Archive for aerospace & defense
NEWS RELEASE: A&D Firms Struggle with Inventory Accuracy
Aberdeen report offers insights into best-in-class ERP in A&D sector
CINCINNATI – Despite almost half of aerospace and defense (A&D) manufacturers citing cost reduction as a key business driver, the industry as a whole lags behind best-in-class standards for inventory level reduction and inventory accuracy, according to a recent research study completed by Aberdeen and Cincom Systems.
According to the jointly published report, “ERP in Aerospace and Defense” (www.cincom.com/aberdeen), A&D firms are most concerned with cost reduction and customer satisfaction (38%). Yet, A&D firms admit improvement is needed in controlling schedules and managing inventory—two factors that are absolutely critical to reducing cost and improving customer satisfaction.
In the report, Aberdeen offers insight into what most concerns A&D firms regarding ERP implementations and how to improve them.
Download this report to learn:
- The top strategic actions planned by A&D firms
- The performance of the A&D industry compared to similar industries
- The top key internal capabilities being evaluated for implementation
- The four initial steps toward improving ERP implementations and reaching best-in-class performance
To download “ERP in Aerospace and Defense,” visit www.cincom.com/aberdeen.
About Cincom
RELATED LINKS:
Cincom Systems web site
http://www.cincom.com
Cincom Enterprise manufacturing web site
http://www.cincomerp.com
Aberdeen ERP in Aerospace and Defense report
http://www.cincom.com/aberdeen
Media Contact:
Donna Hedge Burns
Corporate Public Relations
Cincom Systems
dburns@cincom.com
513-612-2305
Cincom Report: Manual Process Hurting Aerospace and Defense Industry
CINCINNATI ― July 02, 2009 ― Despite the relatively high level of project management automation that surveyed aerospace and defense (A&D) manufacturers have in place, few have automated the critically important request-for-quote (RFQ) process.
NEARLY 70% MANUALLY TRACK A&D SALES OPPORTUNITIES
Only 23% of manufacturers capture sales opportunities in a system that classifies, organizes and escalates them through an automated workflow system, while nearly 70% manually track them or have them in separate systems. This is according to a 2009 research report by software maker Cincom Systems (www.cincom.com/acquire) based on a national survey to sales and IT executives that sheds light on how these aerospace and defense organizations are managing their businesses for increased efficiency and effectiveness.
SEPARATE, MANUALLY UPDATED CATALOGS PREVAIL
Aerospace and defense (A&D) manufacturing survey respondents overwhelmingly (61%) had separate catalogs for product, pricing and sales data, with many of their records being manually updated. With AMR Research predicting that maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services will become the majority of A&D revenues by 2010, the lack of accurate catalogs may hurt aerospace and defense manufacturers’ ability to maximize profit.
“Separate catalogs for product, pricing and sales data drastically slow down the selling cycles for spare parts and can lead to lost sales over time,” says Louis Columbus, co-author of the Cincom report. “MRO products are for the most part pure profit, so not having these systems integrated costs the company profitability big time.”
PREDICTIVE GUIDED-SELLING NON-EXISTENT
No single aerospace and defense (A&D) manufacturer surveyed used a predictive, guided selling system to present the best possible product combinations to customers based on their preferences and profiles. In the MRO setting, this type of guided selling system would be used for selling replacement parts.
“If you are a mechanic working on a jet engine and you wanted to get this one part, you would have to call your rep and give them the part number out of the catalog over the phone,” says Columbus. “A guided selling system would take the engine type, even serial number, and then specify not only that part but any additional parts about to go out as well.
“A guided selling system can increase the speed of repairs since they find out what they need faster,” continued Columbus. “Best of all, the increased productivity means A&D manufacturers can sell more repair work to the same group of mechanics.”
For a copy of Cincom’s report visit “2009 Aerospace and Defense Industry Survey Report,” ( http://www.cincom.com/ADebook.)
RELATED LINKS:
Cincom Acquire manufacturing web site: http://www.cincomacquire.com
Cincom Enterprise manufacturing web site: http://www.cincomerp.com
###
About Cincom Systems
For 40 years, Cincom’s problem-solving software, services and people have helped thousands of companies all over the world grow and manage their businesses. For more information about Cincom’s products and services, contact Cincom at 1-800-2CINCOM (USA only), send an e-mail to info@cincom.com, or visit the company’s website at www.cincom.com.
Media Contacts:
Steve Kayser
Cincom Systems, Inc.
513.612.2348
skayser@cincom.com
Cincom, the Quadrant Logo, and Cincom Acquire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cincom Systems, Inc. All other trademarks belong to their respective companies.
© 2009 Cincom Systems, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
NEWS RELEASE: Cincom Report: Gap Widening Between Aerospace and Defense “Haves” and “Have Nots”
CINCINNATI, Ohio – June 17, 2009 – Only 23% of aerospace and defense (A&D) manufacturers surveyed have implemented demand-driven manufacturing tactics such as electronic Kanban, lean manufacturing techniques and shared business processes.
Lean Manufacturing Lacking in A&D Industry
This is according to a 2009 research report by software maker Cincom Systems (www.cincom.com/acquire) based on a national survey to sales and IT executives. The findings show how A&D organizations are managing their businesses for increased efficiency and effectiveness.
