Tag: factory visualizations

The Magic Bullet for Real-Time Supply Chain Collaboration? Cloud Visibility.
Jessica Twentyman reported in the Financial Times, that for many manufacturers, supply chain collaboration is stuck in the dark ages. When it comes to ordering materials and components, managing inventory levels, or organizing the delivery of finished goods to customers, companies are forced continually to chase business partners – mostly suppliers, logistics companies, and retailers – via a messy stream of emails, phone calls, and even faxes. Worse still, much of the data that could give manufacturers a complete, end-to-end view of their supply chain already resides within the systems of these partners; as much as 80 percent of it, according to some industry estimates.

Supply Chain Market reported the closest any manufacturer can get to the magic bullet of efficiency (collaboration) is through greater supply chain visibility. Supply chain visibility means all partners get access to – and share data – in real-time. Visibility to all orders allows suppliers to proactively respond to demand signals. Poor visibility often results in parts shortages. Frustrated manufacturers report having no idea they were down to the last box of parts. The result is expensive; using faster shipping methods to get the part back on the shop floor. A real-time view of parts on hand allows a supply chain manager to take action before there is a stock out, eliminating expedited fees.

A single – visible – version of the truth

Modern Demand-Driven Manufacturers are leveraging real-time Cloud-based visualization and collaboration systems to view data from multiple, disparate sources while keeping the data in its original, host environment. The value of these visualization systems is in their inherent flexibility. Once the data connections are made, they can be accessed and used (with appropriate permissions) at any point along the end-to-end supply chain spectrum. There is no limit to the data sources that can be connected or how the data can be sliced and diced and made visual to accommodate the different layers and levels of the manufacturing enterprise.

The result is a single – visible – version of the truth that enables a more compliant, consistent, Lean, and waste free supply chain. Visualizations can be created or configured by and for the individual user, work center, plant or multi-plant/enterprise, supplier, or customer level. Order, replenishment status, inventory levels, machine maintenance, system alerts, KPIs, logistics tracking, and more can be made accessible to the appropriate parties anytime, anywhere, providing a single source for real-time information.

Data on Demand: Examples of value across supply chain layers
- Customers gain visibility into order receipt, status, and delivery data. In ETO environments, visibility tools can provide further collaboration capabilities on product specifications and requirements.
- Suppliers receive real-time demand signals with the ability to exchange purchase order and projected delivery information online. Supply Chain Managers can collectively visualize and track the performance of all suppliers against their service level agreements (SLAs).
- Individual users have easy access to information they can act on to analyze issues and improve performance. Customer Service representatives can follow the status of their customer’s order and confirm delivery details; Operators have a clear view of priorities and an understanding of what to work on next; Quality Analysts are immediately alerted to issues and can quickly trace the source of the problem.
- Work Centers can monitor all the machines in their area through a single screen to collectively determine overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and gain insight for preventative or prescriptive maintenance.
- Individual Plants can visualize real-time end-to-end production flow and the status of safety, compliance, and key performance indicators (KPI) at any level in the facility.
- Regional Plant Networks can connect to Warehouse/Distribution Centers to better manage excess inventory and monitor status from Third Party Logistics (3PL) providers.
- Multi-National Enterprises can connect to global data sources – including Supplier networks and Contract Manufacturers – to assess individual plant performance and collectively view and track logistics flow throughout their enterprise.
Newer Cloud technologies are more intuitive with drag-and-drop functions and natural language queries. IT is no longer saddled with pulling data and generating reports. Through self-service tools, even non-techies can perform their own analyses and create their own dashboards and visualizations.

The technology is available and the impact of such can be far-reaching. The investment quite often produces an immediate or near-term return just in avoiding costs associated with downtime, waste and expediting.

Standardizing data formats – the key to universal, real-time accessibility.

With the multitude of data sources feeding the supply chain, the visibility value is in the ability to “mash up” or bring together data from these disparate sources to tell a complete story. The strategy for doing such is standardizing – or normalizing – data. And while this is not a new concept, today there is a more efficient and cost-effective approach. Through the Cloud, data is accessed from its host environment and aggregated, analyzed, and shared by standardizing the data and making it accessible in real-time through technology tool sets like SignalR. These lighter weight, highly flexible and scalable web-enabled technologies are rapidly replacing costly hardware devices traditionally used for data standardization.

Ultimately, visibility technologies should be measured by their ability to provide the right data to the right people at the right time. The true value proposition is in having the right information to take immediate action – the decision-driving data that will make a difference in how your supply chain is performing today.

