WHO WE ARE

Drake Collaborative™ ("DC") is a provider of open, industry-specific process applications and services needed to extend and maximize your organization's use and investment into existing enterprise solutions. We encourage you to explore this website to learn more about DC.

• BASIC MATERIALS BY DC

  DC Basic Materials Knowledge Repository helps companies involved with the discovery, development and processing of raw materials by bringing forward leading capabilities and processes to support a business cycle which is very sensitive to changes. With a realization that those who supply materials for construction, refinement and JIT usage; our leading-practice capabilities and processes focus enabling an agile enterprise to respond quickly to supply and demand fluctuations in a price sensitive demand environment.
  
  Basic Materials consists of multiple functional areas, each with its own set of challenges. Mining operations, for example, must address the often opposing challenges of optimizing processes to reduce production costs, ensuring regulatory compliance to avoid government fines, and committing to sustainability to maintain brand image. DC's focus is to improve core competencies, reduce total ownership of raw material sources, distribution channels, while improving the integrity and infrastructure supporting Supply Chain Management (SCM).
  
  The Drake CollaborativeTM for Basic Materials DESIGN environment enables you to meet the specific challenges of industries such as; Mining, Metals, Chemicals by utilizing smart and effective leading practices, and open, industry semantic standards. As a result, you will implicitly increase efficiency and profitability, while establishing a new standard for customer service. The DESIGN environment includes Portlet and Service repositories from the DC family of solutions, which are designed to help you manage your business more efficiently.
  
  Drake Collaborative's Chemical partners produce a wide variety of consumer goods, as well as, have inputs and channels into agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and service industries. While globalization, and consolidation places strain on the business, DC's focus is directed on lowering operating costs, maximizing profitability, and integrating legacy data, and disparate systems.
  
  DC's industry solutions deliver performance, excellence, and allow companies a real time comprehensive view of enterprise operations. In the upstream Oil & Gas business; DC offers a dynamic solution and approach which leverages existing assets & costs, and includes a complete data management exploration deployed and implemented within an SOA framework.
  
  Areas of Expertise:

  • Agriculture Chemicals
  • Chemicals
  • Metals
  • Oil and Gas
  • Synthetics

  
  
  

• CONGLOMERATES BY DC

  DC knows that Enterprises that manage many LOBs rely heavily on timely action-oriented knowledge related to the business cycle and economic conditions which require a 360-degree view of both customer and supplier. Our leading-practice capabilities and processes for Consumer Goods are sectioned in durable and non-durable for the enablement of an agile enterprise to respond quickly to supply and demand fluctuations in a multi-channel LOB environment.
  
  New industry challenges, competition, government & regulations, are just a few aspects which plague Conglomerates in today's market. Drake Collaborative's unique business approach to these demands build strength throughout the core of the Conglomerate, by utilizing assets and personnel effectively, as well as efficiently.
  
  DC offers a refined way for Conglomerates to operate on a daily basis; From Planning, to Value Proposition, to Enterprise Strategy, DC adapts Business Processes and Design to compbluent the affects of the business cycle within each Conglomerate owned company.
  
  Streamlining costs, and optimizing workforce is a pure advantage to using solutions for Conglomerates, by DC. DC enables top management to make changes, without affecting the overall goal of the Conglomerate, and ensuring the transformation is handled seamlessly on every level.
  
  DC has gained vital experience in design, strategy, and deployment of services for all types of Conglomerates; Banking, Healthcare, Industrial, Media & Entertainment, and more...DC has industry specific solutions based for Conglomerate needs - on a company level.
  
  Conglomerates:

  • General Electric
  • Dansher
  • Time Warner
  • Tata Group
  • Samsung

  
  
  

• CONSUMER GOODS BY DC

  DC knows that Enterprises that rely heavily on the business cycle and economic conditions require a 360-degree view of both customer and supplier. Our leading-practice capabilities and processes for Consumer Goods are sectioned in durable and non-durable for the enablement of an agile enterprise to respond quickly to supply and demand fluctuations in a interest-rate sensitive environment.
  
  Drake CollaborativeTM realizes the arena of Consumer Goods is an industry which can change dynamically, from day to day. Goods from Appliances to Fast Moving Consumer Electronics (FMCE) require that each department within an organization be versatile, adaptable, and must allow executives to have an "on hands" approach to the supply network. DC incorporates a unique and customizable solution for evolutionary changing demands within a Consumer Goods organization. DC works to standardize the relationship between customers; both internal and external, and our products provide a segway for profitability and satisfaction.
  
