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Solution Details
Modularize the product design and
introduce configurators wherever possible - Using
VISIBILITY Features and Options, the customer was able to
provide its estimators and order processors with
pre-designed product elements, allowing initial product
requirement identification without engineering involvement.
The exercise of developing options allowed engineering to
reduce many of the incremental product variations and
replace them with modularized selections that still filled
customer requirements without demanding extensive per-job
design efforts.
Develop planning bills to organize
and sequence product release - Planning bills, with both
actual and “template” components, were developed using
VISIBILITY Quoting and Estimating. A common product
configuration was developed at the front end of the job
cycle and used for cost estimating, product design
sequencing, release management and material planning.
VISIBILITY Workflow was used to develop product release
processes that could be monitored and updated on line. The
result, the product design review process changed from
serial to parallel, reducing the total release time by 40%.
Encourage customers to finalize
designs by assuring dedicated resources - Using
VISIBILITY Master Production Scheduling, the customer was
able to identify critical “pinch-point” processes and tie
them back to the overall job using Rough Cut Capacity
Planning functions. Reserving time slots at these critical
resources was tied to the finalization of product
specifications reducing the tendency to insert “desired but
not required” changes late in the job cycle. The loading of
these critical resources allowed the sales group to promise
more realistic delivery schedules based on assessments of
current and future loads in the plant.
By taking advantage of the integrated
nature of VISIBILITY, along with revamping approaches to
product design and information hand-offs, this customer was
able to:
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Support the same variety of
marketplace needs with a simplified product design
approach
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Reduce product design time by 40%
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Pass product information to
material and production planning earlier and in the
correct sequence, resulting in a 60% reduction in
overall job throughput time.
The to-order capabilities of
VISIBILITY have enabled the customer to optimize product
design, improve customer interaction and satisfaction, and
gain control of the design and production cycles. |