SAB chooses Opsi as its primary distribution software partner
Johannesburg, South Arica, 22 July, 2009: Opsi, a provider of logistics software, today announced that it had been chosen by South African Breweries Limited (SAB), a subsidiary of SABMiller plc, as its primary partner in the provision of its distribution software (PLATO) to handle the supply chain logistics between the production plants of SAB and Amalgamated Beverage Industries (ABI) in South Africa and their respective distribution depots.
The production plan and deployment plans generated by SAB’s enterprise systems are initially pushed into the deployment dashboard and then into the scheduler on a daily basis, in order to derive an initial transport plan. This plan is then reviewed by SAB staff and then, via the dashboard last minute changes to the deployment plan are incorporated. This revised set of information flows into PLATO’s execution module for the execution and continuous updating of the optimised delivery schedule.
“We were looking to improve our vehicle optimisation and utilisation and needed a new or significantly revised system to achieve this objective,” commented Miveshan Naidoo, Planning Systems manager, ABI, the soft drink division of SAB. “The ‘new’ system needed to be flexible enough to embrace our unique requirements but also be sufficiently dynamic in nature to accommodate the real-time events that occur on a daily basis, in particular, the ability to timeously exploit the delivery gaps at the various security gates, in order to minimise vehicle queuing times.”
“We already have a strong and successful relationship with Opsi through their ‘FLO’ secondary distribution application and have seen the success achieved and experienced with them,” continued Naidoo. “Thus, we are delighted to be working with Opsi again on this project and have every confidence that we will achieve similar results from this new primary distribution solution.”
“As this new system is progressively utilised we intend to capitalise on the ‘easy interfaces’, i.e. drop & drag capabilities, that are programmed into the application, to accommodate other changes such as the utilisation of GPS data rather than the current telephonic information that is provided as input into the Plato software,” concluded Naidoo. “We are also hoping that the new solution will provide significant cost savings down the line and thus become a possible ‘blueprint’ for adoption by SABMiller elsewhere in the world.”
The PLATO (Planning Logistics and Transport Optimiser) suite of next-generation logistics software is Opsi's enterprise solution for transport planning. It is a central management system that makes the transportation process more efficient and cost-effective. PLATO manages and enables the visualisation of the entire transportation process from order inception to financial administration and complements existing order-management, forecasting, warehouse-management and financial-administration systems. Regardless of the business process, PLATO is robust enough to create accurate and optimal planning models and flexible enough to allow for estimations and re-optimisations during execution. This versatility translates to ease-of-use for the planning process that is powered by a sophisticated engine that seamlessly handles complex logistics issues.
For further information, please contact David Lubinsky: tel 011 880 7951, fax 011 880 2424, e-mail david.lubinsky@opsi.co.za
Editors note
Opsi provides a complete logistics solution through its suite of platforms, enabling companies to more efficiently design and manage their supply chains. Opsi enables enterprises from a variety of markets, with varying fleet sizes, to manage their vehicle logistics including the planning, scheduling, routing, management and auditing of their fleets with GPS tracking. Opsi’s transport optimisation and management solutions have been proven across the globe in real world implementations by leading innovators such as Air Liquide, Barloworld, British American Tobacco (BAT), British Petroleum (BP), Clover, Coca Cola, DHL, Diageo, Parmalat, Reckitt Benckiser and SABMiller.
Prepared by: Paul Booth
Global Research Partners
Tel 082-568-1179
Fax 011 463-0448
e-mail pabooth@mweb.co.za
On behalf of: David Lubinsky
Opsi
Tel 011 880 7951
Fax 011 880 2424
e-mail david.lubinsky@opsi.co.za
About SAB
SABMiller plc is one of the world's largest brewers with brewing interests or distribution agreements in over 60 countries across five continents. Born in 1895, SAB Ltd is the South African subsidiary of SABMiller plc, one of
the largest brewers by volume in the world. SAB plc acquired the Miller Brewing
Company in July 2002 and SABMiller was formed.
SAB operates seven breweries and 42 depots in South Africa with the brand portfolio of ten beers and two flavoured alcohol drinks (FADs).
SAB has an annual brewing capacity of 3.1-billion litres.
SAB Limited employs 4800 at SAB and, including ABI, now some 8200 people in South Africa.
About OPSI Systems
Opsi provides a complete logistics solution through its suite of platforms, enabling companies to more efficiently design and manage their supply chains. Opsi enables enterprises from a variety of markets, with varying fleet sizes, to manage their vehicle logistics, including the planning, scheduling, routing, management and auditing of their fleets with GPS tracking. Opsi's transport optimisation and management solutions have been proven across the globe in real world implementations by leading innovators such as Air Liquide, Barloworld, British American Tobacco (BAT), British Petroleum (BP), Clover, Coca Cola, DHL, Diageo, Parmalat, Reckitt Benckiser and SABMiller.
