Don't miss an opportunity to take part in our ongoing Industry Supply Chain Benchmarking Surveys. See details below, or call 800-358-8305 for more information. COMPANY NEWS >>> New Office Opens in Wiesbaden, Germany In addition to its Philadelphia headquarters, and field offices throughout North America, South America and Asia, WAM Systems has expanded its European presence with its new location in Wiesbaden, Germany. Staffed by experienced chemical industry personnel, this office supports WAM’s forward momentum in addressing the European supply chain market. UPCOMING EVENTS LogiChem Europe 2006 The 5th Annual Chemical Logistics & Supply Chain Conference Dusseldorf, Germany April 25-28, 2006 Click here for more information LogiChem USA 2006 The Premier Chemical Supply Chain Conference Scottsdale, AZ September 25-28, 2006 Click here for more information TECH CORNER Click here to see how Picaso™ is helping companies like yours improve their supply chain planning processes. WAM SYSTEMS WAM Systems, Inc. Corporate Headquarters 600 W. Germantown Pike Suite 230 Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462 Phone: 800-358-8305 Fax: 484-530-4854 eMail: info@wamsystems.com Web: www.wamsystems.com	Are You Ready for the Next Katrina? WAM Systems' Mark Zod Outlines the Challenges That Many Companies are Facing On March 22-23 WAM Systems co-sponsored the 9th Annual Chemical Industry Information Technology Forum in Philadelphia. Attending this year’s conference were C-level technology officers from leading chemical companies including Basell, Lanxess, Air Products, Dow Corning, and Sunoco. The conference’s many presentations focused on a wide range of IT topics, including globalization, productivity, e-commerce, disaster planning, service oriented architecture, outsourcing and future trends in information technology. Presenting from WAM Systems was Mark Zod, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder, speaking on a panel discussion on IT best practices surrounding disaster recovery. Mark made reference to the impact of last year’s hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the pre-storm actions and post-storm reactions that chemical plants undertook to plan for and recover from the effects. Many companies had plant shutdowns. Some plants lost access to raw materials; others opted to try to ship resources out of the area via rail. Overall, there were two kinds of responses by chemical companies. Those that fared well recognized the importance of creating and maintaining well-established contingency plans. These companies also had tools in place to provide clear visibility throughout their supply chains. This allowed them to make necessary changes to operating plans, reroute shipments, send resources out of the area, and plan for the potential loss of transportation which would restrict the inflow of raw materials and reduce the capacity to export to downstream connections. WAM was pleased that its tools were able to assist many of these companies through the difficult days and weeks following the disasters. Other companies struggled, using Excel spreadsheet solutions that were suddenly forced into a new role. These companies struggled to support decision-making, operating in a reactive rather than proactive mode, with limited visibility to the supply chain when it was desperately needed. Since the 100-year-storms hit last year, companies have found themselves having to include such disaster planning in their corporate strategy. Those that realize that they are deficient in technology offering them the needed visibility are now in the process of adopting such solutions to assist their efforts in planning for the next big storm. This has led to a recent upsurge in supply chain projects in the chemical industry. As an example, Mark pointed out that these types of projects are playing a role in fueling WAM’s 50% revenue growth this year. WAM Systems has been helping companies with disaster planning for nearly 20 years. For more information on how Picaso™ from WAM Systems can help, please contact us at info@wamsystems.com or by phone at 800-358-8305.
SIGN-UP TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR FREE BENCHMARKING SURVEYS Leading Companies Participate in Benchmarking Survey Join Scores of Companies Like Yours Who Have Already Begun Seeing the Benefits of This Benchmarking Survey WAM Systems is conducting a series of benchmarking surveys with chemical companies throughout the world in an effort to assess the overall maturity of industry supply chain practices. The purpose of these surveys is to assess the current level of maturity that the industry has achieved in its ongoing goal to improve and refine the supply chain planning process. Each survey is composed of a two-part telephone interview and final report. The first 30-minute section is the data-gathering phase, focusing on a specific portion of your planning solution, such as Demand Planning or Sales & Operations Planning. A WAM Systems senior representative will guide you through this interactive questionnaire and discuss your current process. The second part of the survey is a follow-up call to discuss your results. At the conclusion of the data gathering phase of this survey, you will receive a customized report outlining your company’s current process. For each point in the survey, you will see your current metric compared to others in the industry. In addition, the report will include WAM’s overall assessment and commentary to help interpret your results--where you are leading in the industry and which areas of your process could benefit from improvement. And remember, all of your input into the survey will remain anonymous to all other participants. Only you will see your company's results and how they compare to the industry.
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