Getting the right product to the right customer location at the right time is key to commercial success for any company. But with more than 6,000 product lines across 13 business units and operations in 90 countries, this is a challenging task for DuPont. The company decided to integrate its inventory management using the SAP® Enterprise Inventory Optimization application by SmartOps. As a result, it has reduced costs by cutting excess safety stock while improving customer service.

1. SAP Customer Success Story | Chemicals | DuPont
DuPont: Finding a Formula for
Success with Efficient Inventory
Planning

2. SAP Customer Success Story | Chemicals | DuPont
Executive overview Company
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (Dupont)
Company
Industries
Chemicals, life sciences
Vision
Products and Services
Why SAP For a range of markets including agriculture, nutrition,
electronics, communications, safety and protection,
home and construction, transportation, and apparel
Implementation
Web Site
Solution www.dupont.com
SAP® Solutions
Benefits SAP® Enterprise Inventory Optimization application
by SmartOps
Future plans
Getting the right product to the right customer location at the right time is key to
commercial success for any company. But with more than 6,000 product lines across
13 business units and operations in 90 countries, this is a challenging task for DuPont.
The company decided to integrate its inventory management using the SAP® Enterprise
Inventory Optimization application by SmartOps. As a result, it has reduced costs by
cutting excess safety stock while improving customer service.
2

