I’m writing this blog as a former plant manager for an automotive supplier. I spent 30 years in the auto industry with my last 5 years running a manufacturing facility in Mexico. As I’m sure you are all aware, product quality is NOT an option in the auto industry. It is a must. Suppliers are on the hook for years after their products are shipped to the OEM.
Read Morethe first installment of this series, we discussed the rationale for integrating Aras Innovator with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. The primary takeaway was that automating data exchange between these platforms significantly minimized errors, inaccurate outsourcing information, resultant reworking and scrap, missing procurement opportunities, incurring expedited shipping costs, and handling warranty issues. These errors contribute to the "Cost of Quality" (CoQ), which is about 3 to 10 percent of a company’s annual revenues. By integrating these systems, organizations can take proactive steps to mitigate these costs.
Read MoreThe applications shown include Product Data Management (PDM), Computer Aided Design (CAD), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), and Maintenance Repair and Operations (MRO), among others. As a PLM platform, Aras Innovator occupies a central role in the product lifecycle…
Read MoreManufacturers are constantly striving to reduce the “Cost of Quality” (CoQ) associated with the design and manufacturing of their products. This cost is reflected in the expenses of redesigning existing parts, scrap and rework, expedited shipping, warranties, and even the company’s reputation. According to analysts and industry groups, these expenses can represent profit leakage from 3 to 10 percent of a company’s annual revenues.
Read MoreThe industry is moving towards a software-as-a-service (SaaS) infrastructure. Fusion 360 Manage, Upchain and the core of PLMConnect, Nexus, are all SaaS solutions leveraging REST APIs. The benefit of course is that updates occur in the background and are non-disruptive to the existing processes. And by combining abstraction of the various processes to the middleware, no-code integrations can be established. PLMConnect truly embraces this next-generation approach to connectivity and we’re thrilled to be providing a solution that seamlessly connects Fusion 360 Manage with Upchain resulting in a best in class PLM offering!
Read MoreAnnouncing PLMConnect - Connecting Fusion 360 Manage and Upchain. The vdR Group is thrilled to announce the launch of PLMConnect! PLMConnect enables Fusion 360 Manage (F3M) and Upchain to seamlessly work together. We think it’s a big deal. With F3M and Upchain now being sold together as a single product by Autodesk, PLMConnect ensures these products perform as a best-in-class PLM platform with true SaaS and multi-CAD capabilities.
Read MoreJoin Lloyd Rogers, Automotive Practice Leader at the vdR Group in the Automotive Insights Series as he address many of the challenges facing the automotive and supplier spaces.
This week, I examine how silos of data are created when transitioning from quote team, to launch team, and how we should be leveraging information from the quote process.
First, I think we all agree that change management is a vital part of having a successful program launch. I would also suggest… the initial quote files are not only for reference, but the starting point on a project. Think about it … every company discipline was involved in the quote phase… and these same people will potentially be part of the change process post release. Once the project has been won, the launch team takes over the quote team files, and hopefully, they are not copying data. You have to understand this point! Last week I stated… disconnected silos are the bane of business! You are adding risk to meet delivery schedules, keep timing in check, and achieve margins, let alone the difficulty with data traceability... These silos are all direct hits to the bottom line. For those of you running programs … you know exactly what I mean. Think about this exchange… if your launch team is setting up folders in SharePoint, copying data onto their hard drives… this is the beginning of creating silo’s… you have now broken the digital thread. This does not resemble a repeatable process, and significantly impairs productive practices and generates poor collaboration within your own team. Your team is now in search mode during the APQP process, versus having real time visible information for getting work done.
I’ll give you an example:
The project engineer is working with the customer to change testing criteria on the Test Plan… the Program Manager timeline was created based on the original test plan. If the engineer has the new approved Plan on his laptop, the PM will not have access to the new requirements. This is just one example of hundreds of conversations that go on by the launch team during the APQP process, and why information should not be kept on a laptop.
The launch team should instead be verifying the quote versus the contractual agreement, in the same system as the quote team provided. If the quote does not match the PO, then the change process is initiated. Does your company have a consistent process to verify the quote matches the PO, and is there any team member accountable to verify what you actually won? Because, if you miss a scope change or changes from quote to PO, then it is like a waterfall, the change can affect timing, piece cost, capital, and tooling. Your design may already be going in the wrong direction. I think you get my point.
It’s not only about information reuse, but also eliminating the creation of these team member generated silos. Next week… I will provide examples on how these silo’s cost your company money and potentially damage your brand image.
Give me a call and we can discuss your challenges and share what we have done to help other suppliers. Contact me at … Lloyd@vdr.com or our website… vdR.com.
Join Lloyd Rogers, Automotive Practice Leader at the vdR Group in the Automotive Insights Series as he address many of the challenges facing the automotive and supplier spaces.
Hello, I am Lloyd Rogers and I help automotive companies like yours with unexpected costs taking place during the APQP process. Over the past two years I have met with more than 50 automotive companies to discuss their many encounters while launching OEM products. The greatest challenge is time to execute a consistent APQP process to PPAP… Once the customer provides a PO, the clock starts ticking to provide parts per the contractual agreement … and the PPAP delivery date does not change for most OEM programs. Many suppliers lose time internally waiting for approvals from their own processes. An example is budget approval to release funds for a project, such as ED&D, supplier tooling, or capital… The APQP process includes many sub processes requiring signatures along with visible data for approval that may also take up significant time potentially delaying a program. An example is quoting changes and managing the revised parts or assembly through all processes such as a drawing or tool release, along with data required to PPAP… Allow me to meet and discuss new solutions to reduce time and create an APQP health check, or project visibility for the executive team. If your norm at launch is not meeting the financial goals based on the original quote on a program because of premium tooling, expedited shipments, reworks, multiple unpaid PPAP testing scenarios and others, then call me to discuss. We have solutions to help reduce project timing, create a standard APQP dashboard, and offer project visibility to assist teams to be successful. Over the next few weeks, I will be providing solutions geared to reduce time to market along with suggestions on how to create visibility for the entire team to ultimately achieve clearer decisions. The pandemic is now having program teams working from home and visibility of data is even more critical. If your company still relies on spreadsheets, SharePoint to store data, and countless meetings to provide updates with manually created dashboards, we can help eliminate those time-consuming events that are only up to date during the meeting. By eliminating one expedited shipment, yard hold, rework, or other unexpected charges, you could increase your brand image with your customer and potentially meet your profit metrics. If you are a CEO or executive contact me. I can provide a briefing and answer questions typically in less than an hour of your time. You can reach me simply at lloyd@vdr.com or you can go to our website at vdR.com. Thank You
This part of the blog series reviews the final step in assembling and submitting the CADnection data exchange file (CDE). The CDE is ingested by the target application such as a search engine, content management solution and/or custom application demanding CAD model data for complete product development analysis.
Read MoreAs mentioned in a prior post, CAD models are like mini databases, and these CAD models represent just part of a bigger picture. There’s related data in other apps like product lifecycle management (PLM), enterprise content management (ECM), enterprise resource planning (ERP) and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO). For example, a part referenced in a CAD model might have pricing and vendor data in ERP, maintenance data in MRO and user manuals in an ECM environment. There are multiple connections, but rarely is this related data found and/or virtually connected. That’s where data enrichment can add significant value to the wealth of information CADnection extracts from CAD models.
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