  Leverage and Design play an instrumental role in the Consumer Goods Industry. The ability to leverage an organizations infrastructure, data, and disparate systems, as well as a proactive approach of designing an end to end solution is how DC separates from the competition.
  
  With DC's repository of services, portlets, and a controlled Design Environment, day to day operations ranging from Marketing to Process Manufacturing to Supply Chain, are easily maintained. Provide up to date inventory levels, status of shipments, real time reporting to all your customer using DC as your skeletal system to the Consumer Goods world.
  
  DC's knowledge management, and data management come with the highest level of security and lowest level of risk.
  
  DC Benchmarks:

  • Improve QoS/SLA
  • Integrate and Collaborate
  • Increase ROI and Sales
  • Standardize Business Processes
  • Transform Operational Performance

  
  
  

• FINANCE BY DC

  DC Financial Knowledge Repository supports companies and firms that provide financial services to commercial and retail customers; including: banks, insurance companies and real estate. Our leading-practice capabilities and processes focus enabling the integration of customer and partners for the agile enterprise to respond quickly to loans, capital project fluctuations and investments in an interest rate sensitive environment.
  
  DC recognizes the ever changing face of the Financial Industry. From Banking, to Financial Markets, to IT Infrastructure and Risk; DC offers unique perspectives, and global solutions for all Financial areas. A major area of focus for DC is IT and Infrastructure. The DC family of solutions provides: Monitoring & Management, Security and Risk optimization, and a supple form of Business Management to ensure stability and recoverability.
  
  Transform your Global Banking Business with DC. Drake CollaborativeTM provides a roadmap and blueprint to achieve excellence in the following areas; Operational, Financial, and Customer Service. The experience and knowledge of DC's Design and Process architects as well as our repository of services and portlets, ensure optimization and adaptability.
  
  DC's open standards, and multi-channel SOA design for sales, service, and marketing, enable flexibility of adding new products to existing systems, as well as, provide a complete end-to-end managed solution.
  
  Real time data and management happens to be a key area of concern for Banking Executives. The ability to streamline processes, costs, and selectively consolidate (systems and data), effectively propels your business into a Customer Centric environment. DC personalizes the entire Financial experience (Internal & External customers) which allows your business to evolve, and emerge as leaders in the Financial Arena.
  
  Financial Best Practices:

  • 360-Degree Customer View
  • Adaptable Market Solutions
  • BPM and SOA Framework
  • Business and Key User - Centric
  • Multichannel Interaction

  
  
  

• HEALTH CARE BY DC

  DC understands Health Care and Life Sciences requires ongoing adaptation to reflect emerging opportunities. As changes in the health care landscape are faced with upward pressures from the development of new medical treatment technologies, increasing R & D, drug costs and regulations are altering the organization and priorities of systems and processes.
  
  Health Care products and services are essential and therefore, these enterprises require a high degree of compliance and data management enablement. For those enterprises involved in hospital management firms, health maintenance organizations, biotechnology and medical products, our leading-practice capabilities and processes focus on enabling an agile enterprise to respond quickly to regulations in a compliant sensitive, environment.
  
  Important challenges to be addressed:

  • Increasing Health Care Costs
  • Enhancement of Revenue Sources
  • Changing Health Care Provider Landscape

  
  
  

  Drake Collaborative™ health care industry practice focuses on providers, life sciences, government services and health plans offering:

  • Featuring prebuilt integrated technologies - increasing system capabilities, visibility, scalability and agility while reducing SDLC cycle times and costs.
  • Transformational leading practice capabilities and industry specific frameworks.
  • Industry specific Architect and Analyst training for leading practice process and system transformation.
  • Expertise from DC Architects and Analysts for End-to-End business and technology solutions built from outside innovation.

  
  
  

  The Health Care Industry faces numerous challenges and ever changing pressures; which can result in spiraling patient care, operational costs, and not meeting government regulations. DC helps integrate and streamline systems and processes; freeing up valuable time for exemplary patient care.
  
  Compbluentary to our Service & Portlet Repositories, DC provides key benefits in the areas of: Business Processes, Planning, Data Center and Knowledge Management, Server Optimization and Storage. DC empowers and enables a single user to build an entire end to end solution.
  
  DC comprehensively designs an end to end solution for all Health Care Entities: We not only integrate business plans and process, but we increase performance and efficiency.
  
  Many business drivers are key to a companies success, and DC's solutions are based on these experiences: R & D, Risk Management, Quality Care, Patient Safety, and Data Integrity.
  
