Siemens Production Planning Case Study

Siemens augments ERP systems with Orchestrate production scheduling software to simplify production planning and cut costs.

Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics manufactures world-leading laboratory equipment, ranging from automated haematology to immuno diagnostics. The process involves complex planning and scheduling activities around the production of minute multi-coated beads. Like so many large organisations, the group has invested in a comprehensive ERP solution to manage their extensive corporate-wide activities. And, like so many large companies, has discovered that certain niche activities are better managed using stand-alone dedicated systems. The Healthcare Diagnostics company in Llanberis, Wales is using Orchestrate production planning software very successfully to manage the complex planning required to schedule bead manufacturing.

The challenge

Although the concept is simple, planning and scheduling the manufacture of diagnostic beads can be likened to working on a three dimensional jigsaw. There are two related processes – first coating the beads with organic and non-organic substances and then drying them. The complications arise from competing demands for production and drying equipment, where timing is essential. Batches are unable to wait between process steps or the batch will not meet its strict quality margins. To complicate the issue, coating time is measured in days, specific machines are validated for only certain coatings, and organic coatings have a limited life, sometimes involving critical incubation times for enzymes. Scheduling the batches in the most efficient routing leaves no room for failure, or the batch could be lost.

Before implementing Orchestrate, schedulers were spending between 20 and 30 hours a week compiling schedules for beads and their buffer stocks of coatings. The complexities involved imposed a week-and-a-half scheduling horizon, an obvious restriction on flexibility.

On a continuous shift system, as many as 50 different people working in separate rooms needed access to the schedules, and these were communicated by email and displayed on a large central whiteboard. Inevitably, this led to the possibility of multiple version of the schedule on the shop floor, deviations to the schedule, missed tasks and considerable scope for human error.

The Solution

In  January 2012 the company implemented Orchestrate production scheduling software, linked to a giant touch-screen planning board that displays the current schedule in real time. Planned times are automatically replaced by actual times, critical tasks highlighted and automated alerts identify potentially missed operations.

Orchestrate sits comfortably beside the company’s SAP  system, which provides input in the form of MRP requirements. It has not been necessary to integrate the systems.

Since implementation the time taken in scheduling has been cut by 66%, representing a saving of £20,000 a year. More importantly, it has relieved key staff from a demanding but mechanical task, allowing them to devote more time to other key operations.

Multiple versions of the schedule have been eliminated, with a single version of Orchestrate production planning software displayed on an interactive SMART board. It displays a rolling Gantt chart in real-time, automatically scrolling as time progresses, which means it can be left running on-screen without any operator intervention.

Communications have been streamlined and the potential for errors, shop floor staff working with outdated information, missed tasks and lost product removed. Lost product due to unavailability of critical manufacturing resources has been cut, saving £40,000 a year.

Incubation times can now be monitored in real time, improving the quality of information displayed. Where previously, batches had to be planned a week ahead and changes simply not feasible because of the complexity of working with spreadsheets, now changes can be implemented within 24 .

Within Orchestrate, actual times are tracked and should a task status not be updated to ‘started’ or ‘finished’, the resource will automatically be highlighted in red as an alarm signal to the operator that the task should have started or completed.

The raw coatings, or buffers, are manufactured in different batch sizes to the production coating process, making the planning of buffer solutions very complex. Orchestrate production planning software provides a standard report that details which buffers are required and when to meet demand from the production batches.

 “The system is so demonstrably better than our previous approach and was cost justified in just six months,” says Ian Owen, Production Scheduler. “The systems specialists at Production Modelling very quickly understood our requirements and had a working prototype live within about one week. The real message is that the system has made life so much simpler, as well as making the whole planning process more effective.”

“We have been working with Production Modelling now for more than four years and we have a number of new projects in the pipeline, expanding the use of Orchestrate to different areas within the organisation. It’s a great partnership”

Key Benefits

• £60K minimum costs saving per annum
• 15 hours a week saving in scheduling time
• 5 day reduction to a 1 day scheduling to production lead time
• One live version of Orchestrate displayed on interactive SMART board
• Built in incubation time allowances
• Built in alarm to indicate possibility of missed tasks
• Automatic intermediate buffer solution report

Now Hiring - Technical Consultant

Production Modelling is seeking a technically competent, business-aware consultant to join an innovative team focused on the further deployment of Orchestrate and associated application software products.

