How the Track Platform can help within your Supply Chain

What is the Track® Platform?

The Track® Platform is a software created and managed by Management Controls, Inc. that helps organizations solve the complexities of contractor management. Using proven methods for cost control, planning, digital transformation, and IoT optimization, the Track® Platform delivers >5% cost savings and >10% cost avoidance on labor, equipment, and material spend.

Whether your company has adopted a forecast-driven approach, a demand-driven approach, or another approach to the meet the end-customer’s needs, understanding the suppliers that can help you to achieve your chosen strategy is critical to its success. Within the Track® Platform, there are capabilities that can support your organization in managing its supply chain.

Demand and Supply Chain Planning

Customer Demand is the main driver of Supply Chain Planning. Understanding the timing and magnitude of this demand informs when, and how long Supply Chain maintenance should best occur. Forecaster is the data hub that Supply Chain teams can use to track interruptions and their cost impacts in near real time.

Sourcing and Procurement

The Track® Platform enables the contractual terms and conditions that Sourcing and Procurement professionals define to be automatically applied to the daily work of contracted personnel through the Track solution. This means that contractual terms and rates can be applied to resources utilized to complete the work. Leveraging Proof of Presence (PoP) solutions such as Access Control Systems or Track Anywhere, Track leverages the actual badging information for contracted personnel and applies contractual rules to define “Net Billable Time”, or the time to be paid to the supplier after contractual terms (such as lunch deductions, rounding rules, etc.) are automatically applied. Taking this time, Track applies the appropriate rate to ensure that there is adherence to the agreement.

Track does not stop at Labor resources; it also supports material charges, supplier-owned equipment, unit price charges, lump sum charges, and sub-contracted spend. Track ensures that the appropriate rate is applied to contracted spend driving automated and accurate invoicing.

Track provides digital transformation within the Procure-to-Pay process not only by applying the terms and conditions to work completed, but also enables those costs to be applied to cost objects (purchase orders, work orders, etc.) and sent to your company’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for payment to the vendor. This can reduce delays in the Invoice-to-Pay process improving the relationship between both parties.

Manufacturing / Projects

As mentioned in the Sourcing and Procurement section, the Track® Platform leverages Proof of Presence data to apply costs to the work to be done. The Track® Platform can provide insight into the suppliers with which your company is doing business through the lens of planned work versus actuals leveraging Track and Forecaster. The platform enables companies to compare expected staffing needs of planned work to the actual staffing supplied. It can also help to bring visibility between what work was planned and what was accomplished.

The combination of Track and Forecaster uniquely delivers accurate actuals on a daily basis. Unparalleled access to actuals allows Customers to collect and analyze each project’s Earned Value on a weekly basis. Project Controls teams can then present Senior Management with the real project timeline and expected costs.

Summary

Regardless of your industry vertical, the Track® Platform can support your business in managing its services-based supply chain, enabling you and your suppliers to accomplish business goals and objectives.

Co-Authored by: David Romney, Senior Product Manager at Management Controls, Inc.

This article represents the views and opinions of the author, Anna Van Cleef and David Romney, Senior Product Managers at Management Controls, Inc. The views herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s employer or any other organization. All information in this article and on this site is provided in good faith; however, neither the author nor the employer make any representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, validity, suitability, or completeness of any information contained herein, and will not be held liable from any errors, omissions, or delays in the information or damages arising from its display or use.