“Streamline your procurement with Gainfront’s automated Bill of Material solution and increase cost-savings.”
A leading automotive component manufacturer successfully adopted Gainfront’s RFQ system and deployed the itemised Bill of Material (BOM) solution. By doing so, they could plan purchases of materials better, estimate cost, plan and control inventory, and reduce production delays and waste.
Client Profile
This client is a global automotive component supplier specializing in manufacturing interior systems, seating, filtration, and powertrain components for automobiles. With a strong focus on innovation, quality, and customer satisfaction, this client has become a trusted supplier to major automotive manufacturers worldwide.
- They also emphasize R&D, constantly striving to create innovative solutions to meet evolving market demands.
- They have a global presence with manufacturing facilities and research centers located across Asia, North America, and Europe.
Client Challenges
Despite the client focused on operational excellence, they lacked a digitised tool that enhanced decision making and facilitated the production process. Therefore, there remained several challenges:
- Without transparent visibility into the components and their associated costs, it became difficult to assess the pricing and ensure cost efficiency.
- Departments were burdened with large costs due to the lack of centralized and accessible specifications and revisions.
- There was a struggle to maintain visibility into the components and materials required for production, leading to difficulties in informed decision making and tracking inventory.
- Often departmental disconnects resulted in inefficient communication leading to delays in obtaining information and thereby, causing production delays.
- At times, when repairs and changes were needed, identification of the correct product configuration could not be accessed.
- Additionally, using outdated and incomplete data resulted in problems while waiting for new document revision also caused delays.
Solutions
Our tool implemented a Request for Quotation (RFQ) process that included a comprehensive breakdown of the supplier’s BOM. This helped provide an itemized BOM and corresponding costs for each component allowing for a clear understanding of the pricing structure and enabling effective cost control measures.
We offered a solution that could identify and analyze the use of resources throughout the life cycle of a product. Our ability to automate the Bill of Material ensured that the components required for production were in-house when needed and, in the quantities, required.
Our digitised BOM centralized and streamlined access to BOM files, enabling collaboration, revision tracking, and timely notifications across departments.
Using this tool simplified configuration management by providing easy access to BOM data, enabling retrieval of configuration records for service and maintenance.
With our BOM software, stakeholders were able to instantly access approved information, keep track of ongoing changes, and ensure accountability.
Benefits
Our detailed itemized BOM through the RFQ process enabled a thorough analysis of the product’s cost structure, ensuring transparency and accountability from suppliers. This breakdown of parts and their associated costs provided valuable insights into pricing and potential areas for cost optimization.
Our BOM tool minimized inventory inaccuracies and production delays, both of which cost time and money.
By following our itemised BOM solution during each production run, the products remained uniform. It ensured that the products met customer expectations, safety, and other standards.
With this BOM tool, it was possible to identify the parts, materials and components used and zero in on potential sources of failures.
Gainfront’s itemized Bill of Material ensured transparency, accuracy and effective decision making. Overall, this tool enhanced the visibility of the production process and minimized errors drastically.
Rahul Asthana has a PhD in Operations Management from the Anderson School at UCLA. He has 25 years of experience in supply chain management, starting his career in IBM working in supply chain operations. He then moved into product management and product marketing of supply chain software while at SAP and Oracle. He manages product strategy and product management at Gainfront. In terms of hobbies outside of work, he really enjoys tennis. Follow Rahul Asthana on Linkedin!
