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Tokai Rubber Industries, Japan, has been producing anti-vibration parts for the automotive industry for the past 12 years. Its Polish plant, TRI Poland Sp. z o.o., was opened in 1999 in Wolbrom, and provides parts for Toyota’s factories in France, England and Turkey, as well as Honda in England and Isuzu in Poland. With approximately 100 employees, almost 90% of its production is exported. With IFS Applications the company has integrated its supply chain, manufacturing and order fulfillment. It also added EDI functionality and a flexible MRP model.
The challenge
With suppliers in Asia, production in Poland and distribution
centers in France and the U.K., TRI Poland required scalable,
flexible business applications that would meet the communication
standards of the automotive industry, especially EDIFACT and
ODETTE, while ensuring that the company’s complex supply chain was
as streamlined as possible. Moreover, TRI wanted to implement the
solution at the same time as the Polish plant was set up so as to
guarantee the efficiency of operations from the start. Maciej Pisarski, logistics coordinator at TRI, explains, “We
have a situation that is rare in Polish market. We work here, our
products originate here and it is here that we must plan our
production. However, 90% of our suppliers come from Asia and the
rest are from Poland—and our main customers are from the West.
Delivery times are often very extended, making planning really
difficult. We had to be sure that the business software we
purchased could handle the range of companies involved.” The solution
When the plant was opened, the company had already decided which system to use. Particular attention was paid to the functionality of the selected solution, the ease of configuring the electronic data exchange module (EDI) and the flexibility of the
system, making it possible to adapt to the firm’s specific requirements. IFS Applications met all of these requirements and offered the added benefit of an experienced and strong local team of consultants and programmers.
Implementation
Maciej Pisarski comments, “We set up the company and implemented
the solution simultaneously according to an approved schedule. From
the start we established close collaboration with IFS both with
regard to delivery of the server and computer network and the
choice of supplier for EDI services. We purchased modules for
financials, distribution and manufacturing, and, of course, for
EDI. Three months after the start of the project, IFS Financials
was launched. Three months later materials for a test production
run was arranged, with the IFS/Inventory module going live. The
sales module was then launched in connection with a test dispatch
of parts to Toyota in France.” The manufacturing solution is currently in an advanced phase of
implementation. For the moment, the data required to calculate
material requirements and plan production are obtained from the IFS
software, processed outside the system and then introduced back
into system in the form of proposals or orders. Benefits
The system has now been operating two years. The financials and
distribution solutions are fully operational, as is the EDI module.
An essential element in the delivery chain is the electronic data
exchange system. The two most common standards used by our
customers are EDI-EDIFACT and ODETTE. TRI Poland has two distribution centers, in France and England.
Communication with customers takes place by means of a global EDI
network and the Internet, via EDI Web. Distribution centers are
indispensable, because the time required to fulfill an order from
the moment it is received is 12 hours, and delivery is carried out
in the Just-In-Time (JIT) mode. IFS Applications is a major factor
in enabling TRI to meet these commitments. Another benefit of IFS Applications is the integration between
the different modules that enables single entry of data to update
the entire system. Maciej Pisarski explains, “Our warehouses are
located in the vicinity of our customers’ factories. Each product
delivered from Wolbrom to a warehouse is recorded electronically.
Products issued from a warehouse are recorded in the distribution
centers and on site on the basis of an EDI message received from
the customer and are also automatically recorded by us in IFS
Applications. Every order from a customer via EDI is received
simultaneously by us here and by our warehouses in France or
England. In this way, we always know the exact status of our
inventory. Information on sales and inventory is very important to
help us adapt our production level to demand and maintain
production continuity. This way we minimize the costs incurred due
to production stoppage. Moreover, the capability to check our
inventory has greatly enhanced the efficiency and quality of our
distribution system.” The manufacturing component, when it goes live, “will enable us
to eliminate almost 80% of our present work”, according to Maciej
Pisarski. Manufacturing control, currently done almost entirely by
hand, will be automated, and computerization will extend all the
way down to the shop floor. TRI uses Kanban labels, which accompany
components through every stage of their production. The labels
contain a history of the product and are used for control purposes
until the finished component is delivered to the warehouse on the
basis of a production order. TRI will also be able to automate work
schedules and calculate the output of each work position on a daily
basis. Maciej Pisarski adds, “We have not fully utilized the potential
of the solution yet, but we have been successively enjoying more
and more of its benefits. We use many of the predefined, standard
reports available in the software. We also prepare company-
specific reports to meet internal accounting requirements. We
purchased the IFS Crystal Reports tool that is integrated with the
system so we can now generate these reports ourselves.” As the company plans to develop its operations, double its
workforce and considerably enlarge its plant, new applications from
IFS will be added. Maciej Pisarski concludes, “We intend to
purchase IFS Maintenance. With the increased number of machines in
operation, maintenance software will be necessary to guarantee
failure-free operation of the manufacturing system.” Software
IFS Financials
IFS Distribution
IFS Manufacturing
IFS Connectivity Hardware
Oracle 8i databases system
Windows NT operating system
Compaq (Xeon/550 MHz) dual processor server
Workstations (Pentium III/550 MHz) operating in the Windows 98 environment, 30 simultaneous users
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