Volume 1, Number 2
For discrete manufacturers, business control systems (BCS) are playing an ever-increasing role in managing the enterprise. An initiative that began almost two decades ago to control supply inventories (MRP) and then plant-wide resources (MRP II), has now worked its way into every aspect of production and distribution.
Two new arrivals on the BCS scene -- enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain management (SCM) -- are rapidly becoming the terms of choice for describing manufacturing management as a whole. Manufacturing information systems, once directed exclusively toward inventory management, have grown to encompass quoting, product configuration, shop floor scheduling, financials, distribution logistics and more.
At the same time, computer-aided design and engineering (CAD &
CAE) have been developing in parallel, driving the automation of
design and engineering to include comprehensive product databases,
on-line drawings and documentation, and engineering change orders.
Until recently, however, the valuable stores of data created by the
engineering side of the manufacturing enterprise were largely
inaccessible to users seeking to broaden data integration throughout
the business by means of BCS systems.
Integrated business control systems
Early MRP II pioneers who attempted to bridge this gap often paid
dearly for their initiatives. Custom programming, once a commonplace
in the BCS marketplace, carried high overhead costs coming and going.
This recognition led to the development by suppliers of integrated
business control systems built around a common database and
integrated application set.
These standard systems are feature rich, meet a wide variety of functional needs, and while amenable to modification and further integration on an "as needed" basis, are often run largely unmodified. Well suited for make-to-order as well as continuous manufacturing environments, such systems meet a wide spectrum of needs ranging from rapid implementation to business process re-engineering (BPR) -- or simply transitioning out of non-adaptive, expensive-to-maintain legacy systems into more economical and efficient alternatives.
Yet, a gateway and staging area for mustering, assembling and reviewing product information within the overall context of the BCS is called for. This need has been met with the advent of integrated engineering data management (EDM), a modular component of advanced BCS that has proven itself to be of significant value in such areas as:
In practice this means sales and marketing managers have access to a whole library of engineering information, including parts availabilities, configuration options and pricing information that directly reduces quotation development and time-to-promise. Such a capability represents a distinct competitive advantage for those whose manufacturing style is make- or configure-to-order.
With a DM capability directly linked to a central database, field sales personnel -- previously subject to endless rounds of back-and-forth with the factory as quotations are developed and revised -- can configure and quote more readily at the point of sale. This is a significant advantage for those seeking to compress the sales cycle.
In combination with a rules-based product configurator (also known as a "smart" quotation), field sales personnel can effectively drive the whole manufacturing operation on behalf of a prospective client. Using laptop PCs loaded with modular applications, field sales personnel can review parts inventories and assembly/configuration time-to-deliver.
This is achieved through the accessing of a knowledge base built
around "best design" and "best practices" algorithms derived from
authoritative engineering methods and experiences. In bringing a sale
to a close in capital equipment and other configure- or
build-to-order industries, such an approach allows for timely
quotations and time-to-promise that was unheard of a recently as a
few years ago.
Applications
Examples of companies making use of product data management include
an international manufacturer of telecommunications equipment whose
products are subject to a continuing stream of engineering change
orders (ECOs). Such circumstances have lead to the development of a
system which integrates all assembly procedures, shop drawings,
documents (including ECOs and assembly procedures) and serial parts
tracking on line.
Another application is that of a manufacturer of testing equipment
whose products are heavily configured, yet whose marketplace is
highly competitive. Field sales personnel are now calling order
specifications to the factory where "editors" are able to quote and
provide time-to-deliver information on demand. Such functionality
will soon move into the field on portable PCs.
Impacting cycle time
Indeed, EDM positively impacts the whole issue of cycle time
reduction throughout the manufacturing organization. Concurrent
engineering initiatives in the form of engineering change orders
become directly visible to all members of the organization with a
need to know. Expedited document distribution smoothes work flow, by
making engineering procedures available to both planning and
production departments -- an enhancement to BCS from prototyping and
ramp-up to production runs that increasingly include customized or
special order elements.
Further, with knowledge of standard hours, procedures and
processes in hand, the production planner and cost accountant are
better prepared to deal with the increasing variability of scheduling
and cost analysis. Variations on this theme include "executive
information systems," whose ability to highlight trends and factors
lends support to capital planning and budgeting. In an age when "mass
customization" is throwing traditional cost accounting into disarray,
having an alternative to activity-based costing is a decided
advantage.
Adapting to market demand
Consider the situation of a production planner in a capital goods
manufacturing enterprise who must reconcile erratic order flow and
enterprise resources. Likewise, consider an assembly engineer working
with a complex bill of materials, a variety of drawing references and
engineering protocols. A "paperless" operation attuned to the
equipment demands of both production operations and an order flow
that may or may not go "live" at some indeterminate time in the
future can add significantly in reconciling workcells and other
production resources to work flow.
This helps the organization adapt more readily to market demand in both the short term (production planning) and long term (capital planning). With tightly coupled EDM/BCS the manufacturing organization becomes more flexible and responsive.
For the information systems executive who as part of the management team is charged with re-engineering the organization or effecting continuous improvement programs, integrated EDM/BCS offers numerous advantages, not the least being access to a more comprehensive set of on-line summary reports.
With product content and production processes closely linked to
order entry, trends impacting capital equipment costs, workforce and
facilities become subject to easier and more precise analysis. With
more and more manufacturers taking a custom- and build-to-order
approach, making pre-engineering data and other strategic information
more visible is another plus for EDM.
New strength
Such capabilities meet the overall criteria underlying strategic
transformation: desirability, integration consistency and
flexibility. This lends new strength to manufacturers whose product
development plans are driven by the constant need for enhanced
features, functionality and reliability in the face of unending cost
competitiveness.
Recent studies have shown that Japanese manufacturers devote almost 50 percent more effort to product development than their Western counterparts -- a further affirmation, if one is needed at all, that to whatever extent product development and production tactics can be linked, customer satisfaction will be enhanced.
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