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June - 2014 - issue > Cover Story
Bristlecone Enabling Companies to Effectively Unleash the Value of their Supply Chains
Sagaya Christuraj
Monday, June 2, 2014
Supply chain management has become increasingly significant as firms recognize the importance of aligning their supply chain and production system with the way it strategically competes in the global marketplace. With supply chain continuing to be a key source of competitive advantage in driving business growth objectives, the worldwide Supply Chain Management (SCM) and procurement software market grew 7.3 percent in 2013.

Helping companies in the industry maximize the strategic value of their supply chains is Mountain View, CA, based Bristlecone. Part of the Mahindra group, Bristlecone fuels supply chain management across multiple industries including High Technology and Semiconductor, Automotive, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Industrial Machinery and Components, Oil and Gas, Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals with its wide range of services spanning from implementation of integrated solutions, proof of concept, consulting, managed services, information management, technology and integration support, asset services and go-live assistance. Through this dialogue, Irfan A Khan, Senior Vice President, Global Field Operations of the company furnishes us with details about the need of the hour in the supply chain industry and the attempts made by Bristlecone to address them and the reason they have been ahead of the competition all along.

1.You are part of a highly dynamic and rapidly growing industry. What has your experience been, working in supply chain?

Irfan - It has been equally challenging and rewarding. Being a part of Bristlecone for the last 12 years, I have been fortunate to witness the unfolding of an entire industry. We have the best vantage point as the supply chain management industry first emerged as an expensive, important and complex issue to address in 80s, and then rapidly grew into a multi-billion dollar business with ERP solutions and digitization of assets in '90s.

The Supply Chain market is in a state of disruption. It starts with the consumer. The revolution in e-commerce and the rise of the millennial generation has created a new benchmark for speed, cost, quality and customization of products and services. This is causing a proliferation in SKUs and has a disruptive impact on all downstream entities in the supply chain- whether it is retailers, manufacturers or distributors. The business models in most industries will change in the next decade.

2.Why do you believe so?

Irfan - There is a race to scale customization. Easy and cheaper access to good and new technology, for example 3D printers, design software, manufacturing best practices and the best talent is poised to level the innovation playing field between large and small organizations, and across geographical barriers. While, products can be reverse engineered fast in another part of the world, it takes a tremendous amount of effort to re-engineer supply chains without missing a beat. The companies that can do this swiftly and build responsive and resilient supply chains that can differentiate their products, will be the winners. Supply chain is emerging from being a cost centre to being a driver of real growth.

3.How does this impact supply chain technology?

Irfan - First you have this need for resilient and responsive supply chains. Earlier a single organization used to oversee and manage the design, manufacturing, and distribution of factory-centric product companies with vertically integrated supply chains. Now, most organizations are turning to third party suppliers globally to deliver their products to the market faster and cost effectively. Here the cloud model comes into play. Such a multi-enterprise model runs on a network of partners, each having a crucial role to play in sourcing, planning, making and delivering products to the market.

Second, the digitization of the multi-tiered supply chain and the proliferation of SKUs are creating never before seen demand for crunching and sharing data at rapid speeds. Information overload is not a surprising phenomenon these days; it is a crisis that decision makers face across organizations worldwide. There are consistent efforts in this space to come out with cutting-edge, scalable and affordable Business Intelligence solutions. Technology has evolved around newer and faster forms of computing and analytic dashboards, to help get the right data at the right time to the right people.

And third, markets are today rampant with phrases like 'on-the-move', 'on-the-go' and 'real-time'. The mobile workforce today demands 'anytime, anywhere information'. Mobile technology solutions facilitate untethered business, reaching data real-time, enabling informed decisions irrespective of location.

4.How are software vendors reacting to this?

Irfan - Bristlecone has had the fortune to work with the best software vendors in the supply chain market helping them develop and implement innovative solutions. There is a race to meet the emerging demand by moving products to the cloud in a unified data model that integrates planning, execution and analytics. Software vendors are also bringing out advanced products and solutions to take advantage of the buzz in mobile technology and mobile data. In addition, the big data boom is driving software vendors to develop solutions for mining and processing petabytes worth of information that will help customers gain market insights. Refining Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) processes is seen as one of the top investment priorities for customers and they are increasingly relying on faster computing applications and technology for improving supply chain performance and business growth.

Some of the notable solutions from software vendors include SAP HANA in-memory computing platform, Oracle Demantra real-time S&OP solution, Kinaxis RapidResponse, Salesforce.com cloud solutions, etc.

5.What does this mean for service companies and how equipped is Bristlecone to deal with the same?

Irfan - Consulting companies have to adapt to the changing supply chain landscape. They have to invest in training and development to proactively build competencies in accordance with emerging technologies.

Over the last 18 years, through Bristlecone's focus in supply chain, procurement, data & analytics and product engineering, we have built intellectual property, talent and process capability that clearly differentiate us from our competitors. We leverage our strategic partnership with leading service providers to earn hands-on experience on all phases of a product's lifecycle. This, coupled with our experience across various verticals, helps us advise our customers to navigate these changing times and gain a competitive advantage.

6.Which are the business domains that Bristlecone focuses on?

