products RapidResponse FAQ

What is RapidResponse?

RapidResponse™ enables companies to create plans and execute on those plans by continually balancing volatile demand and supply, creating an environment in which they can deliver more orders on time without increasing their inventory levels.

Who uses RapidResponse?

RapidResponse is typically used by companies with revenue from $500M to $40B+ that want to provide better customer service while freeing cash tied up in excess inventory. Our customers see supply chain management and S&OP as a competitive differentiator.

How is RapidResponse different from supply chain solutions offered by Oracle, SAP and other providers?

Typically, ERP vendors sell suites or individual software modules that each addresses a separate supply chain challenge area. Suites can be both costly and difficult to implement and are ultimately not architected to manage constant change—they lack the ability to quickly recalculate demand and supply chain plans in response to daily variances.

RapidResponse is a single on-demand service designed to address the spectrum of challenges that fall within S&OP, supply chain management, performance monitoring and supply chain risk management.

How does RapidResponse work with my ERP?

RapidResponse is not a data repository—it sits on top of ERP, integrating MRP and other data files.

Data is automatically loaded into RapidResponse, typically on a daily basis, though customers can define a more or less frequent cadence. RapidResponse emulates virtually any ERP system's analytics and can recalculate MRP in literally seconds, regardless of BOM size.

Much of our data is kept in spreadsheets, how does RapidResponse leverage that data?

It is common for a portion of our customers' data to exist only in spreadsheets, especially data from contract manufacturers and suppliers. As long as spreadsheets are standardized, they can be imported into RapidResponse.

Is a separate instance of RapidResponse required for each of my manufacturing sites?

No, one instance of the service can be used across business units, sites and product families.

How long is deployment?

The first phase of deployment—integrating RapidResponse with standard capability—takes 6-8 weeks. Customers can expect their users to see immediate value.

Further configuration, if desired, can be implemented following the standard deployment.

How is RapidResponse priced?

RapidResponse is a subscription service and is priced accordingly. We are committed to providing our customers with value and offer a unique pricing model to ensure this.

Do you offer an on-premise solution?

Yes, but our on-demand service has proven to be much more economical. Our on-demand service is robust and secure, and undergoes an annual SAS 70 audit.

Is RapidResponse used outside of the supply chain planning group?

Certainly. One of the key differentiators of RapidResponse is its value and applicability to individuals across and deep within an organization.

In some cases, RapidResponse is deployed to thousands of individuals across departments, including customer service and finance.

In particular, RapidResponse is used to enable companies' S&OP processes, which by definition includes multiple stakeholder groups.

Did you make those videos starring Kevin Pollak and Ray Wise that poke fun at the big ERP vendors?

Yes, that was us. If you haven't seen them, you can find them here.

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