Report Reveals Conflicting Opinions on Manufacturing's Biggest Barrier to Improvement
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
CINCINNATI, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- What's stopping build-to-order and
engineer-to-order manufacturers from improving their customization process? It
depends on who you ask. IT considers barriers to customization to be an
engineering problem (configuration errors); Sales considers the barriers to be
an IT problem (inadequate and delayed documentation); and Engineering views
the barriers as a Sales problem (customers not receiving enough information).
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This is according to three separate 2008 research reports by software
maker Cincom Systems (www.cincom.com/acquire) that delved into the state of
mass customization and build-to-order practices based on surveys with IT
managers, sales managers, and engineering staff at manufacturers of complex
industrial, electrical, and transportation equipment and systems.
IT: Quality needs improvement
Of the IT managers surveyed, around 40% said configuration errors,
inadequate documentation, and the customer lacking knowledge of options were
the largest risk to increased customization at their companies.
"These issues relate to the industry's continued reliance on manual
methods for opportunity management and technical documentation," writes Jim
Wilson, Cincom Program Director and author of the report. Almost 75% of the
companies surveyed said their product configuration and proposal generation
were only partially automated or still done manually.
Engineers: Knowledge Management an issue
Engineers cite lack of knowledge of options by the customer (67 percent)
and the field (44 percent) as the primary barrier to product customization
efforts.
According to the surveys, the primary barrier to customization is the
effective transfer of knowledge from the back office to the front office. Of
the surveyed respondents, 43 percent indicated that inadequate systems are
also a barrier to customization.
Sales: Industry leaders lack the customization struggles felt by others
Sales managers who considered their companies to be industry leaders or
very competitive in terms of marketing and selling customized products were
about half as likely as other respondents to perceive the 'customer/buyer
lacks knowledge of options' and 'products are too complex for the field to
sell' as barriers to their customization efforts. But for other companies,
these two factors were considerable stumbling blocks.
"This finding further supports the premise that empowering the
customer/buyer with knowledge of options and the sales force with systems that
make it easier to sell results in industry leadership for the company making
these concrete steps in the direction of customization," writes Wilson.
About Cincom Systems
For 40 years, Cincom's problem-solving software, services, and people have
helped thousands of companies all over the world grow and manage their
businesses. For more information about Cincom's products and services, contact
Cincom at 1-800-2CINCOM (USA only), send an e-mail to info@cincom.com, or
visit the company's website at www.cincom.com .
SOURCE Cincom Systems
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