More information on this topic:

White paper: End-to-End Supply Chain Visibility Technology is Here

Video case study: How Orbital ATK is Leveraging the IIoT and Visual Factory Technology to Drive Continuous Improvements

Video: SyncView Real-time Manufacturing Visualization System – 4 minute overview
June 19, 2017
Supply Chain Visibility and the Bottom-line

Visibility Matters.

Rick Morris, a Certified Supply Chain Professional wrote in Supply House Times that while improving fill rates, improved forecast accuracy also lowers inventory levels measured in days of sales; and simultaneously, improved forecast accuracy improves fill rates and lowers inventory. He suggested this translates into increased profitability. When analysts have studied companies that were best-in-class in demand forecasting, they found these companies averaged (according to Advanced Market Research) 15% less inventory; 17% higher perfect order fulfillment; 35% shorter cash-to-cash cycle times; and 1/10 the stock outs of their peers. In addition, every 3% increase in forecast accuracy increased profit margin by 2%. These improvements in inventory efficiencies then translate into improved financial metrics, including 10% improvement in earnings per share; 5% increase in return on assets; and a 2.5% gain in profits.

Reducing the Risk of Supply Chain Disruptions

Sunil Chopra and ManMohan S. Sodhi, reported for the MIT Sloan Management Review, that supply chain executives complain there have been major supply chain disruptions, highlighting vulnerabilities for individual companies and for entire industries globally. Today’s managers know that they need to protect their supply chains from serious and costly disruptions, but the most obvious solutions — increasing inventory, adding capacity at different locations and having multiple suppliers — undermine efforts to improve supply chain cost efficiency. Surveys have shown that while managers appreciate the impact of supply chain disruptions, they have done very little to prevent such incidents or mitigate their impacts. This is because solutions to reduce risk mean little unless they are weighed against supply chain cost efficiency. After all, financial performance is what pays the bills.

Supply Chain Market reported the closest any manufacturer can get to the magic bullet is supply chain visibility. Supply chain visibility is needed to achieve a manufacturers’ goal of saving money quickly and inexpensively. Supply chain visibility means all partners get access to data in real-time. Visibility to all orders allows suppliers to proactively respond to abnormal fluctuations in demand. Poor visibility often results in parts shortages. Frustrated manufacturers report having no idea they were down to the last box of parts. The result is expensive, requiring faster shipping methods to get the part back on the shop floor. A real-time view of parts on hand allows a supply chain manager to take-action before there is a stock out, eliminating expedited fees.

eKanban software provides an effective quick win. An eKanban system can mitigate disruptions associated with stock outs through automated inventory replenishment and visibility into real-time demand signals, supplier response and more. Current manufacturing Kanban technologies have evolved to automate and simplify even the most complex supply chains.

In addition to eKanban, many of today’s manufacturers are taking advantage of all the digitization created to enable the Internet of Things and elevating visibility within and beyond their four walls – and across multi-enterprise environments. So, what steps are manufacturers taking toward this end, and more importantly, what is the investment?

The answer depends upon your starting point.

In a recent research report, Gartner defines their five stages of maturity in supply chain visibility to include: Asset; functional; supply chain; value chain; and ecosystem visibility. (Gartner, Define the Five Stages of Supply Chain Visibility Maturity, 2016.) As an organization moves toward greater maturity, the number of disparate data sources to be aggregated and made visible multiplies. As such, web-based and SaaS priced visual factory information systems (VFIS) are gaining favor based on their flexible technology architecture, affordability and ability to easily scale – manufacturers can use the same system to visualize information as they mature through the stages. And because the VFIS connects to any data source (legacy systems, ERP, MES, PLM, WMS, machines, etc.), manufacturers wouldn’t necessarily need to invest in any other systems to get started on impacting the bottom line through greater supply chain visibility.

We will spend more time exploring how manufacturers are creating greater supply chain visibility and empowering people with relevant, real-time information, in future posts. In the meantime, if you have any examples you would like to share, please leave a comment!

Additional resources:

Video: How Orbital ATK is Leveraging the IIoT and Visual Factory Technology to Drive Continuous Improvements

Video: Visual Factory Software Overview

White Paper: Gaining Control: Exploring Push v. Pull Manufacturing [using Kanban systems]

November 18, 2016
Made for Manufacturers

By Sarah Balogh

Made for Manufacturers

A common statement I hear from customers is that they are working with technology and software that doesn’t provide the functionality they need as manufacturers. They are told that certain enterprise software packages “can do everything” they need to plan, schedule, and run their factories. But months after implementation they feel a sense of disenchantment. Why is this?

