The CIM Show at the NEC November 2001

Andrew Wilcox Consultancy

News

The CIM Show at the NEC November 2001

Yesterday I visited the CIM show, partly to update myself on CAD/DMS systems for a prospective client but also to keep up to date with the e-business world. It was obvious from my tour of the show and recent contacts, that the means of applying the Internet and other software to share information at speed throughout the supply chain is available (and if you believe what you see and hear, its working).

Its becomes clear from this, that those who do not invest in this technology, will not be providing the best customer, supplier, shareholder and employee service available. As a result they will begin to lose market share and profit margins. Their leading edge competitors will beat them hands down on speed to market, right first time and production cost.

The range of products is excessive (not just those shown at the show or listed below), so where would you start.

The Free End (possibly not a business solution)

Anyone can create a free website, send an email, start a bulletin board or a .

The Low Cost Route (but providing valuable short term benefits and limited functionality)

Sharing MindMaps via MindManager Enterprise Edition
Paying for fully hosted web service with File Transfer Protocol sites and Active Server Pages.

The Highly Functional Systems (Lots of value, investment and time required and easy to make expensive mistakes)

Document Management Systems such as:
- Lotus Notes
- SmarTeam's range of Information sharing and workflow products
Supply Chain Management
- iProcess.sct
- SAP
- Visual Manufacturing

Now even after this short visit and the discussions I had, I do not profess to be an expert on the systems mentioned but it is clear that I can provide a service to companies which is based on prior experience and tools which I am competent to apply. They are:

Working with the client and their stakeholders to find out the Users Requirement. The key here is the plural Users not User Requirement. What ever systems you employ to be effective, there will not just be a single user: the operator, the planner, the marketing department but there will be multiple users and they all need to make an input. The first tool I will use, is one which allows all the users to contribute equally to this process.

Selecting a system to do the job. No easy task when they all look the same. However there are techniques such as Quality Function Deployment to determine the key user requirements and Competency Based Interviewing to find out whether the supplier can do it.

Implementing the system. No mean task as you now want not just your department to use it but the whole supply chain. This will mean software deployment, hardware upgrades and most importantly training which encourages the new process to be used for competitive advantage. This requires excellent project and programme management.

Monitoring the results. Well was a good choice? Is everyone using it? Has it reduced cycle times, cost and improved service? I will make sure these measures are built in to the system requirements and automatically produce the reports.

The AWC has the knowledge to help you to do this and has a strong network who can help with the detail of each stage of this process. If you are overworked but recognise your business needs help to make this step change, please contact the AWC to see if we can help you make the leap.