Cosmetics Giant Mary Kay to Implement Manhattan Associates' Extended Supply Chain Execution System Across All U.S. Distribution and Manufacturing Facilities
Implementation of Manhattan Associates' Optimize Suite and Collaborate Suite Also Planned
ATLANTA, December 17, 2001 - Manhattan Associates Inc. (Nasdaq: MANH), a global leader in providing extended supply chain execution solutions, today announced that cosmetics giant Mary Kay Inc. will implement Manhattan Associates' supply chain execution system, PkMS, across its eight U.S. distribution and manufacturing facilities in Dallas, Atlanta, New Jersey and California. Mary Kay chose Manhattan Associates' PkMS to help the company decrease order cycle time and increase productivity through improved reporting capability.
Mary Kay also intends to implement Manhattan Associates' Optimize Suite, which includes aspects of business intelligence (converting data to information to knowledge to action), facility optimization, labor optimization and event processing (the engine behind SCEM), and Collaborate Suite for real-time visibility and integration across the supply chain. The adoption of the Manhattan Associates solutions represents a strategic decision by Mary Kay to migrate from its home-grown warehouse management system to a suite of extended supply chain execution solutions for its worldwide operations.
"Manhattan Associates' PkMS provides us with a much richer and more scalable solution than our current system," said Ron Gilbert, director of Mary Kay's product supply process. "For example, PkMS has two critical features, wave picking and enhanced reporting, which we intend to take advantage of immediately."
"Through wave picking, we can decrease our order cycle time by grouping and picking orders together under criteria like geographic location or SKU," continued Gilbert. "And with the more detailed reporting, we can drill down, slicing and dicing our information to the level of origin or individual. Today, we can only look at the total order shipped, but in the future, we will be able to break down the information by zip code, Independent National Sales Director - any way we choose."
Mary Kay's eight U.S. distribution and manufacturing facilities support the company's reseller and direct-to-consumer sales channels. Within each of these facilities, PkMS will be configured to address the unique requirements of that facility and its level of automation. With all but one of the facilities, PkMS will be configured to interface with a pick-to-light system; in the remaining facility, PkMS will be configured to interface with an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS). The implementation of PkMS across all U.S. facilities will enable May Kay to benefit from standard operating procedures and efficiencies as well as Manhattan Associates' proven research and development of PkMS.
"One of the reasons that we selected PkMS was for the growth opportunities it afforded Mary Kay," said Gilbert. "We intend to roll out PkMS globally, so that all of our facilities worldwide can operate under one supply chain execution system and experience parallel efficiencies."
"Mary Kay's aggressive plan to go live with PkMS across all eight sites simultaneously is a testament to the company's vision and strategic planning for the future," said Deepak Raghavan, senior vice president, products and strategy, Manhattan Associates. "Additionally, the first phase of the roll-out will lay the groundwork for Mary Kay's future implementation of Manhattan Associates' Optimize Suite and Collaborate Suite. Our Optimize Suite and Collaborate Suite of products will provide Mary Kay with complete visibility into its business, both inside the facilities and across the supply chain."
Manhattan Associates' Optimize Suite is comprised of three tools that provide companies with key products tightly integrated with PkMS to enable more intelligent execution: SlotInfo for strategic pickline organization; WorkInfo for comprehensive labor management; and SmartInfo for graphical representations of historical trends and current activity. Together, these three tools provide powerful, actionable information, enabling companies to make strategic, informed decisions, thus optimizing warehouse productivity.
Manhattan Associates' Collaborate Suite is comprised of infolink source and infolink order, the only collaborative commerce solutions designed specifically for the retail supply chain. Infolink provides the infrastructure and integration needed to collaborate electronically with supply chain partners by standardizing methods of information exchange and synchronizing business processes, while also streamlining operations. It gathers real-time information from all parties into a single, unified view for complete end-to-end visibility across the supply chain - infolink source provides manufacturer-to-supplier process integration, infolink order provides supplier-to-retailer process integration. With infolink, companies can better collaborate with trading partners to increase supply chain efficiencies.
About Mary Kay
Mary Kay proudly announces a year of record sales and recruiting in 2000. With recent, successful launches of TimeWise™ skin care products, Domain™ men's fragrance and the Velocity™ line for teens, Mary Kay offers quality products and personalized service to an expanding customer base while providing one of today's most fulfilling career opportunities for women.
The Mary Kay product line includes more than 200 premium products in eight categories: facial skin care, color cosmetics, nail care, body care, sun protection, fragrances, men's skin care and men's and women's dietary supplements. Today there are more than 850,000 Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultants serving customers in 37 markets worldwide. To locate a Consultant near you, call 1-800-MARY-KAY (627-9529) or visit www.marykay.com.
Mary Kay's mission is to enrich women's lives. The Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation, established in 1996, is dedicated to funding research on cancers affecting women and supporting efforts to prevent violence against women. For more information, visit the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation Web site at www.mkacf.org.
About Manhattan Associates
Manhattan Associates, Inc. is a global leader in providing supply chain execution and collaborative commerce solutions. These solutions leverage state-of-the-art technologies, innovative practices and the company's domain expertise to enhance performance, profitability and competitive advantage. Manhattan Associates has licensed more than 800 customers representing 1,100 facilities worldwide, which include some of the world's leading manufacturers, suppliers and retailers. For more information about Manhattan Associates telephone 770.955.7070 or visit www.manh.com <>.
Contact Information: To learn more about Manhattan Associates' supply chain solutions, simply complete the information request form, and we will contact you. For North & South America, call +1 877.596.9208 or e-mail info_americas@manh.com. For global inquiries, call +44 (0)1344 318000 or e-mail info_global@manh.com.