Automotive Manufacturing

There are many challenges in manufacturing, and through our work in the industry and with our customers we have learned firsthand what the supply chain is facing.

What we hear most often from our sources is that they are concerned with:

  • Managing volatile demand
  • Improving supply chain performance
  • Achieving customer and industry compliance
  • Dealing with the uncertainty of advances in technology
  • Enabling consistent processes based on best practices

In QAD’s September 2017 release we provided functionality to assist with all of these challenges. In fact, we presented on these very topics at QAD Explore in Detroit. Here are just some of the new capabilities that we’re particularly proud to share.

Highlights of the September 2017 Release

One of the biggest issues that gives every supplier heartburn is fluctuating schedules. We all know it and have grown to expect it. Here’s a perfect example, it’s Monday morning and your customers have all sent you revised schedules for hundreds of parts. Now you have to figure out which ones have changed and which ones are out of the negotiated tolerance. Feeling the heartburn now? This is now an issue of the past because we have just rolled out the Customer and Supplier Release Comparison Reports. These reports are designed to help you quickly identify changes in requirements and tolerances for planning, shipping or sequence schedules in a snap. You are going to love this!

Take Control of Your Supply Chain

We all know the pressures that the OEMs constantly place on the supply chain to pass along the best practices and processes. This release does just that! QAD now offers you the ability to do retro-billing, milk runs and schedule down to a specific time window with your sub-suppliers.

QAD Supports IATF Requirements

By now you should be aware that you need your IATF 16949 certification by September 2018. It’s just one year away, and it has been reported that only 5 percent of all global sites have completed their audits as of Aug. 31, 2017. That means there is still a lot of work to be done! In the September 2017 release, QAD QMS released over 80 new features, a significantly enhanced risk module and a new performance module to address the requirements of IATF 16949. Hopefully, by now your organization has at least assessed the gaps. With the help of all these new capabilities in QAD QMS, you will be able to address your gaps and speed up your certification process.

Keeping Industry 4.0 in Mind

Information about the digitization of the supply chain is released daily. While this can worry some, it shouldn’t phase QAD customers because the September 2017 release introduces the launch of the QAD Enterprise Platform into limited availability. It will continue to evolve to introduce new technologies such as digital twin, IoT, machine learning, blockchain and augmented reality. If you were not able to attend QAD Explore this year, you can listen to QAD President, Pam Lopker’s presentation where she introduced the QAD Enterprise Platform and QAD CTO, Tony Winter discussed what to expect now and in the future.

Always Evolving to Meet the Needs of Global Manufacturers

As proud as we are of this September’s release, we know there will be much more to follow. With each release, we’re proud to bring more functionality and benefits to our customers. Throughout the year we meet with customers at conferences and even at their own facilities to learn about their successes as well as pain points so we can tailor our solutions to meet their needs. It’s the best part of our job!

Embracing the IATF 16949 Automotive Standard

Traditional approaches to risk management often do not adequately consider the impact of supply chain risks like natural disasters, geopolitics, cybersecurity, lower-tier supplier performance or labor disruption. It’s time to think differently, and QAD is here to help.

3 COMMENTS

  1. The point around management of schedule variation is certainly something we can relate to at GKN. Quantifying the variation is important, but more important is how we can mitigate and better manage it as variability and volatility will only intensify in the years to come. Planning methodologies that decouple supply from demand and tie less dependency to customer forecasts that we all know change is an approach DynaSys now supports with the adoption of DDMRP planning methods – http://www.dys.com/en_US/production-planning

    DDMRP is an approach that I encourage all Automotive suppliers to consider as a way to better manage customer schedule variation

  2. Nice Explanation terry. Also in the future, inter-industry buzzwords like artificial intelligence, blockchain and augmented reality may all soon be having an impact on the automotive industry too.

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