US Marines, Intel snap up piece of New Zealand software

By ADAM GIFFORD

The New Zealand subsidiary of global consulting company Mi Services Group expects to earn millions of dollars in exports from a piece of software which simplifies the task of making supply chains more efficient.

SCORWizard, which sells for $US10,000 per user, has been bought by the United States Marine Corps, silicon chip maker Intel and a handful of corporate customers in New Zealand, Australia and Europe.

"It's taking off on us. We expect to make millions from it next year rather than thousands," said Mi Services New Zealand chief executive John Quirk.

SCORWizard grew out of work optimising supply chains at Carter Holt Harvey and Fonterra.

"Our consultants wanted to automate the Supply Chain Operations Reference manual (SCOR) developed by the Supply Chain Council, but it rapidly evolved into a software product," Mr Quirk said.

"It started off simple and got more sophisticated, so now it maps business process, measures key performance indicators and benchmarks everything against best practice."

SCORWizard produces reports which suggest where improvements can be made, drawing on the experience coming out of the Supply Chain Council, a body created by some of the world's leading companies to standardise supply chain terminology and establish best practice.

Mr Quirk said by identifying areas for improvement along the entire supply chain, an organisation can make pragmatic decisions about which areas to tackle first, and quantify the potential return on investment for a project before starting it.

Supply Chain projects typically deliver returns of between three and 15 per cent of an organisation's revenue. SCORwizard aims to ensure these returns are real and achievable.

"The beauty of SCORWizard is that it demystifies supply chain consultancy. Companies can do the analysis themselves, rather than relying on consultants. It puts on notice the large consulting organisations that charge multi-millions for these types of assignments," he said.

Mr Quirk said Mi Services Group globally has adopted SCORWizard as a strategic focus.

"It's a great door opener. We are selling it to people with whom we have not previously had a relationship."

Danie Vermeulen, the e-solutions consulting services manager for Carter Holt Harvey subsidiary Velocit-e, said SCORWizard is helping Velocit-e get more benefit from its use of the SCOR methodology.

"Using the same product, we are building a model customised for the forestry and paper industries. We're adjusting the best practice measures and building additional process mapping information," Mr Vermeulen said.

"It's early days yet, but it is giving us discipline in the way we go about things."