Irfan - Bristlecone has been advising businesses on how to maximize efficiency and increase throughput while keeping the costs low. We power the supply chain of companies in sectors like Manufacturing (High Tech, Auto and Process), Consumer Electronics, Semiconductors, Storage, Automotive, Consumer Packaged Goods, Chemical, Life Sciences, Oil & Gas and Pharmaceuticals.

For instance, in the Semiconductor vertical, we have pre-configured ERP solutions for the industry, enabling smooth and fast implementations. Semiconductor giants like International Rectifier, PMC Sierra, and Novellus hold us in high regard. We have preconfigured supply chain solutions for the consumer and retail industry that enhances deployment. Supply chain problems and best practices are unique to each industry and Bristlecone's industrial expertise is well recognized by all.

Our services portfolio includes:
Integrated Supply Chain: This helps to efficiently plan, execute, collaborate and measure the performance of supply chains, and improve operational efficiency based on the existing market conditions.
Sourcing and Procurement: Clients get a better visibility of their global spending patterns and we help reduce cost by increasing saving opportunities in procurement.
Information Management: Our Data Advisory Services offer consulting, management, governance, reporting and transformation services for data.
Technology and Integration: Includes product-engineering services, mobility solutions, and data warehousing and testing.
Application Managed Services: Covers maintenance and support of enterprise systems to ensure business continuity.

7.What gives Bristlecone an edge in the industry?

Irfan - Bristlecone has been in the supply chain consulting field for over a decade and this specialization is our key differentiator. We work closely with leading SCM solution providers, and have over 250 engagements across multiple industry verticals. Here are some of the factors that differentiate us:

-Proven global engagement delivery model with an optimal blend of professionals having deep industry, process and supply chain technical expertise
-Proven and unique implementation accelerators developed based on past experience that deliver high quality accelerated implementations
-Proven expertise in the supply chain and procurement space
-100 percent of our workforce are full-time employees
-50 + procurement solution implementations across the globe since 2003 and $200 billion spend processed

Gartner has ranked Bristlecone among the top supply chain system integrators in their 2012 report on Supply Chain System Integrators.

8.What is the secret to your success?

Irfan - Our four-pronged formula for success is stay true to your customer, collaborate with your partners, stay focused on your domain knowledge and recruit and retain the best global talent.

Bristlecone is a one-stop supply chain solution provider for our customers. We are known for our experience, deployment processes and solution accelerators.

Client satisfaction has always been a key priority for us at Bristlecone. I sincerely believe that the efforts we make from the moment we first make contact with a client, until the time the project has been implemented, all come together to create enhanced value for them.
We are the preferred co-development partner for leading Independent software vendors (ISVs).

We are hardnosed about conducting a blueprinting phase, which is where we develop the skeleton of the project to ensure the customer gets a good ROI on their supply chain investments. Our objective is to get them together to ensure we have a comprehensive view of the challenges the company is facing before we initiate the blueprint process.

9.How would you describe the future of supply chain?

Irfan - The future of supply chain is quite promising and the key trends are:

Futuristic technologies: The current and the most profound technologies that are transforming the manufacturing landscape are open source hardware designs and digital parts, 3-D printing and intelligent assembly robots, to name a few. Incorporation of such technologies in the business flow will quickly reformulate manufacturing, shifting hardware-based productions to software dependent process.

Cost Inflation: Every organization, regardless of size, will seek ways to reduce cost, however preeminent performers will realize that the real opportunity lies in enterprise wide cost reduction strategies. The new age will see more of fact based negotiation where an experienced practical supply chain manager will effectively work with a partner to drive down costs with increased investment in cost modelling and market intelligence.

Closer to the point of consumption: As an organization's global footprint expands, the resultant increase in labor cost, rising fuel charges and regulatory shifts have a dramatic impact on sourcing, production and process complexity. Numerous issues related to port capacity and labour costs are becoming a reason of worry for executives to ensure timely delivery to their customers. Hence, shifting of overseas manufacturing closer to the point of consumption is seeing small but measurable growth and it will result in shrinking of lengthy and complex supply chains.

Staying on top of these trends and acting fast when the time is ripe, will help an organization gain first mover advantage.

10.What do you think the future holds for Bristlecone?

Irfan - As the line between services and products is becoming dimmer, we are launching a set of products and new age offerings based on our extensive experience. These are certain white space products that are intended to enhance the efficiency of leading vendor solutions. We are poised to solve the supply chain challenges of a wide range of industries through best practices and unique deployment models.

We are focused on North America, Western Europe and Southeast Asia and would continue helping our clients obtain strategic value from their services through supply chain management. Growth, success, and enhanced productivity are our goals. This is not just for Bristlecone, but also for our clients.

Irfan A Khan - The Man behind the Name

Irfan is an accomplished industry veteran, with 20 years of leadership experience in large and medium sized organizations. He is recognized in the industry for his strong consultative and practical approach and his proven competency in initiating, leading and managing turnaround growth strategies in both complex multi-channel distribution, as well as business-to-business environments. Irfan's unique blend of experience in Strategic Planning, Field Execution and Performance Optimization has helped shape organizations in building existing lines of business, and launching new geographies and product lines. His result-oriented, decisive leadership has been a key factor in new market identification and strategic positioning. He has previously held leadership roles at Microsoft, Hughes Software and Sutherland Global Services, where Irfan successfully led organizational changes and process improvement in markets across the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia.

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