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Implementations & projects
Global SIOP implementation
Aptiv selected Digitalsoft to support the implementation of more robust planning processes
Summary
Aptiv is a global technology company aiming to enable a safer, greener, more connected future of mobility and is supplying its products and solutions to all main global car manufacturers.
Aptiv’s business segment Advanced Safety & User Experience selected Digitalsoft to support the implementation of more robust planning processes (both monthly SIOP and weekly MPS) enhanced by our d-one platform.
Key goal of the project was to implement standardized planning processes and a single planning platform across the globe and enable data driven executive decision making and aligned business planning across all functions.
Business Challenges
At the beginning of the journey the customer was facing important customer delivery escalations
Material shortages from suppliers driven by frequently changed schedules and not correctly contracted capacity caused production line interruptions and delayed deliveries to customers
Plans were built within all various departments, but were not orchestrated and well aligned, hence less effective
As a result of the above, inventory was far higher than needed and draining working capital
Business outcomes
From 15 to 0
Customer escalations
30%
Customer Service level
satisfaction increase
10%
Reduction of Premium Cost
15%
Inventory reduced in 1 year
d-one helped us to strengthen the entire planning process from SIOP to daily execution. With Digitalsoft’s expertise in planning and starting from the core module of d-oneplan, we implemented a customizable solution that is helping us to improve the end to the end planning process. Working with Digitalsoft I can see fully applied the continuous improvement logic, together we are improving the planning processes day by day, supported by the d-one platform.
- Together with the team in Aptiv we developed a roadmap to implement step-by-step the new planning methodology
- Understanding all current processes to ensure best practices were kept and potential specificities in Aptiv’s business were captured, was our next step. This resulted in the new processes to be implemented and the d-one platform to perfectly fit Aptiv’s business needs
- Through the transparency d-oneplan provides with versioning of the plans, the team now started saving time and increasing quality of the plans by variation-based planning
- Implementation of the Demand planning module of d-oneplan was the first step to improve the planning process, providing clarity on the customer orderbook, customer forecasts, sales forecasts, and demand arbitration by customer service representatives
- The next step was to tie to the improved demand planning the weekly and monthly operations plans to ensure customer satisfaction as well as the internal inventory value targets, strengthened by d-oneplan’s Rough-Cut Capacity Planning (RCCP) to highlight future bottlenecks
- Through this increased transparency a strengthened alignment of business plans at executive level was achieved in the monthly Executive SIOP Reviews, leading to improved business results
- The implementation of d-oneplan required integration with Aptiv’s transactional ERP system (SAP) in a read-and-write mode
- To support visualization of the planning data and highlight the decisions required from management, we implemented as well the embedded easy to use reporting engine
- Full implementation of the new processes and d-oneplan took a little over 1 year
Processes innovation partnership
Aptar is a global manufacturer of consumer dispensing packaging and drug delivery devices
Summary
Aptar is a global manufacturer of consumer dispensing packaging and drug delivery devices. Their MES platform was created internally and customised as per business needs. The company was searching for a partner to start a Continuous Improvement Program, aimed to optimise the platform and linked processes.
Business Challenges
Platforms presenting outdated technology
Manage and coordinate various suppliers’ teams with different skills and seniorities
Improve the management of daily activities
Increase teamwork/coordination and knowledge sharing
Business outcomes
Improved product
backlog management
Improved collaboration between functional, development and testing team
Increased speed in delivery of new widgets
Improved development team productivity from 40% to 70% on average
The support of Digitalsoft proved crucial to provide solutions in the production department, optimizing timing and ensuring the quality of the product. Together with Digitalsoft, we are able to deliver stable solutions of our MES product, implementing Agile practices where customers and suppliers work together in a collaborative way.
- Digitalsoft helped Aptar to focus on functional design by taking over the management of all the development, test, deployment, and maintenance activities.
- The collaborative service approach was key to enable a successful improvement of all MES related processes.
