COLUMBUS, IN-Septembe 17, 2012: Cummins Inc. today announced that it was among a select number of companies on this year's InformationWeek 500, an annual listing of the nation's most innovative users of business technology. The annual list was revealed late last week during an awards ceremony at the exclusive InformationWeek 500 Conference. Cummins Inc. last received this honor in 2007.
“Cummins was founded on innovation and it remains one of our core values today”
"Cummins was founded on innovation and it remains one of our core values today," said Bruce Carver, Cummins Vice President and Chief Information Officer. "Globally, our 45,000 employees working together generate the ingenuity necessary to make us better, fast, first. We are honored to be recognized by InformationWeek as one of the top 500 technology innovators."
During 2011, while Cummins was growing from a $13 billion to $18 billion company, it was important to harness business innovations to support it. The Order Management System (OMS) was one innovation that played a key role. Cummins Emission Solutions (CES) implemented the OMS in 2011, allowing for rapid expansion of the CES business, a key factor in the growth of the entire enterprise. This impact of the OMS was a primary reason that Cummins received the InformationWeek award.
CES was launched in 2002 and in just 10 years ago, the business has grown to a $1 billion business within Cummins. The Order Management System provides CES increased capabilities, streamlines processes and offers greater flexibility to be more responsive to customer needs. OMS also provides the foundation on which Cummins receives, schedules, and manages orders throughout North America, enabling Cummins employees to respond more swiftly to customers.
A cross-functional team of business experts and IT professionals worked together for more than 18 months on the development and implementation of the new system. Dwayne Allen, Executive Director of IT in Components, said, "This was a team win across the board: a successful implementation offering new business capabilities and aligning with our long term IT strategies while improving service to our customers." The solution went live on one of the top transactions days in the 10-year history of CES with no issues or disruption of service.
"The InformationWeek 500 has recognized the most innovative users of business technology for 24 years, and this year's innovations were particularly impressive," said InformationWeek Editor In Chief Rob Preston. "What the editors looked for are unconventional approaches--new technologies, new models, new ways of grabbing business opportunities and solving complex business problems with IT."
InformationWeek identifies and honors the nation's most innovative users of information technology with its annual 500 listing, and also tracks the technology, strategies, investments, and administrative practices of America's best-known companies. Past overall winners include PACCAR Inc., The Vanguard Group, CME Group, National Semiconductor, Con-Way, and Principal Financial Group. The InformationWeek 500 rankings are unique among corporate rankings as it spotlights the power of innovation in information technology, rather than simply identifying the biggest IT spenders.