Duties and Responsibilities

Initially the successful applicant will be expected to:

• Participate in client meetings to understand and develop a requirements specification 
• Develop software or models that meet the specification
• Work to realistic but challenging deadlines
• Proactively suggest enhancements to our products and services
• Document existing solutions as well as the solutions that you develop.
• Provide telephone and web support to clients.

Requirements:

Consulting projects include delivering discrete event simulation and production scheduling software solutions for customers in the UK, Europe and USA. Production Modelling values building strong relationships with its new and existing customers and is focussed on exceeding expectations.

The successful applicant will be highly numerate, and this will most likely be evidenced with a degree (or equivalent qualification) in an appropriate discipline.

The applicant must have good interpersonal skills, and will be able to demonstrate a capability of dealing directly with clients. A logical train of thought is required to synthesise client requirements and formulate matching, cost effective solutions. To assist this process it would be desirable for the applicant to have some experience or knowledge of manufacturing and / or planning and scheduling.

The applicant must be able to translate real systems into the terms that are typically used in a simulation modelling language. This is a skill that is essential in building simulation models.

Ideally the successful applicant will also have some knowledge and experience of simulation software languages.
In any event the successful applicant will need to demonstrate technical competence using one or more of C++, C# or Visual Basic, together with SQL queries and the Microsoft .NET framework. In addition a core competence with Microsoft office programs such as Excel, Word, Access and PowerPoint will be required.

The position is based at our offices at the University of Warwick Science Park in Coventry and may require some travel within Europe and USA.

A full driving license is essential.

Competitive salary and bonus.

Closing Date: 1st October 2012

If you are interested in joining a dynamic team within a progressive growing company, we look forward to hearing from you. Please send your CV to careers@simulation.co.uk.

Sourcing and Selecting Production Scheduling Software

The Internet Enabled Partnership Approach to Sourcing and Selecting Production Scheduling Software

Most of us appreciate the “Try before you buy” option that the Internet provides when it comes to evaluating personal or even light business use software. The reason is clear - it allows us to evaluate the software’s suitability, in our own time, convenience and situation, before having to part with any actual money. Production Modelling, a UK specialist supplier of production scheduling software, recently took the innovative step of bringing this model into the more complex world of production scheduling software. Not only does the company make available its production planning and scheduling solution, Orchestrate, on a free trial basis, a number of customers have gone on to successfully implement the system.

Mike Straiton, Sales and Marketing Director for Production Modelling, explains the rationale behind this. “Time is money for every business which is why companies have long since used the Internet for research-based activities such as identifying potential solutions and drawing up supplier shortlists. We have simply extended the logic of this by using the Internet to build partnerships with potential customers to further reduce the time and cost involved in the sales and implementation cycle of this type of software. This can extend to days if not weeks of key personnel being subjected to endless sales presentations instead of fulfilling their primary role in the business. We have always recognised that many of these companies want a partnership approach which is based on trust, understanding and working with each company to help them see for themselves how they will get the best from their investment. By allowing customers to use Orchestrate production scheduling software with their own data, they can quickly see for themselves how configurable it is, how easy it is to use, and to evaluate the potential benefits it will deliver to their business.”

But while it’s one thing to download and use a trial version of, for example, a file conversion or data sharing program, it’s another to do the same with a complex production scheduling solution on which an entire company relies. Making a mistake with the former can undoubtedly cause some inconvenience whereas in the case of the latter it could be the last mistake a company ever makes. You might therefore expect the type of companies which have taken advantage of this to be limited to small, simple engineering/production facilities. But you’d be wrong. Recent Production Modelling customers who have sourced, trialled and successfully implemented Orchestrate via the Internet include Pankl Engine Systems, a leading designer and manufacturer of motorsport high-end crankshafts and BE Aerospace (B/E) Super First Class Division, the world’s leading provider of interior products and solutions for the commercial, business jet and military markets. The latter implementing Orchestrate this way to create an integrated scheduling and capacity plan across 3 sites in 2 countries.

For Straiton, this comes down to three key reasons.

(1)    The ability to try the system how you would use it – with your own data.

