News Release Details

Kinaxis Introduces Self-Healing Supply Chain Powered by Machine Learning

May 14, 2018

Improve supply chain performance by automatically closing the gap between design and actual results

May 14, 2018

Kinaxis® Inc. (TSX:KXS), provider of RapidResponse®, a leading cloud-based supply chain management solution based on concurrent planning, today announced the introduction of the Self-Healing Supply Chain™, built to automatically improve the accuracy of planning design assumptions and continuously keep your supply chain operating in top health.

The Self-Healing Supply Chain uses purpose-built machine learning technology to surface complex dependencies and patterns across billions of data elements driving supply chain performance in a practical, easy-to-understand way.

Closing the gap between expected and real-world performance is critical in predicting revenues, satisfying customer demands and maximizing financial performance. For example, assumed lead times predict material availability in support of plans. When those assumptions fail to live up to designed performance, plans can be dramatically misaligned with expectations, impacting key metrics such as inventory disposition, fulfillment obligations, and capacity utilization.

The Self-Healing Supply Chain, part of Kinaxis RapidResponse, automatically detects then corrects discrepancies between the as-designed and as-demonstrated performance on an on-going basis. Companies will be able to plan with confidence based on the short- and long-term health of their supply chains.

Developed and tested with input from customers spanning multiple industries including life sciences and high-tech electronics, the Self-Healing Supply Chain was built with practical use cases in mind. It leverages machine learning to:

  • alert planners to high-impact exceptions between a supply chain’s designed and actual performance
  • measure and demonstrate the impact of incorrect design assumptions on key business metrics
  • automatically correct inconsistencies based on customizable tolerance thresholds
  • drive business growth by continuously adjusting supply chain design to keep the supply chain in top health

“We are excited to introduce the Self-Healing Supply Chain, a truly innovative technology with practical and potent value for our customers,” said John Sicard, Chief Executive Officer, Kinaxis. “Combining machine learning with our breakthrough end-to-end concurrent planning technique furthers our goal to revolutionize planning. As companies continue to face growing complexity and competition, ensuring supply chains perform as designed has never been more critical to success. The Self-Healing Supply Chain automatically detects and corrects discrepancies that would otherwise forever go unnoticed, and as a result, dramatically reduces the risk of supply chain performance failure.”

Customers and Industry Analysts on the Self-Healing Supply Chain

“It is SigmaPoint’s pleasure to be an early adopter of the Self-Healing Supply Chain,” said Leah Slaughter, Vice President of Supply Chain at SigmaPoint Technologies. “Kinaxis has always been light years ahead of its time in supply chain software technology and advanced concepts, and this innovation proves it.”

“As a critical supplier to many of the world’s leading brands, we manage our customers' supply chain while minimizing cost, mitigating risk and ensuring continuity of supply,” said Scott Theune, Senior Vice President – Global Supply Chain, Plexus Corp. “We are excited to partner with Kinaxis to revolutionize our supply chain planning with their Self-Healing Supply Chain platform. Having the ability to automatically detect changes in our supply plan, predict the impact on our business and suggest alternative plans of action through advanced machine learning capabilities gives Plexus an edge in meeting our customers’ needs.”

According to Joshua Greenbaum, Principal, Enterprise Applications Consulting, “The Self-Healing Supply Chain is an important evolutionary step in the progress we’ve already made over the last 20 years in supply chain management. It takes complicated data and looks for the trends and historical analysis that lets you predict what could happen, should happen and will happen in your supply chain, and then acts on it.”

screenshot of the self-healing supply chain functionality
 
self-healing supply chain functionality screenshot displaying assessment results

Businesses can now automatically close the gap between expected and actual supply chain 
performance with the Self-Healing Supply Chain™, part of Kinaxis® RapidResponse®

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements include statements as to Kinaxis' growth opportunities and the potential benefits of, and demand for, Kinaxis’ products and services. These statements are subject to certain assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including our view of the relative position of Kinaxis' products and services compared to competitive offerings in the industry. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Kinaxis' actual results, performance, achievements and developments may differ materially from the results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such statements. Risk factors that may cause the actual results, performance, achievements or developments of Kinaxis to differ materially from the results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such statements can be found in the public documents filed by Kinaxis with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Kinaxis assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by law.

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