A Project Example
A hospital is standing still; not a single surgery can be performed anymore, because the X-ray machine has broken. A Lufthansa airplane cannot take off in South Africa, because all spare parts are on stock except for the broken one. The cash machine of a bank does not dispense any money. The printing of the New York Times starts at 9 p.m. daily, it is delivered in the night; however, the printing machine is out of order.
All these examples have something in common: the supply chain has to function in a perfect manner. Only a running printing machine can print tomorrow’s newspaper, no money can be earned with a grounded airplane, and a hospital that stands still even jeopardizes lives.
Especially industrial products such as printing machines, X-ray devices and passenger planes are extremely cost-intensive and tie up capital. In the case of their failure it is often essential to solve the problem quickly. Response and repair times of just a few hours worldwide are often necessary and stipulated. A manufacturer of an X-ray machine, for example, is forced to repair the device within 3 hours in a particular hospital; otherwise he kicks himself out of this extremely competitive market. Competition is stiff.
But how can you organize this complex chain of processes, which requires appropriate warehousing, availability of spares at numerous sites worldwide and with thousands of possible kinds and probabilities of failure?
Organizing and planning a supply chain intelligently – i.e. professional supply chain management which really deserves its name – is a brain teaser with many variables:
We often start our projects by mapping out a strategy: Depending on the competitive environment, the requirements of the branch, the needs of the customer and the development of products and markets, we have to decide in which direction the journey is supposed to go.
After that processes are optimized, organization is re-structured and adjustments are made to the IT in order to support the new supply chain in an ideal manner. This is sometimes done with the help of tools and instruments, which can simulate different concepts for global networks and processes with all their pros and cons, costs and synergies etc.
How can repair within two hours be guaranteed at 120.000 sites worldwide? Is it better to centralize or to decentralize? Which parts break more often than others? What are e.g. the expiration dates for some electronic parts that are not allowed to be used in airplanes any longer? And, most of all: How can failures and defects be anticipated and avoided from the very beginning of the process chain, by backwards engineering and redesigning products?
These are questions that can only be answered by figures. No statement, no recommendation and no good business decision without a sound data base. The result is an optimized supply chain of a market leader who does not only offer an excellent product but also understands perfect after-sales service as a fundamental product component.
As consultants we support this process along the entire value chain with our expertise; from the innovative design of new products to the perfect management of e.g. a global service team which helps a Boeing 747 to get back in the air within two hours from any place in the world!
This gives our clients a lasting competitive advantage. Their names speak for themselves: Agfa, Daimler, Deutsche Bahn, Fujitsu Siemens, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, Linde, Lufthansa, Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, O2, Philips, Porsche, SAP, Vestas, Volkswagen and many more!
