AKEBONO

The Challenge:

LACK OF CONSISTENT DATA AND REAL-TIME RESPONSES WHILE MANAGING MULTIPLE CUSTOMERS AND COMPLEX SYSTEMS

Akebono Thailand supplies a wide range of brake parts to a wide variety of customers. The inventory, manufacturing and shipping processes are a very complex system with many steps. Before using QAD Automation Solutions (AS), much of the work, record keeping and forecasting was done manually. Various departments used different manual methods, resulting in a lack of consistency in reported data.

“Before implementing QAD Automation Solutions, we didn’t have a single version of the truth,” notes Nattapan Kitprayoon, General Manager of  Production & Production Control. “We were getting different numbers from different departments and it was difficult for management to accept or approve which number was more accurate and reliable. Data accuracy, reliability and integrity were questionable elements.”

Akebono Thailand was also experiencing challenges with:

• Response times to customers

• Product traceability

• Inventory management

• Month-end close time frames

• Month-end production downtime

“We needed a concise and consistent system. We needed to trust our data and be more efficient,” adds Kitprayoon. “With QAD’s help, we realized that converting our manual systems to an automated system could give us that.”

The Solution:

QAD AUTOMATION SOLUTIONS UNIFIES AND IMPROVES AKEBONO THAILAND’S SYSTEMS

QAD Automation Solutions empowers shop floor operators and material handlers to efficiently move inventory to the right place at the right time through error-proof and real-time barcode scanning. It drastically reduced paperwork and data reconciliation by being directly embedded into Akebono Thailand’s QAD ERP.

Akebono Thailand management worked with QAD Automation Solutions specialists to learn how QAD AS could work for them and how it could benefit the Thailand plant.

The QAD team put together an implementation plan including workshops, training sessions, tuning of data collection transactions and labels as well as support during conference room pilots, user acceptance testing and pre/post go-live support.

As Akebono Thailand went through the implementation process, they saw how QAD Automation Solutions provided data consistency across departments, improved operational visibility, control and accuracy throughout their internal supply chain — as well as:

• Increased inventory control with real-time updates of customer needs

• Streamlined inbound processes by scanning pallets and boxes into stock while verifying the supplier advanced shipping notice (ASN)

• Maximized production replenishment helping meet the demand for components based on real-time schedule priorities

• Improved accuracy and control over production order pick/issue process with a single scan of the work order

• More accurate outbound processes through dynamic electronic dispatching to the warehouse, matching customer pick requirements

• Increased label printing efficiency through system data-driven selection of label format and printing device and reuse of already existing labels, whenever possible

Fully embedded within QAD ERP , delivering a single source of truth to on-the-go users and back office operations

The Benefits:

DATA BECOMES CONSISTENT, VISIBILITY INCREASES, MAN-HOURS ARE SAVED, CUSTOMER-RESPONSE TIME SPEEDS UP

“With QAD Automation Solutions, we are now able to capture reliable information about our various products,” comments Winai Yampochai, general manager, finance & accounting. “We’ve been able to accomplish a level of product profitability visibility with AS that was missing previously in the absence of data accuracy.”

Other benefits Akebono Thailand has seen with QAD Automation Solutions include:

• Quicker response times to customers

• Decrease of month-end close time frame from six to three days

• Daily savings of three man hours with the transition from manual to automated processes

“As a manufacturing company one of our biggest goals is to reduce waste and optimize our manufacturing processes,” continues Yampochai. “In addition to many other benefits, QAD Automation Solutions now lets us accurately predict inventory requirements to optimize meeting our customers’ needs. With QAD Automation Solutions, we were able to meet our target revenue of 125 million THB.”

Traceability is now controlled, allowing Akebono Thailand to consistently and accurately trace any product back to which machine was used and the lot number.

“This improvement in the tracing process gives us a new level of control on quality assurance,” adds Kitprayoon. “This has improved our ability to respond quickly and efficiently to our customers whenever they call. We can also now determine if a product or product line will be profitable, and how much profit we’re making per product. Our focus is better aimed at moving forward with the most profitable products.”

“We have been very pleased with how QAD responds to our challenges,” concludes Kitprayoon. “The QAD team understands our expectations and matches their solutions to meet our objectives. Rather than just trying to sell us a product, their approach was, ‘What do we have that will solve your problems?’ That attitude was appreciated and made for a very productive collaboration.”