Cetec ERP is a good fit for high mix, low volume environments, with solutions for custom manufacturing, precise tracking of production processes and thousands of inventory SKUs, engineering requirements, and changing customer demands.
Success Story: DC Electronics
DC Electronics is a leading custom cable manufacturer in San Jose, CA. Founded in 1979 by David Cianciulli, DC Electronics distinguishes itself by delivering service and quality to customers with exacting needs.
In 2009, after a conversation with a key customer about quality requirements, DC Electronics recognized the need to mature their production systems and processes. David Cianciulli, President of the company, guided the company through implementation of Cetec ERP’s powerful inventory and production control capabilities to better manage a fast paced, high mix, low volume environment.
“Cables are always last, so our lead times are compressed. Rather than complain, we built a system around quick turn.”
- David Cianciulli, President at DC Electronics
Why did Cetec ERP make sense for a company in High Mix / Low Volume production?
DC Electronics identified and categorized key improvements according to the unique needs of their high-mix / low-volume production environment, and their priorities for the future of their company:
- Move the company toward fully-automated, computer and database management of inventories and processes. Optimize the process and create more accurate records and increase efficiencies. Improve the quality of the information entering the system.
- Create greater access to information across multiple departments allowing more timely, accurate responses. Give sales staff more real-time visibility of the production process. Integrate process-specific systems and software throughout the overall process.
- Build a specific database to improve production control. This allows the company to have an exact idea of where in the production process each cable is and how long it would take at each step in order to improve the production scheduling, resulting in consistent on-time delivery.
In response to these priorities, Cetec ERP represented a total solution, including Quality Assurance, Labeling, and Sales systems. One of the immediate results was that the labels could be automatically printed with system-generated data, addressing one of the customer identified issues.
Taking advantage of new technologies while finding the lowest-price solution, some job functions were moved to iPads. This was a cost-effective way of making sure that the relevant employees could update data, and have access to the most updated data at any moment. For example, the warehouse staff could select parts for orders while directly viewing the list and updating inventories immediately, allowing DC Electronics to improve the inventory controls and give precise tracking of parts and processes.
DC Electronics Project Success & Cloud ERP Benefits
As a result of the increased data capture across the production floor, DC Electronics deployed dashboards on LCD screens throughout the plant, displaying real-time data to all personnel to encourage productivity and improve throughput and sales. The Cetec ERP system began to track shop floor capacity, and enhanced production efficiency by identifying potential bottlenecks as well as measuring the true costs of production. These improvements have been significant for DC Electronics’ continued growth in recent years.
Since implementing the Cetec ERP software, DC Electronics has experienced higher sales and increased revenues, and have handled the growth adroitly, with increased productivity, efficiency and improved profit margins. Cetec ERP continues to serve DC Electronics on an ongoing basis in their vision for continuous improvement.