1 Introduction
1.1 General
To realize the business strategy plan of Company, ICT will play, as enabler, an important role. As described hereafter ICT will contribute in the primary, secondary and managed operations processes by enabling global connectivity, integration of business systems and standardization of business processes. The changing business processes will have consequences for the ICT environment. The ICT programdescribes the steps, which are needed to support the business processes as they are being developed in the years to come. In this information plan an overview is given of the expected business processes and the required information architecture in a global environment. It is obvious that changes in the business strategy of Company will have to be reflected in this information plan.
1.2 Objective Information Plan
The objectives of the information plan of Company are:
– to describe the high level information requirements to support the business processes of Company;
– to describe the high level information architecture requirements to support the business processes of Company;
– to describe the business applications;
– to define an ICT program action.
The picture below explains the steps to come from a business strategy plan to ICT changes in Company. The business processes, information architecture and application landscape are covered in this information plan.
The information plan does not include the organizational and cultural aspects of the changes that Company are facing.
1.3 Scope Information Plan
The scope of the information plan is the information requirements, which are related to:
– primary business processes;
– secondary business processes;
– managed operations.
The focus is set to the future requirements. The ICT program of chapter 6 gives an overview of the defined steps to be taken in the years.
The following subjects are not in the scope of this information plan:
– organizational and cultural aspects;
– technical infrastructure (prerequisite)
2 Management summary
2.1 Conclusion
Although the functionality and quality of the present information architecture and business applications are generally sufficient at present, it will not yet be possible to comply with the future information requirements, which are resulting from the goals as set in the strategic plan.
Especially the following objectives will have a direct impact on the present information architecture.
– enlargement of market share (Customer Relationship Management, Customer Support)
– increased profitability, in a multi source environment (Supply Chain Management, Suppliers Relationship Management)
– globally maximizing of the value of products throughout their entire lifecycle (Product Lifecycle Management)
– lowering the total cost of ownership, via reducing data volumes and sharing business functionalities (Integration Platform)
The actual information architecture does not support all business requirements; typically in the following areas there are gaps to be resolved:
- integration of business applications and data;
- missing and/or limited implemented business applications;
- knowledge and release management;
- collaboration, multi channel and mobile solutions;
- digitalization of the product lifecycle;
- analytical tools (management information).
The basis for establishing a new information architecture foundation must be the integration of the applications and the creation of reliable, central (master) data, supported by master data management. The integration platform is a technical solution, providing the connectivity between the business applications and the collaboration with customers and partners.
Master data management supports the consolidation of the contents and the harmonization between the various business applications. The data will be controlled centrally.
2.2 Recommendation
In order to realize the strategic goals, the process owners together with the ICT department, need to conclude the following:
- definition of a common data, financial and distribution model; based on multi production sites with multi sourcing and multi vendors (business requirements);
- description of all future business process steps and prioritise the information requirements via an automation blueprint, indicating the incremental developments (ICT program);
- installation of an integration platform, in order to integrate data and (new/extended) applications (information architecture);
2.3 Suggested IT program
Within each of the primary, secondary and within managed operations a number of projects are planned to realise the information architecture and business applications landscape. For each business process the focus of the projects is given. For a more detailed description of the planned projects see chapter 6.
Product Lifecycle Management
Within the PLM process the projects will concentrate on realising Installed Base Management capability, maximising efficiency with IMS (internally and towards suppliers) and expanding 3D capabilities
Supply Chain Management
The projects within the SCM process will focus (besides the already mentioned Installed Base Management capability) on enabling multi source environments, supporting optimized stock management and faster and easier registration of goods.
Supplier Relations Management
Focus lies on orientation on possible benefits of SRM, the business case and a possible SRM application selection.
Customer Relations Management
Like for PLM and SCM the focus here lies on enabling installed base management. Projects are planned for implementation of CRM and an integrated knowledge base solution.
Secondary Processes
For the secondary processes the focus lies on more efficient and integrated use of data, on supporting information analysis and reporting requirements.
Managed Operations
The project for managed operations focus on providing an integrated application landscape and modern technical infrastructure that will enable and support the business requirements.