Every software solution looks like the best in its own, controlled environment, with its own test data. Trying it in your own situation with your own data can be a very different experience, which is why not everyone is keen for you to ‘try before you buy’. B/E found this to be very much the case with many systems appearing to deliver what was required. But all was not what it seemed. The company looked at 8-10 systems and saw many presentations but when it started asking to see whether the system could work the way we needed it to, none of the suppliers could provide the company with a scenario that showed this. The partnership approach of Production Modelling provided a completely different response. Not only did it provide B/E with a demo-version of the software to fully evaluate, it also built a bespoke demo based on B/E’s own data which essentially replicated the company’s production at a high level. This gave B/E a huge amount of confidence – essential given that the company was looking to implement the system across 3 sites in 2 countries.

(2)    The intuitive, easy to learn and use nature of the system.

The best piece of software in the world is of little use if it’s overly complicated to use. Because Orchestrate had been developed with ease of use in mind, despite its underlying complexity, it appealed to both B/E and Pankl. This combined with the partnership approach of Production Modelling providing a bespoke demo gave B/E the confidence required to self-implement. This was complemented by expert tuition in the use of the software, delivered via a number of web demos, and access to what B/E describes as an excellent support network and help files. It’s a very similar situation with Pankl where the team’s ability to work closely with Production Modelling to generate and fine tune the required data for Orchestrate production scheduling software combined with the system being so easy to pick up meant that the team largely self-taught itself how to use it. Production Modelling was always there to provide assistance and because everyone worked closely together every step of the way, Production Modelling was able to input and check everything that was being done.

(3)    Orchestrate production scheduling software results speak for themselves

The most intuitive piece of software is of little use if it doesn’t actually deliver. Arguably the fact that both B/E and Pankl successfully selected and implemented the system is the most ringing endorsement of this approach. Thanks to Orchestrate, B/E has much greater visibility across all 3 sites, improved scheduling efficiency and can now introduce new orders without interrupting existing business. What’s more, it achieved all this in a matter of months while avoiding installation costs. A spokesperson for B/E commented, “From the outset, Production Modelling’s partnership approach combined with the intuitive, flexible nature of Orchestrate has enabled us to get the best from our investment. Not only are we now able to schedule more efficiently across all sites, we can take on new business with increased confidence which is essential to our ongoing growth and success.”

At Pankl, the team can now see the bigger picture of what is happening and where, as well as accurately pick what job to do and when. The levels of scenario planning that were impossible before are now available in real time and this makes decision making much quicker and more accurate. In fact, the increased accuracy and visibility that this brings have enabled Pankl to confidently increase its planning horizon by a further 25%. In terms of actual time saved, this represents at least 20 hours per week which over a year equals 1040 hours, or 43 days. The Pankl Production Team concludes, “We’ve got loads of things to try but we’re taking it one step at a time and getting each step right. We have a saying and we are proving it at each stage: ‘Do what Orchestrate says and everything will be good.’”

Straiton is the first to acknowledge that this approach won’t be right for every business. “There will”, he says, “always be companies that need to or might prefer to select and implement software in a more traditional way. For such companies, we will continue to use our years of experience to meet these needs. We anticipate that our Internet enabled partnership approach is one that will increasingly be of interest to companies that are actively looking for a leaner, more cost-effective method of selecting and implementing complex production scheduling solution. We are delighted that a number of them are already enjoying the benefits of such an approach.”

Orchestrate Delivers First Class Scheduling for B/E Aerospace

Introduction/Overview

Creating an integrated scheduling and capacity plan across 3 sites in 2 countries is a key challenge for BE Aerospace (B/E) Super First Class Division, the world’s leading provider of interior products and solutions for the commercial, business jet and military markets. Orchestrate production scheduling software from UK specialist Production Modelling provides B/E SFC the ability to ensure production across 3 sites aligns so that individual components involved is at the right place, in the right order, at the right time. Production Modelling’s partnership approach demonstrated at each step how the system would work with B/E’s processes and data. And, because Orchestrate is so intuitive to understand and easy to use, B/E configured and implemented it themselves in a matter of a few months, thereby avoiding installation costs. Thanks to Orchestrate, B/E has much greater visibility across all 3 sites, improved scheduling efficiency and can now introduce new orders without interrupting existing business.