Aerospace & Defense: How to Transform Customer-Centered Change into Profit
Redundancy Rules for Mixed-Mode Manufacturing
Nearly 50% of A&D manufacturers rely on redundant data input (limited amount of shared data between manufacturing modes) to manage their mixed-mode manufacturing processes. Other preferred processes included electronic Kanban/lean manufacturing (23%) and manual processes (8%), with the fewest respondents using an automated, integrated system.
Redundant input processes not only increase the likelihood of errors, but translate to multiple payments for the same process, according to Lou Washington, Cincom senior marketing analyst and co-author of the Cincom report. “A&D manufacturers should focus on getting order-capture, order-status and order-management processes as efficient as possible first and then automating them. This frees up one of the most valuable resources companies have — the time to address customers’ unmet needs and invest in becoming a trusted advisor.”
Lack of Lean Project Management
“Not having integrated project management to guide lean manufacturing is a lot like trying to steer a ship across the Atlantic without a compass,” said Washington. Yet, only 8% of those surveyed use integrated project management with lean manufacturing. This egregious gap could be filled by the other 92% implementing some form of real-time reporting with their project-management process.
Most Don’t Integrate with Other Crucial Systems
Slightly more than one-third of A&D manufacturers surveyed (38%) have project-management integration with accounting, finance or customer-management systems. However, this means that nearly two-thirds (62%) have no project-management integration with these systems. This creates a gap between advanced manufacturers who can create profit and loss statements per project and those who lack insight into their projects’ profitability.
For a copy of Cincom’s “2009 Aerospace and Defense Industry Survey Report,” visit www.cincom.com/ADebook.
About Cincom Systems
For 40 years, Cincom’s problem-solving software, services and people have helped thousands of companies all over the world grow and manage their businesses. For more information about Cincom’s products and services, contact Cincom at 1-800-2CINCOM (USA only), send an e-mail to info@cincom.com, or visit the company’s website at www.cincom.com.
RELATED LINKS:
Cincom Acquire manufacturing website
Cincom Enterprise manufacturing website
Media Contact:
Steve Kayser
Dir. Public Relations
Cincom Systems
513.612.2348
NEWS RELEASE: Thales Australia Upgrades to Latest Cincom ERP Enterprise System
Australia — Worldwide software provider, Cincom Systems (www.cincom.com.au), latest enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, CONTROL(TM), has improved productivity and user performance while dramatically reducing report production at Thales Australia. At the highest point, there were previously more than 300 reports, but through an audit and review process, as well as the use of CONTROL’s List Based Pages, this number has reduced significantly with a current target of approximately 80-100 production reports.
For the past 15 years, Cincom has provided its CONTROL ERP to Thales as the backbone to various services Thales provides to a wide range of aerospace, defence and security customers, including the Australian Defence Force.
The upgrade project ran for approximately seven months, with the combined project teams from Thales and Cincom operating on a co-location basis at Thales’s Rydalmere facility in NSW. The project was delivered within budget and on time. This release of Cincom’s CONTROL ERP means that Thales now has access to the latest innovations in product capability and technology for its business systems. The project’s success is also due to the project management process adopted by Thales and Cincom. All users were informed along the way on project progress, with the project team keeping its finger on the pulse at all times through user feedback during the entire process.
With the rollout and adoption of this latest technology from Cincom, one of the major benefits for Thales has been to further improve its business processes, user responsiveness and processing times, and to reduce reports from approximately 300 to 80.
In addition to this huge reduction in reports, the other benefits of the CONTROL technology upgrade include:
- Lower ongoing costs
- An easy-to-deploy user environment
- System failure risk reduction
- Improved application performance
“Working with Cincom and using the latest system has delivered results and engendered a good team spirit within our organization,” said Robert Plant, Thales Group Manager Business Systems. “Even with hindsight, we would not have done things any differently,” he added.
Cincom Regional Director Greg Mills stated, “The success of this project is a testament to the close long-term relationship that Cincom and Thales have built over the past 15 years. Cincom is proud to be able to provide its CONTROL ERP to Thales as the backbone to the various services it provides to the Australian Defence Force and commercial customers.”
Cincom’s CONTROL is an event-enabled environment through Cincom’s ENVIRON(R), which drives business processes across multiple systems of record, supporting a company’s enterprise performance management strategy.
About Thales
Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing aerospace and space, defence and security markets worldwide. The group’s civil and military businesses develop in parallel and share a common base of technologies to serve a single objective: the security of people, property and nations.
Thales Australia is a trusted partner of the Australian Defence Force and is also present in commercial sectors ranging from air-traffic management to security systems and services. Employing around 3,500 people in over 35 sites across the country, Thales Australia recorded revenues of more than AUD 1 billion in 2008.
About Cincom
For 40 years, Cincom’s problem-solving software, services, and people have helped thousands of companies all over the world grow and manage their businesses. For more information about Cincom’s products and services, contact Cincom Systems of Australia at 02-8875 1400, send an e-mail to sjaber@cincom.com, or visit the company’s website at www.cincom.com.au.
Cincom, the Quadrant Logo, CONTROL, and ENVIRON are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cincom Systems, Inc. All other trademarks belong to their respective companies.
(c) 2009 Cincom Systems, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
