TIMEX SELECTS PROVIA SOFTWARE FOR NORTH AMERICAN IMPORTS

TIMEX SELECTS PROVIA SOFTWARE FOR NORTH AMERICAN IMPORTS    Timex Corp. has contracted with Provia Software for solutions to handle supply chain execution at the watchmaker’s main manufacturing facility in Cebu, in the Philippines.
   Timex will use Provia ViaWare WMS warehouse management and ViaView visibility applications to handle assembly and packaging requirements of Timex products.
   The Cebu facility manufactures and distributes Timex watches throughout North America.
   “Our (retail) clients don’t want to spend time preparing product. They want to take shipments from us and place them right on the shelf,” said Steve Garrett, Timex’s director of global supply chain and logistics.
   Provia’s ViaWare WMS application allows Timex to keep its watches in various stages of assembly until the completed product is needed, Garrett said. Postponing final assembly of watches allows Timex to use kitting procedures that “reduce our overall inventory by as much as 20 percent.'
   Timex Corp. is based in Middlebury, Conn. Provia Software is based in Grand Rapids, Mich.