3 Business Processes
3.1 Information requirements
The management of Company identified and agreed upon the present business process in the company, which are shown in the following overview. There are five main business processes in Company, each having it’s own impact on the governance of the organization. The upcoming changes in Company, especially the establishment of another production site abroad and the effects on the operations (multi sourcing, multi vendor channels etc.), will lead to considerable changes in the information requirements. Also the strategic goals defined by the management of Company is having a major impact on the information requirement, as further steps to-wards digitalization of information will be taken, in order to be able to cope with the challenging financial targets. One of the drivers to be a successful organization is the change to become a fully customer-focused organization. This change will also lead to different information requirements.
The following paragraph describes the future information requirements, related to the five identified main processes.
(Remark: in the original picture on the right hand side the three product lines high volume, mid volume and customer support where mentioned. All mentioned processes will results in enabling these three business lines and are for keeping the overview not mentioned separately.)
3.1.1 Strategic Process
Strategic planning is a creative process and is highly depending on the constant changing environment, in which the company operates. However, some elements in the process are re-occurring and the need for information about these elements is a pre-requisite to have a successful strategic planning process.
A to be implemented business intelligence support tool will play a major role, in providing the information to the management, involved in the strategic planning process. In depth internal financial and operational analysis will be provided, so that the current situation can be more easily determined.
Combining this information with external data from researchers about the market, technical and financial (currency) developments, a goal can be set.
Competitive advantage
The strategic planning process will become more flexible, as the information will become available faster in a structured format. The information will be reliable, based on actual facts and better forecasts.
Information Requirements:
Internal
Business Model
Financial Model
Distribution Model
Business Intelligence
Integration of the business applications
Strengths/Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT)
External
Stakeholders Input
Political, Legal, Economical, Social, Commercial and Technical Trends
Market segments and Value Proposition
Key buying factors
Competition
3.1.2 Product Creation Process
Company partly implemented a PLM solution (I-Man), increasing the efficiency of the product creation process. In the Production Creation Process (PCP) it is described how Company develops and releases products, in compliance with the requirements of the customers and taking into account the strategies set by Company. The milestones 1 through 8 of the PCP are now supported by the information systems. The milestones 9 through 14 will have to be implemented too, in order to increase efficiency and achieve costs reductions.
However, further improvement of the information structure remains necessary, by completely digitally transforming the product development and product sustaining, resulting in a fully controlled and documented PLM environment. Essential is the integration of this information with all other primary processes, so that the data integrity is protected throughout all processes at Company.
As a result, Company will own a complete knowledge base of each product in detail; based on (local) TPDs. Enhanced analytics to monitor and analyse the product lifecycle of the products is a prerequisite.
Release management, the formal process to identify, initiate, review, approve and implement a change in a product’s definition (sustaining) and the introduction of new products to the market, governed by the change board, will become fully supported by centralized up-to-date information. This information combines both the commercial and financial aspects of changes to or introduction from products. It goes without saying that the digitalization of the documentation increases the speed and accuracy in the installation process at the customer; moreover, it will create the possibility of automatically updating product manuals.
The digital transformation will enhance the 3D information, increasing the efficiency of the sales process and the customer service support. Via multi channel solutions (e- and mobile solutions) it is going to be possible to virtually create products at the customer site, so that the collaboration with the customer is simplified. Sales trials, using 3D modelling, the virtual assembly of a product, enforces the sales power of Company and contributes to the customer focused organization. This virtual prototyping will maximize the efficiency of interacting with customers and accelerate the sales process.
The digitalization will make it possible for both the customer and the customer support organization to look at the installed base in 3D and to zoom in to the details, improving the quality of the support to the customer. Providing this information enables the customer to order e-spares. The shipment of the spares to the customer will result in an automated update of the installed base.
Moreover, the multi channel collaboration with suppliers will also be more effective, reducing the development process lead-time and the time to market.
The supply chain will be optimised, since the necessary information is available earlier in the process, resulting in an improved co-ordination of the total chain.
Competitive advantage
Company will highly benefit of the digitalisation of the product lifecycle, as the information is reliable and complete. This will have a positive effect on all processes in Company and contribute to cost saving programs. Another main advantage is that the sales and customer support process will be improved considerably by having reliable information (installed base), 3D features and E-spares ordering.
Information Requirements:
Market information (e.g. technical trends)
Customer demand information
Analytical information
Digitally transformation of PLM environment (e.g. local TPD, Installed Base)
Information integration with other primary processes
Knowledge management
Release management information (commercial, financial and organizational aspects)
Multi channel collaboration (suppliers/customers, other partners)
3D, including zoom functions
E-spares ordering information
3.1.3 Order Process
The order process will be improved with several extended or new processes.
