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How 2 Manufacturers Are Taking On-Time Delivery to the Next Level

How 2 Manufacturers Are Taking On-Time Delivery to the Next Level

Feb. 23, 2018
As compliance and customer requirement complexity increases, this becomes tricky. Two manufacturers have discovered the key is operating with a single source of

Every successful manufacturer’s goal is to respond as quickly as possible to customer needs while keeping costs low. As compliance and customer requirement complexity increases, this becomes tricky. Two manufacturers have discovered the key is operating with a single source of truth in the cloud.

Achieving World-Class Efficiency with Advanced Manufacturing Technology

Kamco Industries, a subsidiary of Kumi Kasei, provides full-service product design and manufacturing of injection, sheet molded, and formed fiber felt products to the automotive industry. Established in 1987 in West Unity, Ohio, the company decided to tailor its business processes to the expectations of its largest customer, Honda, by moving to one manufacturing cloud ERP system that would make it easier to share information.

Kamco now has real-time visibility into orders, inventory, and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), as well as tools to communicate efficiently with Honda. This strategy led Kamco to win American Honda’s on-time delivery award—nine years in a row. Other improvements include streamlined scheduling from two hours to just minutes, year-end inventory from two weeks to two days, and audit reporting from nearly 40 people on overtime for days to simply printing a report. The company also decided to leverage the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to work closely with Honda to enhance their products.

Leveraging Real-Time Data to Reach Near 100% On-Time Delivery

Argent International, a 3M Preferred Converter, specializes in the fabrication and distribution of unique adhesive and die-cut solutions. The company’s engineers are also problem-solvers who are always ready to develop custom solutions for any scenario. However, the ERP system used to track operations became too disruptive to upgrade and maintain. That’s when Argent chose manufacturing ERP in the cloud.

With that move, the company eliminated the $60,000 per year it was spending on maintenance, upgrades, and licenses—not to mention the never-ending need to buy more powerful hardware. Argent has also given real-time data to every one of its employees and that has had a positive effect on the bottom line. Weekly profit and loss numbers are displayed on a video monitor outside the company’s lunchroom so the company can stay on track for the month. With data at the fingertips of decision-makers, the Argent team can stop being reactive and start planning ahead to meet customers’ needs and the results speak for themselves: nearly 100 percent on-time delivery rates, 98 percent inventory accuracy, and 20 percent sales growth.

See how your manufacturing business can consistently deliver on customer demands while lowering costs, every time. Watch the webinar, Connected Manufacturing: The Backbone to Modern Manufacturers’ Challenges.

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