Honda Trading Asia Co., Ltd.

Honda Trading Asia began working with Blue Yonder in September 2020 after facing a major problem during Covid, when fluctuations in demand and supply threatened the stability of its procurement. This meant it needed to pay substantial sums to expedite cargoes.
The problem was made worse by employees’ love of spreadsheets, as they were seen as easy to use. This was error-prone and extremely time-consuming, especially when people were analyzing thousands of lines within their spreadsheets.

Project milestones

“Blue Yonder’s Professional Services started by providing us with training support on best practices in demand and supply planning and in inventory optimization. And then in more technical terms they assessed the system together with us, to see how we can practically start using the solution,” said Somya Mayuraskoon.

Honda Trading Asia is fully live in Thailand and is sharing best practices across its operations in Taiwan and Vietnam; the next stage will be its operations in the Philippines. 

Blue Yonder’s inventory optimization solution was a pivotal element in Honda Trading Asia’s supply chain transformation. When combined with Blue Yonder’s demand and supply planning solution, it can accurately forecast demand and adjust inventory levels to optimize performance and respond to market fluctuations. This strategic shift not only minimizes supply chain risks but also significantly reduces expediting costs and improves overall service delivery. 

Kapitalrendite

Honda Trading Asia is experiencing notable improvements in operational efficiency and decision-making processes due to the automation of manual tasks and the unification of previously fragmented data sources. The company is focusing on cost management strategies that have reduced unnecessary expenditures through optimized inventory levels and have increased customer satisfaction as a direct result of its updated operations.

Not only has Honda Trading Asia redeployed 7 planning staff members into more value-adding roles, such as sales positions, but it has also seen a 15% reduction in total inventory. With less working capital being tied up, the automotive giant has eliminated its entire USD $30 million bank loan.

“In the past, we used to spend $1.5 million in expediting freight costs, and now, after the implementation of Blue Yonder, we have eliminated 98% of these unnecessary costs, which is a phenomenal achievement. Previously, when using spreadsheets and our legacy system, we would spend up to $ 1 million every year on what ended up being poorly planned, unusable, and therefore wasted inventory. Now we’ve reduced this wasted stock by 90 %,” said Somya Mayuraskoon.

Improvements in sustainability

The Blue Yonder solution has also helped Honda Trading Asia reduce its inland freight by 15%, resulting in a corresponding reduction in CO2 emissions from this greater efficiency.

True partnership

Ein Schlüsselfaktor für die erfolgreiche Implementierung war die Rolle des Blue Yonder-Partners Nexus, der strategische Integrations- und rigorose Datenverwaltungsdienste bereitstellte. Nexus hat sich aktiv den geschäftlichen Herausforderungen von Honda Trading Asia Co., Ltd. gestellt und zielte darauf ab, mit Blue Yonder-Lösungen Probleme zu lösen. Das Unternehmen bot eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitung, um die Ziele zu erreichen.

Looking ahead

Blue Yonder has helped Honda Trading solve immediate challenges such as monitoring customer buying behavior, right-sizing inventory, and optimizing postponement and replenishment strategies in the supply chain. It has also positioned the company to achieve long-term operational excellence and played a critical role in Honda Trading Asia Co., Ltd.’s ongoing commitment to enhancing customer service across Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

“For sure, Blue Yonder has made our operations easier and simpler.  In the future, we would like to implement Blue Yonder Network to achieve end-to-end visibility across our supply chain, particularly to help during geopolitical disruptions. So, with end-to-end visibility of the supply chain, we can make our decisions faster and better,” said Somya Mayuraskoon