LITHIUM-ION BATTERY MANUFACTURER

The Challenge:

AUTOMATING MANUAL PROCESSES TO GAIN EFFICIENCIES AND TRANSPARENCY

As a young startup, this company was experiencing rapid growth and recognized the need to automate manual processes and gain operational efficiencies. Management knew that trying to oversee its manufacturing operations with spreadsheets and manual processes was inefficient and costly. Its market demand can shift quickly, so the company requires a nimble and adaptive ERP solution.

Among the challenges the company faced:

• Time-consuming and costly manual processes

• Lack of transparency into operations

• A need for improved information flow to eliminate information silos

• Lack of transparency into labor costs

• Inefficient manual tracking

The company’s management recognized that the implementation of an ERP solution with a flexible platform and adaptive user experience (UX) would improve operations, streamline collaboration among departments, reduce costs, and deliver better insight into the movement of inventory throughout the production process, among other benefits. They knew this was an important next step in their growth plans.

The micro-batteries produced by this company are classified as 3C products (Computers, Communication and Consumer Electronics). Their customers require strict control and traceability. Management was challenged to improve traceability, enhance productivity and reduce scrap using QAD Adaptive ERP and their existing MES solution.

The company focused first on financial management, material receiving and inspection, the purchasing process and the interface between MES and QAD Adaptive ERP data.  

The Solution:

THE MOST APPROPRIATE AND FLEXIBLE ERP TO ENABLE COMPANY GROWTH

The battery manufacturer conducted an extensive evaluation of ERP vendors, including regional and global choices.

“After comparing several systems in terms of their fit to our requirements, we chose QAD,” explained the company’s system engineer. “It is most in line with our company’s position and requirements. Having worked with QAD’s ERP solution at a previous company, I was familiar with the features and reputation of QAD.”

They made the decision to implement QAD Adaptive ERP and Adaptive UX to support their operations. QAD Adaptive ERP, built on the QAD Enterprise Platform, provides a best-in-class manufacturing ERP solution and supply chain capabilities that provide them with the flexibility to adapt and grow their business. 

With Adaptive UX, they now have a role-based and modern user experience with personalization and embedded analytics. The ability to access this data anywhere and on any device will allow users to make informed decisions across their fast growing organization.

QAD consultants conducted three week-long training sessions for employees and guided the development of an operations guide so that trainees can use the system in the most effective way.

“QAD Adaptive ERP definitely met our expectations and as we become fully familiar with all that it has to offer, we’ll make even more use of its other functions,” stated the system engineer.

The Benefits:

STANDARDIZED PROCESSES AND REAL-TIME DATA WITH QAD ADAPTIVE ERP IN THE CLOUD

The company is now seeing operations standardized across departments with improved efficiency. Gaining approval and sign-off on documents is easier because managers can review and approve requisitions and purchase orders anywhere, anytime using QAD Adaptive ERP. 

Management has greater transparency into actual operations on the plant floor with real-time data. Communication costs have been reduced and the purchasing approval process is now shortened by one to two days. 

“With Adaptive UX we have seen an improvement in our purchasing process. Our management team can review and approve the requisitions and purchase orders anytime, anywhere. This has greatly improved efficiency and lowered communication costs. Compared with the traditional manual process, it is much easier and we are saving one to two days,” explained the system engineer.

Departments can now collaborate online within the system, which is also saving communications costs and adding efficiency. This integral approach to planning and operations delivers real benefits in terms of the quality of data collected, the timeliness of the data and ultimately the ability to improve decision making for the entire process.

The company is using QAD Adaptive ERP to calculate, track and control labor costs for each step of its operations. Similarly, it is working to improve inventory management by tracking batch numbers for both raw materials and work-in-progress (WIP). By integrating ERP and the MES solution, the company has improved quality control and raw material traceability. It can now analyze operational yield data for each process using MES data.

They will next investigate QAD’s Action Centers, the role-based dashboards that deliver real-time actionable insight via analytics. Action Centers enable users to monitor metrics and KPIs to optimize decision-making and future planning.