  Health Care Solutions:

  • Allay Workforce Management and Regulatory Costs
  • Automate Business Processes
  • Data and Patient Integrity
  • Integrate and Collaborate Budgeting Tools

  
  
  

• INDUSTRIAL GOODS BY DC

  DC knows that Enterprises that rely heavily on the business cycle and economic conditions require a 360-degree view of both customer and supplier. Our leading-practice capabilities and processes for Consumer Goods are sectioned in durable and non-durable for the enablement of an agile enterprise to respond quickly to supply and demand fluctuations in a interest-rate sensitive environment.
  
  Covering areas ranging from Aerospace & Defense, to Machine Tools & Accessories, to Waste Management; Drake CollaborativeTM recognizes and designs solutions for industry pressures, such as: Fickle consumers, powerful retailers, globalization, and more. DC offers knowledge based end-to-end enterprise solutions.
  
  In today's challenging market, and as traditional competitive models are producing rapidly diminishing returns, DC focus' on optimization, re-utilization, and capturing the maximum ROI. Real time data, managed services and content allows real time solutions for quickly changing demands.
  
  The proliferation of business-to-business e-commerce is transforming how products are made, marketed, distributed, and sold; with supply chain, and transportation management being key areas of expertise, architects from DC are able to transform enterprise solutions "on the fly".
  
  DC's advantage is reached by outlining and designing Business Processes; and creating services and repositories for key area's such as: Procurement, New Product Development, Supply Chain planning, and more. Enterprise transformation starts & ends with a clear and strategic intent, coupled with DC components.
  
  DC Planning:

  • Drive Global Scales of Product and Profit
  • Proactive and Automated Planning for Order Cycle
  • Real Time Monitoring
  • Risk and Asset Optimization
  • Streamlined and Optimized SCM

  
  
  

• SERVICES BY DC

  DC's business is information solutions; how to manage it, use it, share it, protect it. Buying products from the Mega-enterprise software companies is not enough; unless carefully approached, it can make the solutioning process even more complex than necessary.With the vast variety of so-called "next-generation" enterprise computing platforms available, sometimes from the same vendor, DC's approach to enabling a powerful, flexible, service-oriented Enterprise Architecture and Infrastructure will accelerate ROI expectations, while reducing TCO.
  
  DC's Industry, Process and Technology Architects provide the "know-how" and expertise required in driving your company's enterprise transformation. Establishing relationships through our consensus-building realization process; DC's Architects enable the business community to gain knowledge and understanding which can be applied in accordance with organizations strategic intent.
  
  The U.S. motion picture industry produces many of the world's feature films and most of the recorded television programs. The industry is dominated by several large studios, DC has been enabling these studio's with iPAK software based solutions for many years.
  
  DC's Staffing Industry are specifically built for the staffing industry in collaboration and mind. This allows for seamless integration from the front and back office to support Human Capital Management (HCM).
  
  The Retail Services arena has been filled with relentless competition; and changing consumer preferences. The persistent pressures on margins characterize the Consumer Industries & Retail marketplace; With the top companies in these business sectors often pursuing the same consumers, the speed with which new strategies and technologies are implemented is as important as the decision to adopt them. DC has fulfilled this ever changing industry by providing iPAK services which can be deployed and orchestrated to meet this demanding requirement.
  
  DC Benchmarks:

  • Complete Enterprise View
  • Easily Adaptable Infrastructure
  • Full Data Management and Control
  • Leverage and Transform Investments
  • Life Cycle Analysis

  
  
  

• TECHNOLOGY BY DC

  Leading Technology enterprises understand the importance of time constraints in accelerating R & D to distribution of technologically based goods and services. DC has supported the most complex of High-Tech supply chains and multi-LOB services organizations with a repository of leading-practice capabilities, processes and services that support businesses revolving around the manufacturing of electronics, creation of software, computers or products and services relating to information technology. DC supports the CRM and SCM requirements Technology sector with a focus on increasing the agility and availability of information and services from software and database systems, which allow the companies to make better strategic business decisions to support a dynamic customers and supplier landscape.
  
  DC enables our customers in the high-tech sector to utilize the most advanced technology known; which are often seen as having the most potential for future growth. This perception has led DC to invest heavily in several areas which includes development of content and services for High-Tech sectors.
  
  DC's solutions have enabled the Telecommunication industry to execute on transformational changes required by todays every changing market.
  
  DC plays an instrumental role in the Semiconductor Industry by driving optimal performance in design, supply chain, and channel operations. With DC's help Semiconductor companies address demand volatility and complex supply and sales networks; with key functionalities built specifically for Semiconductor and electronic component manufacturers.
  
  DC's design and strategy allows the Software Industry the ability to provide superior & consistent customer service and operations while making sure orders get fulfilled on-time and accurately. DC offers many advantages in revenue recognition and centralized customer definition through the DC MDM solutions.
  
