AvestaPolarit Stainless Meets Increased Production with i2 Transportation Solutions Implemented by Accenture
HELSINKI, Finland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 2003--Accenture (NYSE:ACN) and i2 Technologies, Inc. (OTC:ITWO) today announced the successful implementation of i2 Transportation Solutions at AvestaPolarit Stainless, one of the world's leading stainless steel producers.
AvestaPolarit Stainless purchased software from i2 in the fourth quarter of 2002 to help optimize its logistics operations and better meet challenges associated with increased production capacity requirements. The first stage of the Accenture-led implementation, the roll-out of Transportation Modeler in the Tornio, Finland, plant, went live after only three and a half months.
The i2 Transportation Modeler provides tools to analyze historical traffic volumes by area and by carrier. Based on this analysis, the system produces a report to help planners select the most cost-effective carriers or negotiate better rates with carriers that offer volume discounts.
AvestaPolarit Stainless faced growing logistics challenges when it expanded stainless steel production capacity at its plants in Tornio and in Terneuzen, the Netherlands, to meet increased global demand. To optimize AvestaPolarit Stainless' logistics processes, Accenture and i2 completed an implementation that the steel producer reports has led to lowered transportation costs and inventory lead times.
The implementation was designed to deliver benefits to AvestaPolarit Stainless' Logistics Service department from the first day of go-live. AvestaPolarit Stainless reports that the software is helping it to save money by reducing truck transportation tariffs, thus reducing overall costs in its major markets.
"In order to meet our increased production capacity requirements without expanding our need for additional resources, we worked together with Accenture and i2 to devise ways to improve our workflows and automate our logistics operations," said Tarja Elf, Business Development Manager at AvestaPolarit Stainless, Tornio. "This solution has brought definite value to our business by optimizing our cost performance in the management of transportation."
"To improve profitability in the stainless steel industry, where the cost of finished goods is very high, it is essential to aggressively manage the logistics process to minimize capital tied up in inventory," said Jussi Konkola, a partner in Accenture's Metals & Mining industry group. "By tightly integrating transportation planning and execution with production, AvestaPolarit can achieve maximum cost efficiency in its finished goods process and become a true benchmark for its industry."
"With this project, AvestaPolarit is moving towards the highest standards of transportation planning and optimization, a necessity when working with remotely located production facilities and constrained transportation capacity. We look forward to bringing value to AvestaPolarit's logistics operations using i2 solutions," said Tim Porter, i2 Vice President, Northern Europe.
About AvestaPolarit Stainless
AvestaPolarit is one of the world's leading stainless steel producers. The company was formed in January 2001 from the merger between Avesta Sheffield and Outokumpu Steel, and it was launched with the vision to be "Best in Stainless".
Today, AvestaPolarit is an integral part of the Outokumpu metals and technology group, in which the stainless steel business is a core area.
AvestaPolarit has production plants in Finland, Sweden, the UK and the USA, and can offer services to customers worldwide through its own broad sales and distribution network. The Group has an annual stainless steel melting capacity of about 2 million tonnes, increasing to 3 million with the completion of ongoing expansions 2002-2004. AvestaPolarit employs around 9,200 people, and reported pro forma net sales of about EUR 3 billion in 2002. www.avestapolarit.com.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting and technology services company. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenture collaborates with its clients to help them realize their visions and create tangible value. With deep industry expertise, broad global resources and proven experience in consulting and outsourcing, Accenture can mobilize the right people, skills, alliances and technologies. With more than 80,000 people in 47 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$11.6 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2002. Its home page is www.accenture.com.
About i2
A leading provider of end-to-end supply chain management solutions, i2 designs and delivers software that helps customers optimize and synchronize activities involved in successfully managing supply and demand. i2 has more than 1,000 customers worldwide--many of which are market leaders--including seven of the Fortune global top 10. Founded in 1988 with a commitment to customer success, i2 remains focused on delivering value by implementing solutions designed to provide a rapid return on investment. Learn more at www.i2.com.
i2 is a registered trademark of i2 Technologies US, Inc. and i2 Technologies, Inc.
i2 Cautionary Language
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties including forward-looking statements regarding the customer's ability to implement or integrate i2 solutions successfully and in a timely fashion, receive expected functionality and performance, or achieve benefits attributable to i2 solutions. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ from those projected. For a discussion of factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements, please refer to i2's recent filings with the SEC, particularly the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed July 21, 2003 and the Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed on August 12, 2003 and August 14, 2003. i2 assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this news release.
CONTACT:
Accenture
Jussi Konkola, +358 40 502 5812
jussi.konkola@accenture.com
or
i2 Technologies
Mette Krogh, +45 86 13 82 57
Mette_krogh@i2.com
SOURCE: i2 Technologies |
