Case studies tend to be a great way to explain how companies are benefiting from Response Management software. Teradyne is one such company. In their particular case, they outsource much of their manufacturing, which tends to complicate the process of dealing with the demand volatility that is the rule in their market.

Teradyne is a leading supplier of automatic test equipment and interconnection systems that deliver competitive advantage to the world’s semiconductor, electronics and network systems companies. In 2004, Teradyne had sales of $1.8 billion, and currently employs about 5,900 people worldwide.

Teradyne operates in a complex and volatile market. Teradyne’s products comprise 3,000 – 5,000 parts each. As Teradyne seeks cost savings through outsourcing relationships, new complexities are introduced into their global supply chain which now spans five Teradyne and four subcontractor sites. Particularly, long lead-times that can hamper responsiveness to change are a constant challenge.

One of the most significant challenges is the transmission of frequent demand changes and the inability to lock in the supply with “frozen

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