Going “lean” is not only a buzz word in the manufacturing space but also a noteworthy phenomenon that has transformed the industry with improved lean tools for increased profitability, productivity, and customer satisfaction. Off-late, the concept has also found immense use in the supply chain environment to eliminate volatility and risk. Employing lean approaches in supply chain processes for competitive advantage, the Cupertino, CA based firm, Ultriva is meeting the challenges of overcoming the obsolete manual Kanban card system with its cloud-based collaborative solutions.

Gaining visibility in the supply chain management is an arduous task for the manufacturers and it is still controlled by Material Requirement Planning (MRP) and Enterprise Requirement Planning (ERP) systems. Also, the endless interpretations with regards to allowing visibility across various industries, demands and trends continue to evolve. Narayan Laksham, Founder and CEO, believes that these trends stress on the need for collaboration in order to meet customer expectations. Ultriva therefore provides clear insight on how supporting customers, discovering inventory, and leveraging this visibility in supply chain brings more value to manufacturing. “Having complete transparency on where the material is, on a real-time basis, is an extremely critical piece of the supply chain puzzle and we can help with that,” he explains.

Ultriva is well placed to fathom the need of the companies for maximum supply chain visibility and capacitates them with supply chain solutions with a demand responsive network enveloping key vertices of supply chain including suppliers, distributors, and retailers. The firm’s solutions also help in accelerating the inventory rapidity of leading industrial manufacturing companies. Further, its demand-driven lean replenishment method replaces the ineffective forecasting approaches in manufacturing, thereby taking Kanban to a new level. The company’s collaborative portals where the needs and requirements of customers are met through its consumption-based replenishment systems are preferred over forecasts.

In order to improve inventory turns, switching to inventory reduction and shifting to right sizing inventory has become a necessity to survive in the complex mix of supply chain.

Gaining visibility to where the material is, on a real-time basis, is an extremely critical piece of the supply chain puzzle and we can help you with that

The company’s flagship, Lean Suite, a single source comprising of Collaborative Supply Portal, Lean Factory Management, Collaborative Demand Portal, and the Inventory Optimization Tool, addresses these challenges and meets the fluctuating needs of the customers. The primary modules of the suite establish a pull process with customers; allow syncing of shop floor with the customer demand followed by reorganization of processes in the supply chain of the manufacturer. Catering to the need of manufacturers to eliminate waste developed due to inefficiencies on the shop floor, labor, and shooting inventory expense, Ultriva’s Lean Factory Management promotes lean manufacturing for streamlining processes to cut down on the unneeded costs. The company presently works for 200 manufacturing plants providing them with their effective electronic replenishment system or more popularly called electronic Kanban loops. Ultriva’s Collaborative Supply Portal has helped machining contract manufacturer to gain real-time visibility of demand, reduction in overall inventory by 40 percent and also improved the supplier on-time performance by 35 percent. The company also interfaces with over 20 different leading ERP systems including Oracle, INFOR, SAP, JD Edwards, QAD, NetSuite and more.

Going far beyond simply reducing costs, Ultriva’s solutions include superior security, minimal investment in IT overheads and hardware. Pioneering in Kanban solutions under the leadership of Laksham, Ultriva focuses on organizing the demand side with the supply chain by improving the forecasts with better-quality algorithms. In the course of time, Ultriva works towards improving the features of its products for more sustainable solutions.