The marketing process will be enhanced (leads generation, campaign management etc.), by using external data and internal information provided by the business intelligence tool, so the possibility of pro-actively acting on the market developments will be improved.
The sales capabilities will be extended with a key-account management process. This process will manage the key account relationships in line with business objectives, through understanding of the customer and definition of value propositions. All detailed information about this key account will be documented and made available for all assigned employees.
The complete customer interaction cycle will be registered and made available for improving the customer relation throughout the company for authorized staff members.
Implementation of a common data model, as basis for understanding and servicing the customer throughout Company, is a prerequisite. Introduction of multi channel collaboration with customers (mobile and e-solutions), for gaining efficiency in the sales and order process so the costs will be reduced, is needed. The order registration will be improved by integrating full stock visibility, resulting in point-of-sales availability management (Availability to Promise).
By having more than one production facility adjustment of the planning process is necessary, so that the use of the available manufacturing capacities will be maximized and the costs will be minimized. Multi sourcing will have a major impact on Company and an adjustment of the working methods to a multi source situation is unavoidable. Not only there will be more than one production site, each having it’s own complexity, but also a multi purchasing channel will be established. This will automatically create the need of a multi vendor organization, whereby purchases are executed on global and regional level. This will lead to differences in the management of the good flows and planning methods. The availability of information needs to be secured, as the several regions must know global agreements with suppliers. At the same time the regions must be able to set up a local purchasing organization, in order to maintain an efficient way of working. Also the local TPD might be influenced by regional differences in semi-finished products, which needs to be fully documented, so that a correct installed base will be maintained.
The implications are clear. Advanced planning methods need to be introduced, optimising the scheduling and planning, for the company as a whole and for each individual production site. The process benefits will be shorter planning cycles, responsiveness, increased customer service, higher capacity utilization and lower stocks.
In this respect Supply Chain Management will offer a new approach towards decision management, based on costs, constraints and decentralised, process driven, planning methodologies.
Information will become available using several planning horizons, as example the following time frames:
Production Planning: 18 months (Strategic)
Master Production Schedule: 6/12 months (Tactical)
Line Scheduling: 2-4 weeks (Operational)
Based on the information it can be decided which product will be assembled where, at what cost and profit.
Operational purchasing is an essential part in the supply chain. The scheduled lines will be automatically converted to purchase orders, based on the agreements made with the suppliers.
This will lead to a more efficient goods supply and cost reduction. The focus will be set to the performance of the suppliers, to ensure a smooth manufacturing process.
As a result of the lower stock, there will be more emphasis put to the handling-speed of the incoming goods flow. Especially the time needed for the goods receipt booking in the system will be reduced enormously by introducing barcode control and RF technologies (e.g. tags). This system will also have a positive effect on the stock level accuracy, while discrepancies can be reported instantly to suppliers for corrective actions.
The basis for manufacturing is the TPD, which has been stored and kept up-to-date in the system and the production planning, giving all relevant information for optimising the output of the production sites.
With the integration of all the information manufacturing can rely on the presence of complete and accurate TPD and the availability of the parts needed for the production. The focus can therefore be set to the manufacturing process and the utilisation of the available capacities, resulting in more efficient working methods, hence cost reduction.
Also the installed base will become more accurate and complete by introducing the serialization of the finished products, based on the local TPD of each production site. As a result the shipment, installation and acceptance processes will be more efficient and the basis is created for an optimised customer support process.
Competitive advantage
Company will highly benefit from having the total customer interaction cycle available. From marketing, sales (3D modelling at the customer site) unto the service activities after installation, the processes will be more efficient and Company will have the possibility to become a customer-focused organisation.
Advanced planning methodologies will assure the most efficient way of working with two production sites in different continents. The good flows planning for each site will be optimised and lead to the most efficient use of available capacities.
Manufacturing will highly benefit from the digitalisation of the product lifecycle and the advanced planning methodologies, resulting in a highly efficient and flexible production capacity.
Moreover, considerable cost reductions will be achieved by global stock visibility (lower stocks) and improved control on the good flows (bar-coding, RF).