- The key actions have been:
- Increased people empowerment and accountability to improve product quality.
- Enabling collaboration and interaction between business stakeholders and development teams throughout the project, particularly important during the Covid pandemic.
- Guarantee improved customer satisfaction and successful collaboration through software delivery in shorter and regular intervals.
- Starting from the methodologies already in use, Digitalsoft simplified and enhanced Aptar’s Management Operating System (MOS) as well as improving processes and daily activities typically related to Agile methodologies.
- Removal of inefficiencies of time-material approach through Lean Management
- Best practice assurance thru dedicated Experts in Delivery, Development and Testing, along with leveraging supply chain and technology competency, and a strengthened user experience thru Italian design.
Digitalsoft supported Aptar to deliver winning digital experiences on the shopfloor, leveraging new technologies, more in detail:
- Replatforming and modernizing of their in-house built MES, using:
- Server (Java 11 – Maven – Spring boot – Hibernate – JPA – Web services Restful Stateless – JSON – Lombok – MapStruct – Aspect – JUnit Tests – Mockito – Swagger – Eureka – Feign – Kafka)
- Client side (Angular)
- Database (SqlServer and PostegreSql)
- Architectures (DDD Event Sourcing – Layers – Security – Action Context – Functional logs)
- Versioning and Building (GIT – Jenkins)
- Rule (Docker – Kubernates – Rancher)
- Introduced automatic testing protocols to track issues in real-time.
The Factory digitization path
An innovative biotech company and its first steps in the digital transformation journey of its production process.
Summary
C Green AG is an innovative biotech company revolutionizing crop nutrition and protection solutions on the US market.
Starting from 5 groups of rare and potent natural active compounds, they are developing a new generation of products for modern agriculture: more quality yield within a healthier crop, with less chemical residue.
Business Challenges
The purpose of the project was to capture data and automate the reactors where their proprietary formulas are being processed, while still allowing the operator to intervene manually: all flexible and highly parametrizable processes.
Business outcomes
Optimized manufacturing processes thanks to full data traceability enabled by d-one
Increased people empowerment and reduced waste of time with clear work instruction based on data collection
Improved efficiency thru data reporting & analytics
A high five to Digitalsoft and its high skilled team. It was a lot of work but nothing comes out from nothing! Today we are rewarded and Digitalsoft helped us to reach another level of efficacy and productivity for our facility plant in Florida. Thank you all.
- We presented to the Customers 3 possible scenario solutions, evaluating through a comparison what could be the best for them.
- In order to renspond to all the customers needs, we evaluated not only their maturity and ambitions, but also all the aspects related to the chemical Industry in US (extremely complex prerequisites and strong regulation).
- For their Florida plant they have chosen d-one MES modules for: Shopfloor data collection system&manufacturing, Visual board, and finished goods labelling.
- All the tools can be handled by non-IT operators and allows:
- Monitoring of the following data:
- water meter and temperature
- PH meter (operator has to read the value and put it on d-one)
- Heating/cooling system,
- Process steps,
- Agitator motor
- Down/up time and reason codes (from PLC)
- Data traceability to track the product cycle life enabled by d-one
- Work instruction to the operator based on data collected from the reactor
- Labelling managed with d-one
- Data reporting & analytics – all features available based on the collected data
- We simplified the production daily activities by translating C-Green AG experience and innovativeness into equally functional and cutting-edge IT processes.
- With technologic advanced and user-friendly tools, the Customer reached the goal to optimize manufacturing processes, reducing wastes of time, increasing people empowerment and improving efficiency.
- The implementation started with the “CGreen Process walk-through” – the analysis of the current production process – and with the product capabilities comparison
- We defined and shared with the Customer the Development&implementation plan, in order to track in a clear and detailed way the path we would have walked together
- After the test and the fine-tuning, our support changed shape and size and we continued to help the customer, before the go-live, with the training and, post-go-live, assuring our sustain/presence.
- Full implementation of the d-one MES modules required a little over 5 months