Simplifying the Making of Complex Products - Control Design

WHITE PAPERemergence of global competition, corporate executives have taken awaymuch of that independence.”This company, like most top performers in the industrial equipment sector,now runs its entire business on a single integrated ERP suite. Having that typeof system in place gives the manufacturer greater control over what is now isa global extended supply chain.Industrial equipment manufacturers generally adopt global business modelsfor one of two reasons:• They’ve chosen to reduce overhead associated with labor and capitalequipment by outsourcing manufacturing functions while concentratingor more strategic activities like designing new innovative products.• They want to establish a presence in various geographic areas in hopesof attracting new customers in those regions.Managing ComplexityWhether the motivation is seeking new suppliers, new customers—or both—a global business model adds another layer of complexity to an alreadycomplicated business.It’s only natural that companies struggling to manage such complexity wouldseek out ERP systems. After all, they have come to be widely recognized asthe core technology platform for bringing a sense of order tobusiness processes.In their infancy, ERP systems helped companies streamline operations byautomating business processes. Over time, however, ERP vendors havearchitected systems that mimic best practices for a range of businessfunctions—from taking customer orders to planning production schedules—allowing these systems to be a force for instilling a sense of discipline—whilealso helping improve performance—in an organization.Often, companies adopt the best practices embedded an ERP system as away of ensuring that all business processes are performed in exactly the samefashion across the entire enterprise. This form of standardization has manyadvantages, from cutting down on the potential for duplication of effort towinning favor with customers and suppliers by making the company easier towork with.The use of a product configurator is a prime example of how an industrialequipment manufacturer can benefit from using the best practicesembedded in an ERP system. A well-designed product configurator will belinked to a repository of information on the makeup of products that thecompany already has built, as well as a knowledge base of parts that can fittogether to create new configurations. This information typically is gatheredby querying company’s product design and manufacturing experts.Linking this information to the product configurator gives sales and customerservice reps the ability to tell customers almost instantly whether the exactproduct they are requesting can be built. When the configurator is part afully integrated ERP system, the rep also can tell the customer whether theparts required to build the product are readily available, and if the companySimplifying the Making of Complex Products 3