UK auto giant centralizes global supply chain

operations to save over eight million dollars a year

"I'm particularly proud of how we've worked together to translate

business requirements into the SAP landscape in a pragmatic way.
I'm happy we have a strong TCS team making this happen.
Global Purchasing Director
Trading Division

Abstract
A large British automotive manufacturer faced procurement and vendor management
challenges in setting up new production facilities across the globe. In the process, it
also encountered country-specific legal and fiscal compliance challenges. TCS
provided business and IT consulting services to help the company streamline vendor
management and supply chain processes, and avoid inefficiencies and costs across its
facilities.
About the Client
A large multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in the United
Kingdom, the company develops and manufactures luxury cars and all-terrain
vehicles, as well as related parts and accessories.
Business Challenge
In its quest to set up new production facilities across the globe, the company faced
significant challenges with respect to supply chain management. The existing
processes and systems would have left contract and procurement management in
the hands of individual plant buyers, leading to inefficiencies and redundancies. As a
result, it was unable to take advantage of economies of scale to drive down prices.
In addition, the company wanted to efficiently utilize assets, infrastructure, and
services across locations. Each manufacturing plant would have had its own supply
chain, resulting in huge infrastructure costs related to warehouses; IT infrastructure;
and the management of third-party logistics service providers, shipping companies,
and customs brokers.
Finally, the automaker needed assistance setting up a supply chain in new markets,
due to the legal and fiscal compliance challenges. Lack of knowledge of countryspecific taxation requirements put import-export consignments at risk of being
impounded by customs authorities.

Client

Global automotive
company
Industry

Automotive
Offering

International Supply
Chain Consulting
Services

www.tcs.com

TCS Solution
TCS participated in a technology due diligence and SAP
fit-gap exercise along with SAP AG, and helped the
company choose a technology platform. TCS was
involved in the entire process right from technology
selection to implementation and support and
partnered with multiple consulting partners including
KPMG, Sysdoc, and Tata Technologies. TCS provided
consulting services to help the company decide on the
most appropriate solution.
n

Business consulting: TCS and KPMG worked

together to help the automaker define the target
operating model, process framework, and roadmap.
A business process master list was defined and used
as the baseline for new scope enhancements. The
team also helped define tax and customs-specific
processes
and advised suppliers on supporting the company's
requirements in areas such as process and
technology changes.
IT services: TCS provided a complete suite of IT
services to help build the trading division. After
creating a business blueprint, an SAP-based
solution was developed and implemented. TCS
continues to provide IT support for the division.

Results
The creation of a trading division resulted in better
alignment of supply and demand and also helped the
automaker better utilize the warehousing and logistics
network with a centralized global supply chain
management system. The company has also seen
significant commercial gains in the form of tax savings
and transfer pricing benefits. Some of the other results
of this initiative include:
n

The new trading division's ability to ship gear boxes

directly from its supplier in the USA to its
production facility in Asia, resulted in savings of over
seven million dollars per year.

All suppliers in Continental Europe can now ship

products through the trading division's export sales
center in Germany, resulting in savings of
approximately 1.4 million dollars per year.

The establishment of the trading division removed

the capacity bottleneck in producing V6 powered
engines by enabling the supply chain to source
cylinder heads. This helped increase engine
production capacity by 20% to 24,000 engines per
year.

TCS' expertise in the automotive industry and best

practices helped the company achieve these benefits.
The team also suggested process improvements to
deliver further savings.

Contact
For more information about TCS Manufacturing Business Unit, visit:
http://www.tcs.com/industries/manufacturing/Pages/default.aspx
Email: manufacturing.solutions@tcs.com
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About Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business
solutions organization that delivers real results to global business,
ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match.
TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT and IT-enabled
infrastructure, engineering and assurance services. This is delivered
through its unique Global Network Delivery ModelTM, recognized as
the benchmark of excellence in software development. A part of the
Tata Group, Indias largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has a global
footprint and is listed on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay
Stock Exchange in India.
For more information, visit us at www.tcs.com

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Copyright 2015 Tata Consultancy Services Limited

TCS Design Services I M I 12 I 15

The automotive company needed a tax-efficient supply

chain that would enable significant cost savings, and
therefore partnered with TCS to set up a new trading
division. TCS was chosen based on its experience in
executing such programs.