Paragons of virtue

Paragons of virtue

German auto manufacturer Daimler Chrysler produces 4.05 million units of passenger cars each year as well as a further 485,400 commercial vehicles. All of those cars need spare parts at some point in their lives, so having an efficient supply chain is crucial. Daimler Chrysler has recognised this and launched Project Paragon to create a global logistics and SCM system.

It took the Daimler Chrysler IT people a long time to get Paragon up and running – in fact to persuade the company that it was necessary. SCM lives in the shadows – but is crucial to the success of many organisations. It carries little glamour and it took five months to get the budget approved for Paragon.

The company is now rolling out its new systems across the globe and will be phasing it in over a number of years. Benefits such as reduced inventory management have already been seen, but it will be some time before all the gains are realised – or even identified.