3. SAP Customer Success Story | Chemicals | DuPont
Executive overview
Innovation powered by science
Company
Vision
Based in Wilmington, Delaware, DuPont has been har- From its beginning as a manufacturer of high-grade
nessing the power of science to develop innovative black powder for explosives, the company has evolved
Why SAP
products since 1802. For more than 200 years, DuPont to meet changing customer requirements by apply-
has brought world-class science and engineering to ing first-class science to succeed in new markets. With
Implementation the global marketplace through innovative products, recent acquisitions enabling DuPont’s move into the
materials, and services. Their market-driven innovation food and agribusiness sectors, the US$37.9 billion com-
introduces thousands of new products and patent pany now employs 70,000 staff worldwide. Continuing
Solution applications every year, serving markets as diverse its rich heritage of scientific innovation, the company
as agriculture, nutrition, electronics and communica- has so far been awarded over 37,500 patents.
Benefits tions, safety and protection, home and construction,
transportation, and apparel.
Future plans Today, DuPont is partnering with others to tackle
the unprecedented challenges in food, energy, and
protection now facing our world. With the global
population expected to approach 9 billion by 2050,
DuPont is working with customers, governments,
37,500
NGOs, and thought leaders to discover solutions to Patents awarded since
today’s toughest challenges. DuPont believes that 1802
together they can provide enough healthy food for
people everywhere, decrease dependence on fossil
fuels, and protect people and the environment for
generations to come.
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4. SAP Customer Success Story | Chemicals | DuPont
Executive overview
Responding to dynamic markets
Company
Vision
In the new consumer-based markets that DuPont has “We wanted to take a more scientific approach to our
entered, such as food and related ingredients, it is criti- inventory planning, looking at historical data to update
Why SAP
cal to react quickly and dynamically and respond appro- safety-stock targets more regularly,” says Cathi Garito,
priately to fluctuating demand. However, reliance on IT Application Specialist at DuPont. “We also wanted to
Implementation manual forecasting spreadsheets meant that DuPont work in a more integrated way, looking at the supply net-
had the opportunity to manage its inventory in a more work as a whole so that we don’t duplicate the amount
efficient and cost-effective way. A static approach to of stock needed.”
Solution demand planning could result in safety-stock levels
remaining unchanged for a period of time.
Benefits
Future plans
“With smarter inventory planning, we have the opportunity
to improve customer service while reducing costs.”
Cathi Garito, IT Application Specialist, DuPont
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5. SAP Customer Success Story | Chemicals | DuPont
Executive overview
Established SAP software infrastructure
Company
Vision
DuPont decided to invest in a solution that would assist SAP Enterprise Inventory Optimization integrates
the decision-making process for optimized inventory with the SAP Supply Chain Management application
Why SAP
targets across the supply chain. The new software to determine demand-driven inventory targets for
would need to provide automated updates on chang- every item at every location throughout the supply
Implementation ing demand in a dynamic market. Following a detailed chain. According to Kent Ping, Senior IT Consultant at
vendor review process, the company decided to imple- DuPont, the company wanted commercially available
ment SAP Enterprise Inventory Optimization. software. Integration with the SAP ERP application
Solution also was a factor in its choice of inventory optimiza-
tion software.
Benefits
Future plans
“We’re an established user of SAP software and wanted a solution
that would integrate with our existing infrastructure. SAP Enterprise
Inventory Optimization meets this requirement and enables us to view
our entire supply chain at the touch of a button.”
Kent Ping, Senior IT Consultant, DuPont
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6. SAP Customer Success Story | Chemicals | DuPont
Executive overview
Sharing experiences and refining
Company
processes
Vision
So far, DuPont has deployed SAP Enterprise Inventory buy-in. “No matter how sophisticated the tools we have,
Optimization across 20% of its businesses. However, project success is dependent on gaining the confidence
Why SAP
the implementation has not been without its challenges. of the people using the solution,” comments Garito.
“At first, data quality was a real issue for us,” remarks With this in mind, IT staff and internal supply chain
Implementation Garito. “Each business is structured differently, so we consultants worked hand in hand with the businesses
had to spend a lot of time understanding data flows to to look at their processes and identify ways in which
ensure we had the correct information in the correct SAP Enterprise Inventory Optimization could best work
Solution format to feed into the solution.” for them.
Benefits Experts from SmartOps worked closely with the DuPont As well as detailed predeployment planning sessions,
project team to get the job done. “It was a very collab- DuPont also holds a monthly user group meeting where
orative project, and SmartOps helped us get where we representatives of each business can raise issues and
Future plans needed to be,” confirms Garito. share successful approaches. “User feedback is helping
us to speed up future implementations and refine our
Another key challenge facing the company was com- processes as we continue to implement the solution
municating the changes to its staff and getting their across the company,” highlights Garito.
“We ensure we have the right people involved in the project.”
Cathi Garito, IT Application Specialist, DuPont
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7. SAP Customer Success Story | Chemicals | DuPont
Executive overview
Multitier stock management
Company
Vision
With SAP Enterprise Inventory Optimization in place, helps us to be better prepared to meet changing
business units at DuPont can view a network model requirements so we can be confident that we have
Why SAP
of supply chains for over 2,000 product lines. The solu- the products we need, where we need them.”
tion looks at the entire supply chain and identifies the
Implementation current amount and location of each item of stock
across the chain. It then calculates optimal safety-
stock targets required to meet demand without run-
Solution ning out of stock, while fulfilling customer service
Benefits
targets for timely delivery.
By analyzing historical data, the solution continuously
2,000
updates forecasted targets, taking into account vari- Product lines
Future plans able factors such as demand and supply. According
to Garito, “SAP Enterprise Inventory Optimization
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8. SAP Customer Success Story | Chemicals | DuPont
Executive overview
Continuous improvement
Company
Vision
DuPont has achieved significant savings thus far, and in inventory, directly attributed to reduced stock levels
these savings will rise as the organization continues to through more efficient inventory management. The
Why SAP
deploy the solution across its remaining businesses. MCM Resin division has significantly improved cus-
tomer service levels across its supply chain, and the
Implementation “SAP Enterprise Inventory Optimization enables HPF business anticipates cutting its inventory by 5%.
each business to analyze the link between inventory
and customer service levels. Sometimes reposition- Another benefit of the solution is that it gives the busi-
Solution ing stock to maximize revenue is the answer,” Garito nesses a holistic view of their supply chain – identifying
notes. “The software helps the businesses make deci- inputs and outputs at each stock point. This enables
Benefits sions so that they are better prepared to provide excel- them to review and improve processes. “SAP Enterprise
lent service to customers.” Inventory Optimization helps the businesses see their
supply networks clearly and ask themselves, why are
Future plans Business units with the software in place have we doing that?” comments Garito. “They can constant-
reported successes in different ways. The Packaging ly evaluate and reevaluate the way they work to improve
Graphics division has benefited from an 8% reduction their supply chain processes.”
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9. DuPont
Executive overview
Long-term strategy
Company
Vision
DuPont has plans to include dashboard functionality
so that business managers can view at-a-glance inven-
Why SAP
tory information within analytics solutions from SAP.
Implementation And as DuPont’s businesses come to grips with the
solution, they are identifying where the Six Sigma
methodology can be applied to improve processes
Solution and achieve their long-term goals. “With SAP Enter-
prise Inventory Optimization, we can undertake Six
Benefits Sigma activities to make improvements on an ongoing
basis,” remarks Garito. “In this way, we can achieve
significant advances in our operational efficiency.”
Future plans
She concludes: “By helping us to be more dynamic
and responsive in fast-moving consumer markets, the
SAP solution is helping us to be more competitive –
and sustain that edge.”
CMP18103 (12/08)
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