Waybridge, the supply chain operating system for raw materials, this month announced an expanded collaboration with Superior Essex, the leading global provider of magnet wire and a noted provider of communications cabling, throughout the company's manufacturing plants in Europe and North America.
Superior Essex is among the early adopters of Waybridge's platform, utilizing the technology at two of its North American manufacturing plants — in the U.S. and Mexico — since August 2021. The latest technology expansion will incorporate Waybridge into 9 new plants located in Canada, Germany, Italy, Serbia, and the U.S.
"We knew that to provide our customers and suppliers with the most optimal experience, we needed to streamline our operations and be able to predict supply chain issues, like stockouts, before they impacted us, and our customers," said Superior Essex global vice president, Scott Wilde. "As soon as we partnered with Waybridge, the way we viewed our full inventory and our overall workflow process completely changed. We've now been able to access critical predictive information that allows us to be agile when dealing with supply chain issues before they affect us. We're excited to continue leveraging Waybridge's vast expertise and technology throughout our global business."
Stock & Flow predicts ETAs and more
Waybridge's Stock & Flow platform directly addresses and mitigates the challenge of knowing current and future inventory positions by aggregating data from shipping forecasts, real-time shipment locations, predicted ETAs, and production plans to offer customers unparalleled predictive capabilities.
The vendor notes that "inefficient supply chains and stockouts can cost companies more than just direct sales loss — they can increase logistics costs, damage a company's brand image, and ultimately hinder future demand. Reasons for stockouts can be traced to multiple points in the supply chain including an unexpected increase in demand, shipment and supplier delays, human error, and lack of accurate inventory data," added a Waybridge statement.
In 2021 alone, Waybridge said it allowed Superior Essex to avoid four material stockouts that would have adversely affected their customers.
Excel woes alleviated
The company notes that another supply chain tool that can be problematic for companies like Superior Essex is Excel. While it remains a widely used tool to collect and calculate data among players in the raw materials supply chain, these spreadsheets are often static and manual, meaning they are prone to human error.
Through Waybridge's interconnected platform, the vendor said Superior Essex was able to reduce company-wide Excel usage procurement by 90% and reduced email volume around procurement and tracking by 50%.
"It's a testament to the impact of supply chain digitization that one of our first customers has been so impressed with the results of our technology that they are expanding its implementation into plants across the globe," commented Scott Evans, CEO and co-founder of Waybridge. "Superior Essex is a true forward-thinker in the commodities space and understands the importance of standardization on a common platform to benefit not only themselves, but their customers and their suppliers, making them an ideal partner for us."
Superior Essex said it currently requires all of its North American material to be managed via Waybridge and will be looking to expand its technology into Asian plants in the near future.
"Superior Essex has provided Waybridge with incredible product feedback since the start of our partnership, which has allowed our product to continue evolving, benefitting all of our customers across the board," concluded Kyle McCarter, Waybridge's chief product officer. "As one of the largest magnet wire products in the world, we truly value Superior Essex's insights as both a build partner for us and also a major participant in global markets."