  

  DC Innovations

  Technology Industries:

  • High-Tech Manufacturing
  • Telecommunications

  
  
  

  Key Business Drivers:

  • Adaptive Customer Management
  • Dashboard Solutions
  • Homogenize Processes and Reports
  • Multi-Channel Collaboration
  • SCM Workflow and Optimization

  
  
  

• UTILITIES BY DC

  DC has lead solutions for enterprises operating as electric, gas and water firms and integrated providers. DC understands utilities require significant infrastructure and awareness of area which you serve. Our leading-practice capabilities and processes focus on enabling the integration of service with a 360 degree view of customers, suppliers and partners for the agile enterprise to respond quickly in a highly regulated and competitive environment.
  
  DC's expertise in Diversified Utilities helps our customers provide consumers and businesses with electricity, natural gas, and water.
  
  DC's expertise in Electric Utilities allows for major providers of energy in major countries to manage each business entity from a business centric view. We enable our customers to provide superior service to factories, commercial establishments, homes, and recreational facilities. The lack of any natural service can not only inconvenience, but also cause loss of multilple economies of scale.
  
  DC's expertise in the Gas Industry has enabled better customer service by reducing the average wait time for callers and reducing the number of callbacks.
  
  DC helps build connections, not only from system to system, but from department to department; from organization to organization. DC thrives on making every aspect of the business a key factor in determining efficiency, success, and ensuring maximum ROI is reached.
  
  Utilities Made Easy:
  
  Daily pressures placed on Utility Companies can be attributed to aging infrastructure, process, and the dynamic nature of federal regulations; as well as, environmental agencies and advocate groups. Drake CollaborativeTM addresses the unique needs of these demands by providing a complete enterprise solution.
  
  

• INSIGHTS CASE 1

  DC Assists Major Incumbent Service Providers Achieve One View of Customer

  Serving millions of residential and business customers while managing over a million lines means having one view of the customer can be very challenging. This Major Incumbent engaged DC to achieve one view of the customer and streamline the creation process for bundled products. Being in a competitive landscape, the Incumbent was required to realize ROI from turning the promise of multi-channel CRM into reality and sought to create perfect orders, correct configuration and correct price.
  
  What was DC's approach?
  
  DC designed a complete system for delivering the vision of "One-Company" to all of their customers by providing a reverse-engineered business capabilities and technologies enablement roadmap which required agile reconfiguration of offers in response to market condition. The roadmap Products used included: Customer Order Management, Service, Help Desk, Analytics, Sales, and Composite Service Applications.
  
  DC designed an Enterprise Application Integration which resulted in efficient self service and customer care to increase customer retention by targeting bundles generating higher revenue per customer. DC also enhanced order generation with increasing service automation, resulting in less intervention during fulfillment and an increase of accurate orders while delivering zero touch provisioning and quicker order-to-cash cycles.

• INSIGHTS CASE 2

  DC Solves Quote-to-Order Pain at Major High-Technology Manufacturer

  DC enabled a QtO strategy at a major high-technology manufacturer whose growth was increasing in complexity and dispersing collective intelligence for orders, quotes and processing.
  
  DC lead the design of an enterprise strategy for quote-to-order which captured the collective intelligence of the entire organization. This repository of information was then integrated into a leading practice of QtO processes in DC ORCHESTRA, which resulted in identifying gaps in existing processes and lead to defining a transformational quote-to-order structure enabling consistent top-line and bottom-line growth dramatically increasing customer retention and satisfaction.
  
  The main goal of the strategy was to make it easier for customers to buy and then buy again by enabling all business processes. This was achieved by:

  • Defining Quote-to-Order Strategy by selecting Quote-to-Order Leading-Practice Business Process Capabilities with a quantifiable TCO and ROI.
  • Defining Quote to Order Process Structure with Prioritization and Maturation of selected QtO Process Capabilities.
  • Defining a Roadmap based on Leading-Practice QtO Process Capabilities

  
  
  

• INSIGHTS CASE 3

  The DC EnergyTM Advantage

  The embodiment of principles learned through practical application of EnergyTM Enterprise Architecture - the key features of establishing Enterprise Agility is achieved:
  
  Drake Collaborative's Holistic Approach -
  
  By definition, the practice of architecture is the identifying and structuring of components to achieve a planned result. Architecture must take into account the environmental context and the interdependency of components, internal & external, to deliver "blueprints" and "roadmaps" to designers, engineers, and program managers. This, in turn, enables the scope of "construction" or acquisition of the intended capabilities.
  