The Challenges: Managing Multi-Site Complex Assembly

B/E produces customizable and prestigious Super First Class (SFC) interior for prestigious customers including Emirates, Qantas and British Airways, with each seating solution contains individual components from all 3 manufacturing sites. The process steps range in complexity across the three manufacturing/assembly sites, and ensuring that the right components are in place at the right time is critical to the B/E’s success. While final assembly takes place in Tucson, Arizona, this is dependent on operations being completed on time at the company’s Miami, Florida and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico sites. In addition to managing the 500 skilled employees across multiple business sites involved in the production of each finished unit, time to produce in-house manufactured parts as well as source external purchased parts all have to be accurately taken into consideration to avoid costly delays. Orders range from recurring business which can extend up to six years in advance to unique seating solutions that have to slot into existing workflow.

Three of the biggest challenges the SFC division faces are in managing workflow, capacity, and new business. Challenges that spreadsheets have been increasingly unable to deal with due to the very strong growth B/E has experienced over the past three years. “The past three years have seen us grow from a 300 employee operation to now having over 500 employees in our business unit across multiple sites.”

Why Spreadsheets Fail

Prior to the rapid business growth, all scheduling was handled by a range of spreadsheets. As the business grew however, so did the size and complexity of the spreadsheets involved as James explains. “By 2012, the number of product groups we would be working on at any time had doubled. We had a separate spreadsheet for Miami, Nogales and Tucson, all of which had to be updated manually, and all of which were on top of the data stored in our ERP system. We had multiple ways of communication to get the same data but often different spreadsheets had different data because nothing was consolidated. The increasing time this took combined with the inaccuracy of the data began to impact our On Time delivery capabilities. And for a business like ours, On Time deliveries are essential. Now, with Orchestrate, all data across each site is consolidated into one source from which clear, concise and accurate information can be quickly extracted which has positively impacted our On-Time delivery capabilities.”

The other area where Orchestrate production scheduling software excels and spreadsheets failed was in trying to view and create capacity for future orders. James again, “Given that every day, everything moves which impacts every other process step, this was difficult to achieve quickly with Excel - we simply couldn’t see the impact of decisions on the rest of the business. We would say yes and then do whatever it took to deliver, even if this had a negative impact on other existing orders. Now with Orchestrate, not only can we see what capacity we have available, we can see the range of finite possibilities we have to fulfil any new orders. Orchestrate offers us more than simple visibility – it gives us options and the intelligence we need to make the best decision for the company as a whole.”

Why Orchestrate production scheduling software and Why the Internet?

Like most companies, B/E used the power of the Internet to identify potential solutions. Unlike most companies, B/E then used the Internet to source, purchase and implement Orchestrate from Production Modelling. With considerable experience in master scheduling within the Automotive Sector, James was brought into B/E in Sept 2011 and assigned the task of finding a powerful yet flexible scheduling solution that met the company’s many demanding objectives and also its budget. Many systems appeared to deliver what was required but as James explains, all was not what it seemed. “I looked at 8 to 10 systems and saw many presentations but when I started asking questions about wanting to see the system do what we want and whether it could work the way we needed it to, the companies concerned couldn’t provide us with a scenario that showed this.”

Production Modelling provided a completely different response. Not only did Production Modelling provide James with a demo-version of the software to fully evaluate, the company also built a bespoke demo based on B/E’s own data which essentially replicated the company’s production at a high level. “Whenever we asked for any bespoke work to be considered, everyone within Production Modelling from the management down to the developers worked collaboratively with us to show us that what we wanted and needed was achievable. It was a real partnership and provided us with a lot of confidence in our investment decision.” This helpfulness even extended as far as Production Modelling extending the free trial use of the software as further modifications were being made to allow B/E the time it required to sign off an IT investment of this size. “From a Sales perspective, this was outstanding,” recalls James.

An Innovative Implementation

This helpfulness has permeated the implementation and has been at the heart of the ongoing development of the system ever since. Self-implementation is typically the preserve of basic systems used in small companies to solve simple issues. Such was the confidence that Production Modelling gave B/E combined with the highly intuitive nature of Orchestrate production scheduling software as a system, B/E decided to self-implement across all, with James received expert tuition in the use of the software via a number of web demos and what he describes as access to an excellent support network and help files. “I was trained by Production Modelling not just in how to use the system but also to develop the system myself. In addition to the early benefits the company has already received, this again helped to reinforce to the company that it really was investing in a custom business solution at a very reasonable price.” This partnership approach was also greatly appreciated when B/E took the strategic decision to move from a high level use of the system to a much more detailed view. Not only did this necessitate changing the way B/E used the system, it meant changing the way the system itself worked. Once again the entire team at Production Modelling provided the expertise and assistance B/E needed.