Information Requirements:
External marketing information (e.g. leads, campaigns, trends, Forrester reports)
Internal marketing information (e.g. value proposition, turnover, markets, customers, trends, costs etc.)
Key-accounts management information
Insight complete customer interaction
Multi channel solutions (E-solutions, Mobile Solutions)
Global stock visibility
Multi production site planning solution
Automated purchase order generation
Barcode control and RF technologies
Documented (local) TPD
Complete and accurate Installed Base, reflecting local TPD’s
3.1.4 Customer Support Process
The focus within customer support lies on enabling pro active, world class service management, build upon an integrated network infrastructure for enabling remote control and diagnostics. World class in this context means being able (if needed) to offer Price Per Placement (triple P) solutions, which means a maximized form of integration with the customer business processes, so the customer will only pay for every successful placement.
In the customer-focused organization the customer support process is essential in achieving customer satisfaction. The basis for the customer service will be a correct and complete installed base description and extended remote support functionality. Both are prerequisites for improving the customer support process. A reliable installed base will considerably reduce communication in Company and lead to better and faster service to the customers.
The extended remote support functionality will result in an improved service at a lower cost.
The access to the information will be on a 3-D platform, whereby both the customer and Company, will have detailed, specific views on the base.
Moreover, also from a commercial point of view these processes could give new opportunities to Company. The total control on machines in the field will become feasible and could lead to different agreements with customers. Instead of selling the products, it is possible to start charging on price per placement level or via lease contracts.
No doubt it is clear this will have consequences for the organisation and the emphasis of customer support will become different. For example, Assembleon could consider maintaining ownership of the machines so the service is output oriented. Having the right information available in time, this price per placement approach will be a controllable and manageable process, contributing to the achievement of the set goals in the strategy plan.
Having remotely, using web technology (portals), exploded views of parts available, will enable the customer to directly order a specific part. Also the customer support organization will have a direct insight of the parts in a specific machine at the customer’s site. The total customer support process will benefit from this exploded view, by reducing the time needed for setting a correct diagnosis for the corrective actions to be taken. Moreover, the digitalization of the products enables the creation of maintenance step animations, so that e-training can be implemented for both the customers and the service engineers.
Customers and engineers will be remotely connected via portals to contents and web services of Company, making the information locally available.
The implementation of these new processes via the portal technology will enhance the customer support organization and considerably contribute to the customer satisfaction, by reducing customer support lead-time and providing knowledge to customers and Company.
The local TPD will be reflected in the installed base and the serialization of the products will make sure that a unique identification is created, so that the information is accurate in all details. Not only the installed base information will be available 7/24, but also the complete interaction (history, importance etc.) with the customers is visible, so that the call centres can optimise the service to the customers and take those actions, which are in interest of both the customer and Company.
Changes to the products at the customer site, will create an automated update of the installed base.
When a recall of a part is required, the whereabouts are available in the information system, enabling a smooth and swift action.
Decisions, about which spares (P1, P2 and P3) are to be stocked where, will be taken based on statistical analysis, so that the financial impacts can be minimized and the service to the customer optimised. The customers will be able to order spares via e-solutions, so that the order process handling will become more efficient.
The service organization will be able to provide preventive and corrective maintenance to the customers, based on warranty and service contracts or one-time service sales.
Another improvement will be the possibility to plan the service engineers and the stock deliveries to the engineer for performing both preventive and corrective maintenance to the products. Mobile solutions for this activity will be implemented, increasing the service to the customer and the control on the activities of the engineers.
Competitive advantage
By having remote support and a correct, reliable installed based data, combined with mobile solutions and service engineer planning, the customer support organisation will be able to provide world class service at lower cost. Moreover, new sales opportunities become available (e.g. price per placement) leading to increased profitability and more grip on the market.
Information Requirements:
Correct and complete installed base
3-D Platform
Local Technical Product Documentation reflection in the installed base
Serialization
Insight complete customer interaction
Availability 7/24
Analysis spares (P1, P2 P3, where)
Multi channel solutions (E-solutions, Mobile Solutions)
Full service organization solution (warranty and service contracts, service orders, stock visibility, service engineer planning, financial settlement etc.)
Remote Support
Integration with other business applications
3.1.5 Supporting Process
There is a variety in supporting processes of Company, each having it’s own focus to the primary processes. There will be considerably advantages by integrating the information for the supporting processes, especially for Strategic Purchasing, HRM and F&A.
