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.”