As a global company, Heineken traditionally had a long lead time in getting forecasts in and product distributed throughout the United States and the world. The objective was to reduce the time between when an order is placed to when it is delivered from 10 to 12 weeks to between four and six weeks. In late 1995, Heineken decided to implement a supply chain management system to replace the old way of dealing with distributors. The system can also be used as an intranet, connecting salespeople to the central database. Through Voyager XPS, Heineken can deliver customized forecasting data to distributors through individual Web pages.
Distributors log on to the customized Web pages using a standard browser and Internet connection.
Once they enter their ID and password, they can view their sales forecast, modify their order, and submit their order by pressing a button. Order submissions are available real time at the Heineken brewery in Europe, which can, in turn, adjust its brewing and ship- ment schedules. Voyager XPS provides a calendar so Heineken can notify distributors of events. Other benefits of online collaborative planning are lower procurement costs, smaller inventories, and shorter cycle times. Heineken USA's collaborative planning has reduced order cycle times from three months to four weeks and simplified planning for its distributor customers.