quintiq.com (Alexandra Fromm) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:39:09 GMT

Melbourne, Australia, February 17, 2010 ― Avsec, the government provider of aviation security services in New Zealand, has chosen Quintiq’s employee scheduling solution to increase operational efficiencies.

Avsec is responsible for all pre-board screening of passengers at major airports throughout New Zealand. Avsec’s activities also include screening checked baggage, screening of airport workers, airport access controls, random patrols, aircraft security and managing the Airport Identity Card system for restricted areas.
Avsec is implementing Quintiq’s employee scheduling software for operational staff with the goal of optimising rosters by matching workload to staff resources. The net result will be a reduction in operational costs, efficiency and productivity improvements, and a higher level of staff satisfaction and retention.

Quintiq is capable of supporting all Avsec requirements, without the need for modifications to the standard software. Quintiq’s flexible solution will allow real time adjustments for changed or delayed flights helping Avsec achieve accurate demand driven rostering. There will be one system covering different locations, staff and processes. With the new system Avsec will gain a global view on resource management which will aid in the effectiveness of the whole organisation.

“We have gone through an extensive RFP process and have selected Quintiq as the best option to help us increase staff satisfaction through simplifying the rostering process while improving reporting and information flows,” stated Mark Everitt, Avsec General Manager. “We are confident this partnership will help us maintain and enhance the effectiveness of our aviation security operations in New Zealand.”
“Avsec has an outstanding performance record in aviation security. We welcome them on board as a client and are pleased that Quintiq is continuing to increase market share in security and aviation related markets. Aviation security is a dynamic industry demanding the most flexible and nimble of work forces”, comments Paul Shepherd, Quintiq Business Unit Director. “Demand fluctuations and unplanned events constantly challenge the planner. This calls for an equally flexible employee scheduling tool to effectively deploy the right number of staff to the right location at the right time. At the same time ensuring staff preferences are considered. ”

More information:
Quintiq Australia & New Zealand
Robin Sands
Marketing Manager
+61 3 9268 6900
robin.sands@quintiq.com

Quintiq
Martijn van Gils
Global Marketing Director
+31 (0)73 691 07 39
martijn.van.gils@quintiq.com

SIS LIVE to Centralize Resource Scheduling with Quintiq’s Outside Broadcast Scheduling Solution

alexandra.fromm@quintiq.com (Alexandra Fromm) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:58:03 GMT

's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, February 10, 2010 - Quintiq, a leading provider of Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) solutions, today announced that broadcast services supplier, SIS LIVE, Europe’s leading supplier of outside broadcast facilities and satellite uplinks, has chosen the Quintiq solution for its Outside Broadcast (OB) division. The Quintiq solution will be used to schedule all of SIS LIVE’s OB resources, to achieve process efficiencies and increase productivity by optimising resource utilisation.

SIS LIVE’s planners have been scheduling equipment and crew using legacy systems which did not have the capacity to effectively manage the large number of resources required. Handling the complex logistics involved in coordinating the movement of people, vehicles and equipment in line with multiple production schedules was becoming more of a challenge. Constantly expanding, SIS LIVE needed to replace the legacy systems with a scheduling solution that could centralize the planning of all its resources while providing real time transparency into resource utilization to improve efficiency.

"We chose Quintiq because their solution provides a unique combination of logistical and operational planning that will allow us to maximize the utilization of our resources within the production budgets and delivery requirements of our customers”, explained Matthew Fell, Project Manager Change Management Department, at SIS. “The flexibility of the solution will also provide us with more options in the future. SIS LIVE is a growing business involved in many different areas of broadcasting and all these areas involve scheduling. We needed a system that can evolve with us and Quintiq offers this."

Logistics Expertise: Key to OB Resource Scheduling
The second deciding factor was Quintiq logistics expertise. SIS LIVE’s OB production units work anywhere in the world, from a football stadium in Ireland to the Olympic games in China. Getting resources to distant or remote locations and understanding costs in terms of transportation is extremely important. Quintiq possesses extensive experience in logistics planning, something none of the competition could offer. The Quintiq solution will provide SIS LIVE with the information it needs to ensure all resources reach their destination in the most cost-effective way. In total, SIS LIVE has over 200 vehicles in its fleet and 500 employees. They also work with over 1500 freelancers as well as many thousands of pieces of equipment.

Resource Visibility: Key to staff planning
SIS LIVE also chose Quintiq for its personnel scheduling features. Working with many different pools of freelancers located in different geographical locations planners will be able to choose from an optimised list of resources simply by clicking on the map location of the events being planned. Planners will be capable of generating production schedules within a few minutes – maximizing quality of planning while always satisfying technical, legal, operational, social and commercial constraints as well as reducing costs.

Arjen Heeres, COO at Quintiq, commented: "We are very excited to be helping SIS LIVE achieve centralized intelligent resource planning. What makes this project so unique and pioneering is that for the first time we are combining our expertise in resource scheduling with logistics planning. This will enable SIS LIVE to intelligently plan all its resources, in any location, with the best outcome in terms of time and production costs and delivery."

About SIS
SIS is one of the world’s leading companies in the television broadcasting industry. It is the foremost supplier of television programming and data services to the UK and Ireland betting industry. The company’s broadcast business, SIS LIVE, is the largest outside broadcast and satellite uplink supplier in Europe. It offers a complete broadcasting solution from onsite outside broadcast facilities through to global distribution and IP provision. The company covers 100,000 hours of live events worldwide each year, including Formula One, The Wimbledon Championships, UEFA Champions League football and European Tour Golf, and delivers approximately 80% of live news feeds across the UK. Please visit www.sislive.tv for more information.

About Quintiq
Quintiq provides advanced planning, scheduling and supply chain management solutions. The fast-growing software company, established in 1997, offers solutions for planning and optimizing complex business processes throughout the enterprise. The company’s headquarters is located in the Netherlands and it has subsidiaries in Australia, China, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the USA, with implementations in 68 countries. For more information: www.quintiq.com.

For more information, please contact:
Quintiq
Martijn van Gils
Global Marketing Director
+31 (0)73 691 07 39
martijn.van.gils@quintiq.com