  EnergyTM - Enterprise Architecture -
  
  DC applies these practices to the planning of capabilities required by a business or organization. While architecture is most often associated with technical or engineering applications, it is the Information Technology area of businesses where Enterprise Architecture has its roots. These practices are equally applicable to other areas of the business where complex structures and interrelationships are prevalent.
  
  DC leverages a holistic, EnergyTM-Enterprise Architecture Methodology -
  
  DC applies the practice of architecture to all areas of business planning; from the most strategic (e.g., Shared-Services philosophy, market repositioning strategies, merger and acquisition evaluations) to the most technical (e.g., how to roll-out Intelligent Routing & Knowledge Management across multiple organizations & networks).
  
  With this approach, it is possible to create models that link and trace the impact of opportunities and transformation programs across various levels of planning. DC-EnergyTM provides a well-structured framework for organizing these interlinked planning models.

• INSIGHTS CASE 4

  Enterprise Agility

  It is impossible to plan and predict (or control) the future.
  
  In order to prepare to react to the constantly changing and unpredictable:

  • Market and economic conditions
  • New product opportunities
  • New channel opportunities
  • Partnering, merger and acquisition opportunities
  • Systems and technology opportunities, etc.

  
  
  

  An Enterprise must identify and define the complete set of capabilities as components of the business that can be comprehensively and justifiably designed, developed, reconfigured and matured as required. These enterprise capabilities are independent of organizational silos and politics; they provide strategists, architects, analysts and planners the means to drive for high performance across the enterprise, regardless of the strategic, yet dynamic, sets of business drivers.
  
  Developing and implementing new or improved capability components - to adapt to adjusting business volumes, integration with partners or acquisitions - is greatly facilitated through common views and reuse of these components. Translation: High-value, efficient and cost-effective projects.

ENERGY APPROACH

• DEFINE

  Executive defines transformation initiative, which drives scope, and begins design. Define™ phase in the Energy ApproachTM distinctly specifies the essential capabilities of the solution while considering ROI and TCO.
  
  DC realizes Enterprises often adopt, or develop their own, approach to SDLC, but implementations should framed by strategic intent and vision and not just by the latest software version or offering. It is for this reason that DC developed an Agile Enablement Framework: DC Energy™.
  
  In addition to supporting Leading Practices from other approaches, such as:

  • End-to-End Governance for Capability Development
  • Iterations and Adaptive SDLC
  • Long-term Roadmaps
  • Managed Architecture: People, Processes & Location

  
  
  

  DC saw a need to further support at lower levels:

  • Business Value: ROI, TCO & BQF
  • Capability Maturation & Prioritization
  • Addressing COTS Gaps.

  
  
  

  DC Energy™ is adaptable to your existing approach and brings forward the support leveraged from DC Enterprise Design Center™ and a suite of Project Collaboration products and Enterprise Architecture tools

• DESIGN

  This phase delivers business requirements prioritization, as well as, business process design, and initial architectural deliverables. Design™ phase in the Energy Approach™ develops the structure of the capabilities while maintaining the executive direction.
  
  

• FEASIBILITY

  The last phase of Potential™, deliverables here include providing business and technology solutions; derived from pain points, as well as, determine feasibility of architectural and process deliverables. Feasibility™ phase in the Energy Approach™ ensures the suitability and viability of the solution levering the experience we have with other customers.
  
  

  
  
  

• CONFIGURE

  The effort to configure software, technology & systems to meet the required business capabilities to the extent possible. The result is a functional ‘click-through' demonstrating that the configured solution has been enable to the extent possible, before any coding efforts are required.
  
  

• CONSTRUCT

  Leveraging specifications that have been documented in the ‘Potential™' phase. We build low level detailed design used to articulate & convey information to developers. Based on the detail documented, we construct the clients’ vision leveraging inherently available processes that were enabled in the ‘Configure™' step. The result is a minimum viable product being deployed to a designated enterprise infrastructure to move onto ‘ValidateTM’.
  
  

• VALIDATE

  We start validation with a plan of the detailed steps taken to test the functional and non-functional deliverables, then document the steps mapping them back to requirements from ‘Potential™.’ Finally, executing the documented the steps, using a combination of automation and manual testing, results in a consistent quality product - iteration after iteration.
  
  

• DEPLOY

  Laying out a detailed plan that specifies the steps and timeline for production deployment is key to setting expectations, along with a detailed set of instructions that allow any user of the solution to accomplish their job & business functions. Another key component to our ‘Deploy™' step is a detailed set of instructions that allow any person to restore critical system features with little training, resulting in an extendable & scalable product replete with supporting documentation.
  
  

  
  
  

• Security
• Solutions
• Products
• Services