React in real-time
Patrick Pingnet, engineer and project manager, gladly explains exactly what it is that PearlChain.net does.
" Value Chain, planning software, MRP, they are all abstract notions. This often makes it hard to decipher what the added value is our software could offer your company. Personally, I find it easier to explain using a metaphore.
The pearl chain our name refers to, is a metaphore for the production orders and the way they are interconnected. Each product, every part of the final result is in fact a sum of specific parts and actions. All these production orders are linked to one another, they have a specific order.
Of course, we do not follow up just one chain: there are thousands, millions of chains we need to keep an eye on simultaneously. This tangled web of pearls, of dependencies and opportunities, is followed up in real-time. Actions can be simulated in order to oversee the possible results and to assess the effect. A problem with an order, a single pearl, can halt an entire chain. In order to avoid this impact, we constantly reassess the situation. Possible issues or changes appear immediately on our radar, so we can provide a new solution instantly.
You could compare this to the way a GPS works. You get into your car, you type in your destination and immediately, your GPS informs you of your estimated time of arrival. On the way, the GPS constantly reassesses your data. That way, you do not get any unpleasant surprises. The same goes for any possible problems you may encounter, such as traffic jams or road works. A good GPS will provide an alternative route.