Strategic Purchasing
In a competitive market, the foundation of profitable growth is constant and meaningful purchasing and supply-chain management. Within Company the strategic purchasing process will be empowered by analytics, based on actual performance by suppliers, combined with a fully documented material requirements via the documented (local) TPDs.
Especially the sourcing for multiple production facilities emphasizes the need of accurate and timely information. The purchasing markets will become divers; trends in the markets need to be followed closely and the global and local purchasing flows will become essential for the supply chain management. Hence the need for accurate, decision-enabling, information will considerably increase and the differentiation in strategic, critical materials and commodities must be fully manageable.
Therefore, strategic purchasing will enable the operational purchasing activities, by creating the framework and securing the necessary data in the system. Several tools will be available for strategic purchasing (e.g. Requests for Information, Requests for Quotation etc.) Standardized open book models, non-disclosure agreements, vendor selection criteria and risk management will support the supplier selections. Collaboration via multi channel access will play a major role in the strategic purchasing processes.
Information Requirements:
Analytical information
Market trends and segmentation
Documented material specifications
Supplier information
Vendor selection criteria
Content management (e.g. open book models, non-disclosure agreements etc.)
Multi channel access
Information integration to the primary processes
HRM
The goal of the Human Resources process is to provide the company with capable, motivated & customer-focused employees. The three principal Human Resources activities to achieve this goal are Staffing, Development & Motivation. These activities support the business goals of the company and are conducted in relation with the ever-changing influences of the market (competitive pressure, economic factors & social conditions). The activities are also performed with a balanced approach that provides mutual benefit to the company and the employee.
Identify and document competences, skills, salary and knowledge required for employees to work in certain job and position. The result is an improved overview of required skills and knowledge of employees to continue Company’s business processes.
The primary processes will take advantage of the knowledge secured in the system. E.g. for the customer support process the skills of the engineer can be linked to the service activity. Hour registration in other processes, e.g. manufacturing, can be linked directly to activities and activity based costing will be available.
Also the daily human management processes will profit from the information (e.g. appraisals, training, holidays overview etc.)
Information Requirements:
Skills and knowledge employees
Salary
Employee performance data
Information integration to the primary processes
F&A
The information integration will contribute to an increased efficiency of the F&A process. In the daily operations (general ledger, creditors and debtors) the accounts payable and receivable process will be linked directly to actual goods receipts and deliveries of products and services. The focus can be set to discrepancies and deviations, based on the information stored in the system by the primary processes. The controlling process will be enhanced, as analytical information will be available at any moment in time. This will improve the financial control on the whole of all operations and non-performing units can be easily identified.
Forecasting will be more accurate as result of the integration and the data integrity throughout the company, whereby the currency fluctuation control will become more important, because of the globalisation of Company. Multi production sites will heavily influence the processes for F&A.
When the integration of data and systems has been realized, Company will be able to implement effective enterprise-wide performance management, resulting in a transparent financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, modelling and consolidation structure.
Enterprise planning, the basis for performance management, combines people, processes and technology in a continuous cycle. It provides Company insight into past, current and future operating performance, enabling the management to identify trends and opportunities.
Information Requirements:
Information integration to the primary processes
Analytical information
Financial control model over multiple production sites
ICT
As enabler ICT is facing a challenging task. In a time where a good performing pc is seen as a given, the focus of the ICT will shift from infrastructure focussed services to business focussed services. To make this move it is very important not to forget that the basis of the information architecture is the technical infrastructure. Without having a very reliable technical infrastructure, the information architecture will not work at all. The change of focus will have impact on the ICT organisation. Roles will change and further implementation of the demand supply model is needed. Ict will further discuss with the business process owners the required servicelevels. Most likely ICT needs to offer 7 times 24 hour support, or in close cooperation with the ICT departments abroad, a follow the sun service model.
Information Requirements:
Financial data
Service level data
Strategic information
Quality
In general the quality department will benefit from the information integration. Especially the digitally transforming of the product development and product sustaining process, resulting in a fully controlled and documented PLM environment, will have a major contribution to the quality control process.
For securing the content management throughout the information system, thus Company, the quality department will be a key player in controlling this process.
Non-conformity reports can be communicated via the information system and, where applicable, directly linked to the activity in the system.