PipeChain in Gartner SCM Software Vendor Guide

This is how PipeChain is described:

“PipeChain is a Sweden-based software vendor, focusing on supply chain collaboration, including some supply chain planning capability. The PipeChain solution has three key elements to it: integration — providing visibility and linking information across a supply chain; performance management — providing supply chain analytics and insight; and planning process support — providing convergence between planning and execution processes and a rapid replanning/evaluation capability.

The unique feature of the PipeChain offering is the water-flow analogy it uses in its solution. By modeling the supply chain as a series of pipes, tanks and valves, PipeChain provides a very visual, simple and effective way for users to see into their supply chain (either internally and/or externally with their trading partners). Users can set up simple planning parameters in the PipeChain solution across multienterprise supply chains to enable planning processes such as supplier and VMI. Analytics and dashboards help the user gain visibility into performance across an extended supply chain.

PipeChain lends itself to supporting lean supply chain planning processes, where the demand profile of the products is relatively stable and lean supply chain principles can be easily applied, especially across multisite and/or multienterprise networks. Where demand is more unstable, PipeChain's rapid replanning capability can help in determining alternative supply plans. The PipeChain solution is offered as either a SaaS solution or can be deployed on-premises. PipeChain has around 60 customers in 30 countries, although it is very European-focused at the moment. PipeChain has a partnership with Microsoft to provide collaborative SCP capability for the AX and NAV ERP solutions. PipeChain has customers across several verticals, including manufacturing (the biggest and including a range of manufacturing sectors from both discrete and process), retail, transportation and wholesale distribution”.

Source: Gartner (December 2010)