Software Made for Manufacturing

What these customers have in common is that they bought software that can be used for manufacturing. But what they really need is manufacturing software. True software built for manufacturers provides capabilities and value unique to companies in the business of planning and producing goods to bring to market. Manufacturing software is created with the industry and business of manufacturing in mind. It is built with the intention of providing an organization the tools it needs to gain control of their production floor, deliver quality goods on time, and gain visibility into operations and the supply chain beyond the four walls of the plant.

The good news is even if you didn’t purchase manufacturing software initially, you always have the opportunity to start the journey of enabling the factory of the future, exactly from where you are today. How? By selecting manufacturing software that can integrate and play nicely with your existing systems while providing the specific manufacturing functionality you need.

Connect to Anything and Everything

Manufacturing enterprises today have one thing in common – they are all unique. They have nothing in common with other manufacturers’ architecture and solution portfolios. Each organization tends to be a mixed collection of legacy, new enterprise, and point solutions (with the ability to access data within and across these solutions just as varied for each company). Therefore, one of the elements that good manufacturing software should include is the ability to connect to and take advantage of all of this data, plus any future data sources. This makes it possible for any company, wherever they are in their continuous improvement or demand-driven journey, to start harnessing the power of their own information to drive decisions from real data.

To start driving value for your manufacturing business, I recommend using a factory visualization solution that has the ability to connect to and use this existing data for analysis, visibility and to serve as the much sought after single version of the truth. Suddenly data across the enterprise is liberated to serve your organization as usable and actionable information. When your different technologies are all connected to a visual factory system, you break down the data silos. In combining these data sources, you become empowered with information, gaining new and more comprehensive insight into your environment and business.

At this year’s IndustryWeek Manufacturing & Technology Conference, Orbital ATK shared how they connected their environment to enable the Internet of Things and how they are using visual factory technology as a communications tool and a means to respond to issues in real time. (YouTube video.)

Next time we will talk more about what a good factory visualization tool should be able to do, and why those capabilities are necessary. In the meantime, please leave a comment!

July 6, 2016
Visual Beats Verbal

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then visualizing a factory floor says a lot for an organization. The ability to translate any environment into a visual representation is incredibly empowering and is a strong step toward evolving a manufacturer into a connected, cutting edge company. I have had the privilege of working with organizations in their journey to becoming a ‘visual factory.’ What I have learned is that the drive to become a visual factory is founded less on a technology revolution, but more a basis to communicate with users in more natural ways.

Dominant Visual Learners

I believe the manufacturing evolution toward visual factory information systems is an example of technology catching up with basic human behavior. At 65%, visual learners make up most of the population. However, you wouldn’t think this if you consider all of the written reports, emails and spreadsheets that the average company outputs. Often, this is in absence of a tool that allows users to create the same information visually. When the result is verbose and hard-to-absorb written communication, it’s no surprise that people have difficulty retaining information. When the objective is to have all people within the system on the same page and informed, it’s best to communicate according to their preferred learning method.

Pictures are a Universal Language

A significant advantage of a visual information system is its universal nature and language independence. Visual factory systems use elements such as diagrams, charts, and colored indicators to communicate status with very few words. In my experience, organizations have a wide range of language and literacy levels. User adoption increases based on the tool’s ease of use, but also by having all users comfortable with using the information that the system presents. Additionally, removing written components also makes the information more understandable across languages. This is an important feature for global enterprises.

Allow Antidotes to be Created

In a slightly contradictory way, the other advantage of a factory visualization system is that it doesn’t spell out everything for a user. In my experience, writing out what people should be learning doesn’t always lead to higher information retention. It’s good for them to create an antidote in their mind about what they see. Naturally, when someone looks at a simple, clear diagram or picture, they take a brief moment to absorb the information and come to some sort of conclusion. They are taking in the visual elements and making a judgement or asking a question based on what they see. If they have a question, ideally they interact with screen components and drill into the visualizations to learn more. Creating the antidote of what they observe leads to more user investment and sense of ownership with the tool and information. Sharing this antidote with other people also increases understanding. This is key to making a visual factory system the primary tool in a continuous improvement journey. For example, when an employee sees a downward trend in on-time delivery, perhaps they drill through to escalated maintenance information related to a resource. The maintenance information may display time series data to the employee, showing increased downtime every day around a consistent period. The employee could come to a conclusion that to improve and prevent this downtime – and avoid compromising deliveries – planned maintenance could occur weekly to make sure the utilized resource is running at its maximum available capacity.

While manufacturing companies have been creating reports for many years, only now do they have options when it comes to visual factory applications. Being able to reach users at every level in the organization and clearly communicate status is the dream for any manufacturer. The benefits of a visual factory are far superior to the verbal and written alternatives. Next time, I will explore the potential and power behind real-time visual factory metrics. Until then, feel free to send me your questions or experiences on anything visual factory related.

September 24, 2015

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