Nissan has begun using a software system from Kinaxis to improve the accuracy and speed of planning in its supply chain.

Kinaxis said the RapidResponse supply chain management (SCM) application would enable Nissan to concurrently plan across different parts of its global supply chain and give it end-to-end visibility.

Given that Nissan makes cars in 20 countries around the world, manual planning processes can get disconnected. A spokesperson for Kinaxis told Automotive Logistics, however, that the RapidResponse software could be used to completely manage the supply chain across functions including inventory management, demand planning, order fulfilment, and sales and operations planning.

“A robust supply and demand balancing system is critical for a global company to drive tangible business outcomes,” said Koichiro Sakakibara, who leads the Manufacturing and SCM System department at Nissan. “As RapidResponse is deployed, we will remove supply chain planning functional boundaries to gain a consolidated view of our entire supply chain.

“We see this as a long-term relationship between our two companies and are convinced of the flexibility and scalability of RapidResponse to support future plans.”

According to Kinaxis, the application balances supply and demand in response to changing conditions and enables sales and operations planning that most closely aligns with corporate financial goals.