Early Benefits.

The company is already seeing benefits from Orchestrate production scheduling software. It is not uncommon for manufacturers to be adversely impacted by major IT implementations and given the complexity of B/E’s operations over 3 sites and in 2 different countries, its ability to maintain a ‘business as usual’ attitude is testament to the dedication of its own personnel and the support of the Production Modelling team. Other major benefits already in place focus on the increased visibility and accuracy of information that Orchestrate has brought. “Now we can see where everything is across the entire business unit and at which stage” explains James. This has been further helped at the Tucson site by the installation of flat-screen displays on the assembly floor which allow everyone to see not just what is currently supposed be happening, but also what is coming down the line. As an example of the time and cost savings achieved, in just one schedule change, Orchestrate saves 1- 3 hours in updating Excel files for scheduling depending on the complexity of the schedule change. Also Production Modelling developed a presentation plug-in that turns our master production schedule into a presentation that refreshes at the end of the presentation and runs continuously on the flat-screen monitors on the assembly floor, this keeps our production schedule current on assembly floor and encourages employee buy-in as they see the demands of their individual production lines.

A Final Word

“From the outset, Production Modelling’s partnership approach combined with the intuitive, flexible nature of Orchestrate has enabled us to get the best from our investment. Not only are we now able to schedule more efficiently across all sites, we can take on new business with increased confidence which is essential to our ongoing growth and success.”

New pdf case studies available for download

Production Modelling have now created pdf download versions of their simulation and scheduling case studies. Please view the case studies through the folling link

production scheduling case studies

Pankl Racing Systems tunes its production planning

Pankl Racing Systems is a leading designer and manufacturer of high-end crankshafts used in a diverse range of performance motorsport racing in the EU and USA. Formerly Superior Crankshaft LP before its acquisition by Pankl Racing Systems AG, the California based company has 40 highly skilled personnel with many years’ experience working with a number of premium motorsport and high performance road car manufacturers. There can be no more demanding customer deadline than the starting grid of an international motor race so accurate production planning and scheduling is critical to ensuring that the right goods are delivered on time, every time. When a decision was taken to invest in a state-of-the-art planning and scheduling solution, Pankl innovatively harnessed the power of the Internet to partner with UK specialist Production Modelling.

Each of Pankl’s customers’ demands the highest possible standards from each bespoke order. Order sizes range between 2 – 12 items and can be either manufactured, or designed and manufactured, to a supplied customer specification. Depending on the complexity of the final product and the degree of engineering and design involved, lead times can vary between 10-15 weeks with the average being 10-12. Actual manufacturing involves in excess of 50 different process steps which can either be undertaken in Pankl’s specialist production facilities or sub-contracted as and when required. Given the exotic nature of the raw materials used, these are often supplied by the customer but Pankl still needs to retain working buffer stocks to ensure that the all-important delivery date is met.

The production challenges are many and varied beginning with the need to manage multiple products via different production routes through a set of resources with finite capacity. As each product tends to have only one possible route, balancing these is essential. Not only does this necessitate having complete visibility across the entire production facility but also knowing what job is where, and how far through any given process it may be. Knowing the capacity constraints of each individual resource as well as the combined capacity of the plant is also essential. And while set-up and changeover times may not be directly critical, because a product may have to visit any given resource many times during the overall production process, this creates significant potential for bottlenecks.

Pankl’s manufacturing team was formed in 2006 and faces a range of planning and scheduling challenges on a daily basis. To begin with, the company has a production planning horizon which extends over 16 weeks but which also needs to be able to quickly and accurately react to any changes. Whether a problem with a supplier, a resource requiring planned or unplanned maintenance or even a customer requiring a product sooner than initially planned, the customer always has to get their product on time. It’s no good having a car on the grid and saying ‘come back next week’. This means being able to create different production scenarios based on re-prioritizing products and to clearly see the impact on every other order, all the way up to and beyond the working planning horizon. If the change happens at the design and engineering stage, this includes every other order here as well as the knock-on effects to production.

