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	Eastman Chemical

	Overview Eastman Chemical Company is the world's largest supplier of polyester plastics for packaging; a leading supplier of coatings for raw materials, specialty chemicals and plastics; and a major supplier of cellulose acetate fibers and basic chemicals with annual sales of US$5.8 billion. Founded in 1920, Eastman Chemical is a global company Headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee with approximately 15,000 employees in more than 30 countries. Manufacturing sites are strategically located in 17 different countries to serve world markets more efficiently. Eastman Chemical manufactures and markets more than 1,200 chemicals supplying billions of pounds of chemicals, fibers and plastics to customers around the world for use in thousands of consumer products. Eastman products keep paints and coatings from cracking and extend the shelf life of foods. They contribute to the manufacture of safer medical equipment, film for smaller electronics devices and more efficient circuit boards for computers. They retard mold in animal feed and go into plasticizers that enable garden hoses to bend. Challenge With such large volumes, Eastman Chemical faced several data management challenges in the area of material requisitions and purchases. SAP was implemented as the central supply chain management solution for coordination and control of all planning and execution operations. However, the manual process of creating, routing and approving material masters among various groups created several problems which led to the following negative consequences: Inaccurate data negatively affected multiple departments-in particular sales, purchasing and production. The inaccurate data resulted in lengthy and increased cycle times for projects which in turn decreased sales opportunities and impacted revenue. Manual master record setup and coordination was time consuming and required human resources that could be better utilized. Routing of masters and related information was inconsistent and untimely leading to further inefficiencies. Combined, all of these issues created problems that potentially affected the overall profitability of the company. Optura Solution Eastman Chemical partnered with Optura to integrate a solution that works in conjunction with SAP to automate and streamline the creation and routing of material masters. Optura's prepackaged Material Setup Management composite application sits within SAP providing access to data as well as automated workflow and routing of materials information. All associated departments have visibility and can provide input for rapid and accurate creation of records. Eastman now uses SAP and Optura to initiate new product requests and automatically route the creation of new material masters. Workflows are defined and available for all material types including raw, semi-finished and finished products. Optura Material Setup Management prefills SAP transaction fields automatically which saves time and eliminates re-keying errors. Efforts between individuals are coordinated via a "push" process which decreases cycle time and ensures that the appropriate parties are part of the workflow. Results With Optura, Eastman Chemical is able to streamline and systematize the creation of material masters in SAP. Material Setup Management provides for central control of master records while providing decentralized access across departments, divisions and geographies for all relevant parties. Specific advantages include the following: Compressed Cycle Time - The complete process from initiation to population through approval and deployment is completed much more rapidly. Improved Communications - Interaction and communication between different internal groups is improved with the ability to collaborate more easily and effectively. Increased Data Accuracy - Centralized control, input based on business rules and policy, and visibility throughout the process provide increased data accuracy and system integrity. Increased Productivity - Manual re-keying is eliminated and personnel previously dedicated to problems are redeployed to more productive tasks. Increased Revenue - A streamlined and efficient process provides accurate information for sales, purchasing and production resulting in higher revenues.

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