LinkedIn post 1
CTO+ & PLM-CPQ-ERP - Why Hybrid Modular Kits are the future!
The idea of modular kits is nothing new. It started with the modular parts list long before CAx or PDM became an issue in the industry.
2000s
As PDM systems slowly became established in the discrete industry in the 2000s, engineering modular kits in the form of CAD structures or CAD BOMs also became increasingly established, bringing with them greater standardization and simplified drawing creation.
2010s
In the 2010s, the topic of EBOM came up more and more frequently. In my opinion, there were two main reasons for this: 1. it was necessary to move closer to the supply chain and to record the material numbers derived from the drawings in the EBOM. 2. modular kits require a functional structural organization. The mixed structures of EBOM and MBOM came more and more under pressure, and the M-BOM discussion began.
Around 2014, the discussion about the mechatronic parts list also began. The products became smarter. E-parts and software were still not available in the EBOM. Engineers became aware of the question of how to set up a mechatronic parts list semantically correctly.
2020s
In the 2020s, the discussion about how ERP and PLM systems interact became increasingly intense. This goes far beyond the technical system interface between PLM and ERP. In many industrial discussions, a completely new approach to modular systems is now being discussed. It could also be described as a paradigm shift in the modular system. We at RIM have given it the name Hybrid Modular Kit. In contrast to previous kits, a Hybrid Modular Kit is already industrialized in the factory network! Order development no longer begins in engineering, but is controlled via the supply chain. Only the open or CTO+ parts of the modular kit are subsequently industrialized in the event of an order. Hybrid kits also have the ability to grow. This means that order-specific parts can be flexibly incorporated into the modular system or not.
I am firmly convinced that the future viability of the discrete industry lies in the ability to implement hybrid modular kits. They close the gap between development and the supply chain and are therefore a prerequisite for issues such as sustainability and traceability. In addition, this makes it possible to produce the components of the kit in an international network of plants and to control the logistical behavior of the supply chain directly and precisely from the kit.
This creates a extraordinary leap in competitive advantage & time leadership.
Click here for another Blog postwhich also deals with this topic.
#Innovation #SupplyChain #Engineering #PLM #ERP #Sustainability #FutureOfIndustry
LinkedIn post 2
The Secrets of CTO+
Engineering vs. Hybrid Modular Kit
And why the Chief Operating Officer (COO) will request Hybrid Modular Kits from the Chief Technical Officer (CTO)!
So what is the difference between these types of kit?
CTO+ with Engineering Modular Kit
An engineering modular kit is a construction kit that is created from an engineering perspective. Nowadays mostly designed as a mechatronic modular kit, it contains the engineering parts and is often realized with engineering configuration rules in PLM. In the case of a request/order (see image), the order processing process is controlled by/from development. Once it has passed through development, a lengthy industrialization process begins, which must be repeated for each order. This procedure is characterized by frequent changes that increase the effort involved. On the one hand due to customer requests, on the other hand because many design changes have unexpected consequences in industrial engineering and cannot be implemented as planned by engineering.
CTO+ with Hybrid Modular Kit
In contrast to previous kits, a Hybrid Modular Kit is already industrialized in the factory network! In this case, order development is controlled via the supply chain. The industrialized modular kit is fully mapped with configuration rules. This includes sales, engineering, production and production control rules. The CTO+ parts of the modular system are extracted and developed in the event of an order. Fully industrialized components are provided to the development department as a reference so that they can be reused. The hybrid modular system also has the ability to grow. This means that order-specific components can be flexibly incorporated into the modular system.
So where does the trend towards the Hybrid Modular Kit come from?
The pressure arises in the supply chain. Due to the fragility of supply chains, increasingly stringent legal requirements and sustainability requirements that vary from region to region, companies are responding by setting up a network of plants. This is characterized by component plants, assembly plants and plants for local customizing. In order to be able to map and control the plant network, the products in the plant network must be industrialized. If this happens during the order, the loss of time is so great that many orders are lost.
👉 This is also the reason why the Chief Operating Officer (COO) will request the Hybrid Modular Kits from the Chief Technical Officer (CTO). Quite simply to keep the supply chain manageable and remove the speed limits imposed by the Engineering Modular Kit.
🤔 What do you think?
LinkedIn post 3
CTO+ with design automation - the supreme case of nested cases and the power of hybrid modular kits
We had the opportunity to spend two days in one of our RIM methodology workshops with some key players from the Barnes Group Inc. to talk about the future of the digital supply chain.
The Barnes Group Inc. has what I consider to be a very strong claim to changing the world with technology. They are developing first-class production capacities, especially for hot runners and injection molds.
In our workshop, we discussed future approaches to the complete (partial) automation of the supply chain and, in particular, how it is technically possible to make large parts of the portfolio configurable for sales and customers.
Many companies would now look at the issue superficially and buy a CPQ system. However, this solves the issue superficially at best.
The topic will only become groundbreaking when the entire digital supply chain can be supplied consistently via configuration as well as with parts of the classic ETO. One particular requirement that we repeatedly hear from customers is to supply the supply chain in the plant network in such a way that it can breathe across locations in terms of capacity.
So this is a perfect case: CTO+ with design automation components with distributed production in the plant network.
The key to solving this problem is what we call the hybrid modular system. By hybrid modular system, we mean a modular system that is already largely industrialized and is available ready for retrieval in the ERP or ERP-related PLM for the plant network.
This differs fundamentally from the much-discussed approach to date, which is based on a pure engineering kit that is available in PLM, which then has to be industrialized at great expense in the event of an order and cannot be scaled in the plant network.
Sounds complicated? It is. You could also simplify it by saying it is challenging and can be solved, especially with existing technology.
The basic approach is to structure the product according to Product Process Use Cases (P2UC). In concrete terms, this means that CTO+ for the entire product then becomes CTO, STO and ETO-DA parts in the product structure, which then have a corresponding controlling effect on the supply chain.
From our perspective, this is one of the most exciting topics and, above all, the one with the greatest potential. The approach forms the basis for sales to significantly increase order intactness and at the same time enables highly automated processing in the supply chain, which is resource-efficient and significantly shortens throughput times.
The discussion with the Barnes team was a lot of fun. It is always great to discuss at the highest level with industry practitioners.