Prior to investing in Orchestrate from Production Modelling, addressing these challenges was a matter of “moving coloured boxes around in Excel.” Not only was this time consuming in and of itself, it also diverted highly skilled human resource away from their primary role within the company. For example, if just one change was required, someone would then have to manually calculate the impact on every other order extending forward up to and beyond 16 weeks. While they were doing what in essence is an administrative task, their main skills were not being best used within the company. The situation became even more time consuming and complex when the team was tasked with generating a range of different ’what-if?’ scenarios to show the impact of different planning responses. In reality this was practically impossible, which when combined with the inability to give reliable data to the sales team, created a general lack of confidence throughout the company in the accuracy of the plan.

The company’s acquisition in 2011 and the increased growth resulting from consolidation of business put even greater strain on the existing way of working and led to a decision being taken in mid-2011 to investigate alternatives. Like most companies, this search began by harnessing the power of the Internet to identify potential solutions. Unlike most companies, Pankl then used the Internet to source, purchase and implement a system that best met its aims and objectives. The team knew it wanted a solution that wasn’t too complex to use but had the background power and functionality that it could make use of when needed. It also recognised that a solution visually similar to Excel but which provided the real time visibility and control of its entire engineering and production facilities would be helpful to ease the transition and not frighten new users.

As part of its research, the team discovered Orchestrate from Production Modelling. After viewing a number of online videos it was clear that Orchestrate not only looked the best, it also provided the closest fit to the company’s requirements. The fact that Orchestrate was developed and owned by Production Modelling was reassuring because Pankl knew that if there was any bespoke work needed, it could be done quickly. It was also clear Production Modelling had experience with working with similar companies. This led to several positive conversations with the Managing Director of Production Modelling, and after a number of very accessible product demonstrations, a decision was taken to invest in Orchestrate.

The system was purchased and downloaded on a 14 day, free trial basis over the Internet during which the team worked closely with Production Modelling to generate and fine tune the required data for Orchestrate. What might seem daunting to some was far from the case because the system was very easy to pick up and the team largely self-taught itself how to use it. The team at Production Modelling, was always there to provide assistance and because everyone worked closely every step of the way, Production Modelling was able to input and check everything that was being done. The time difference between the UK and the US also proved to be highly advantageous because any work the team required would be turned around overnight with the solution waiting the next morning.

Because of the success of the trial, Pankl decided to invest in the top of the range solution, Orchestrate Professional, and less than 2 months later, had moved away from spreadsheets completely. Pankl also invested in a series of online training sessions which have also proved to be highly effective. The team decided on a format of having an hour of straight training followed by an hour of Q&A and has only actually needed one so far but will use the others as it begins to take more advantage of what Orchestrate can do.

While still early days, the benefits have already been pronounced with the team identifying the ability to always provide the correct sequence of jobs as, “a massive help.” Not only can the team now see the bigger picture of what is happening and where, it can accurately pick what job to do and when. The levels of scenario planning that were impossible before are now available in real time and this makes decision making much quicker and more accurate. In fact, the increased accuracy and visibility that this brings have enabled Pankl to confidently increase its production planning horizon by a further 25%. In terms of actual time saved, this represents at least 20 hours per week which over a year equals 1040 hours, or 43 days.

The importance of the role of production planning and scheduling within a company like Pankl can be seen by the fact that the company as a whole now benefits from using Orchestrate. For example, it is now possible for the first time ever to integrate engineering and production into a coherent and interlinked plan meaning that engineering can now be given an accurate required completion date for a job so that production can start on time. More importantly, the impact of changes in one department can be seen in the other which now makes strategic business level planning much more accurate.

Pankl also credits Orchestrate with facilitating better decision making between Sales and Production where there can at times be conflicting priorities. For example, now the Production Manager can demonstrate quickly and clearly what the effects of decisions taken by Sales are going to be. And by both sitting down and looking at a range of ‘what-if?’ scenarios, they can make smarter decisions that are best for the customer and for the business as a whole. This ‘what-if?’ scenario capability is also being used at a top-tier level to determine the potential benefits of investing in new plant equipment by looking at different sales and capacity scenarios.

As for the future, Pankl knows it is only beginning to scratch the surface of what Orchestrate can do. Areas that are highlighted for development centre on making more use of the information that Orchestrate already generates. For example, Output Reports will provide more accurate forecasting for suppliers while greater Work in Progress (WIP) analysis will help smooth workflow and help to further reduce bottlenecks. And the production team’s final word? “We’ve got loads of things to try but we’re taking it one step at a time and getting each step right. We have a saying and we are proving it at each stage: ‘Do what Orchestrate says and everything will be good.’”