Over The Last Two Decades With The Falling Trade Barriers

Over the last two decades with the falling trade barriers led to massive shift of sourcing and manufacturing from high cost developed countries to China and India. India & China alone have about 2.5 billion consumers – a high potential market with growing amount of disposable income with access to plentiful skilled labor, low cost energy, transportation and labor cost. India become the natural choice for manufacturing hub. To be successful in today’s competitive markets, business need manufacturing process that care fast and adapt quickly to change. Achieving this objective requires integrated solutions that connect supply chain to factory processes, production equipment, and factory system in a seamless, customer-centric network. Over the past decade people have worked hard to reduce excess capacity and inventory fat. These initiatives have led to improvements in operational efficiency. They are important steps toward competitiveness.

To create a manufacturing process that is continuously adaptive, companies must – a) Intelligently leverage applications and technology to connect plan – execute – sense – respond – learn operation. a) Seamlessly link factory process, production equipment and factory system to supply chain operations. Manufacturing impacts profit margin by helping improve top line sales as well as reducing bottom line costs. It impacts sales revenue via enhanced throughput on the shop floor and faster time to market. There are two types of asset. Fixed asset commonly refer to machinery to equipment variable assets are raw-material, work-in-process (WIP) finish goods (FM) & Stores. Any efficiency achievable in these operations can have significant impact on company’s profitability.

In 1970s was the era of push manufacturing. At that time it was still a sellers market and companies were focused on building capacity. This push manufacturing decade was followed by team manufacturing. Popularized by the Japanese as just in time (JIT) or pull manufacturing, minimize all waste and produce quality product. Rework was considered as a worst waste.

The last 1980s and early 1990s witnessed flexible manufacturing practices. India was to respond to more volatile market. In manufacturing various options are available. One has to understand how manufacturing evolved and then to make the different manufacturing philosophies to manufacturing methods; namely (a) make to stock (b) assemble to order (c) make to order (d) engineer to order

All these methods have value depending upon the needs of business environment. Basic requirements of the companies are (a) Greater Operational Efficiency (b) Elimination of waste throughout the organization (c) Continuous improvement to achieve following benefits: • • • • • • • • • • • •

Reduce lead time Improve delivery performance Increase Sales Revenue Lower Operational Cost and profits Improve customer satisfaction and supplier relations Increase inventory turn and drastic reduction in inventory Better employee morale and increase employee retention Improved quality Reduction cost of goods sold, including scrap burden and labor Creation of additional working capital for new projects. Reduce physical space requirement Improve safety

There are many business drivers today that put added pressure on manufacturers to do more business with less overhead and cost. Today's increasingly competitive and challenging environment one can adopt following "TURN AROUND STRATEGIES FOR INDUSTRY". This will help us to meet increased global competition more demanding customer, a tighter economy and rising material cost.

Key Strategic issues PROCESS INNOVATION •

Outsourcing

•

Inventory reduction in RM, WIP, Stores, Finish Godown

•

Line setup time reduction

•

Natural grouping

•

Productivity

•

Production Increase (at constant value)

•

5 'S'

Key Strategic issues QUALITY IMPROVEMENT • • • •

Continuous Improvement Bench Marking Single piece flow (SPF) system Cost of Quality

• Defining •

Ask the most frightening and fundamental question to define the organisational goals. e.g. not just the usual questions about how we can do this operation better, but whether we should be doing it at all. e.g. outsourcing.

•

Define the standards and objectives from customer's point of view.

•

Define products and services from the point of view of what the customer wants, not from the point of view of what the company can do.

• Productivity • • •

Reduction in manpower. Increase in production. Plant layout change to minimise material handling.

• Outsourcing • • • •

Non-productive activities e.g. distribution, cleaning, gardening, security etc. Finish components. Tool Room activities. Semi-finishing machining operations.

• New Product Development •

Developing new products as per market demand.

• Bench Marking •

Setting world class standard in manufacturing.

• Continuous Improvement •

Adopting mistake proofing techniques.

•

Improving machine conditions by Kaizen, retrofitting, changing hydraulic circuits, converting the machine in NC / CNC controlled.

•

Increasing Ppk.

• Productivity • • •

Reduction in manpower. Increase in production. Plant layout change to minimise material handling.

• Outsourcing • • • •

Non-productive activities e.g. distribution, cleaning, gardening, security etc. Finish components. Tool Room activities. Semi-finishing machining operations.