A Linking of E-Business Platforms Enhances the Partnership between Degussa and its Customers from the Tire and Rubber Industry
08-Jul-2002
The Advanced Fillers & pigments Business Unit of Degussa AG, Düsseldorf, is aiming for greater cooperation with customers from the tire and rubber industry. In a pilot project that was started in early June and will be completed by this autumn, two e-business platforms, Elemica for the chemical industry and RubberNetwork for the tire and rubber industry, will be linked ("hub-to-hub connection"). In addition to process optimization (for instance, by decreasing processing and delivery times), the resulting specific planning data for production are an additional benefit for Degussa. Apart from Degussa AG, Bayer AG of Leverkusen is also participating in the pilot project.
When Elemica and RubberNetwork join forces, tire and rubber industry customers will have a fully automated process for their entire supply chain, ranging from planning and order management to automatic invoicing. This eliminates the time-consuming and costly adaptation of in-house computer systems to the IT systems of the supplier industry. Both partners will continue to rely on their own software standards while utilizing Elemica and RubberNetwork for electronic communication. "Companies that are connected to RubberNetwork pass on orders which are forwarded from ‘their’ e-business platform to Elemica and onwards to us for further processing. As I said, all this is done automatically," summarizes Robert Wissner, head of Degussa’s Advanced Fillers & Pigments Business Unit, the future-oriented development, which is expected to have significant advantages for customers and suppliers.
Through the connection of the platforms both Degussa and the tire and rubber manufacturers minimize the number of interfaces and eliminate possible sources of error, such as in data entry. While a number of work steps used to be required until an order could be processed, all this is now a matter of pressing a key or clicking a mouse. Degussa is one of the few chemical companies globally to have automated its complete order management processing to this extent and to offer the system to customers and suppliers through Elemica in the future. While the link with RubberNetwork now benefits the tire and rubber industry, other links to the platforms of other industries are technically feasible as well.
The Degussa Advanced Fillers & Pigments Business Unit, a specialist in surface chemistry and physics, focuses on the production and application of Carbon Black, performance silicas, functional organosilanes, and blue pigments. There is a broad range of customers: pharmaceutical companies and tire manufacturers are among the customers as much as the printing, coatings and plastics industry. Carbon black continues to be the most-used reinforcement filler for the production of tires. Together with silicas and silanes, also produced by Degussa, carbon blacks form the basis of the so-called "green tire," which contributes to lower gasoline consumption in cars due to its lower abrasion and decreased rolling resistance. Consequently, they make an important contribution to reducing CO2 emissions.
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