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Ultriva’s Lean Execution Suite consists of modules like Customer Kanban, Supplier Kanban, Internal Kanban, SBR, Lean Production and OEE, which allow manufacturing companies to systemize, sustain, and scale lean disciplines across the organization. Ultriva's flagship product, Collaborative Electronic Kanban, eliminates stock-outs while reducing inventory levels up to 75%. Ultriva modules are in use in more than 130 plants worldwide, incorporating more than 5,000 suppliers, transacting over 1.5 billion dollars of inventory at industry leaders such as AGCO, CNH, Emerson, IR-Trane, McKesson, Rexnord, and ThermoFisher. Narayan Laksham, CEO of Ultriva, (www.ultriva.com) announced in the introductory issue of Profit From Lean, a quarterly newsletter for Ultriva customers, partners, consultants, and manufacturers. The premiere issue includes a link to Nick Zubko’s IndustryWeek article, Turning Software Into a Solution, where he suggests that Information technology cannot make an operation lean, but it can provide valuable support for the long journey ahead. The term "IT solution" might be one of the more widely accepted misnomers to come out of the information age. Every year hundreds, perhaps thousands, of manufacturers pour millions of dollars into new software suites in hopes that somehow they will make any inefficiencies in their operation disappear. However, nobody, not even the vendors themselves, will claim that any of their products are designed with the ability to transform bad processes into good ones. Zubko asserts, “Unfortunately, that doesn't stop some manufacturers from crossing their fingers anyway. In the past those companies could survive by focusing any lean efforts internally, creating more efficient cells and improving material flow. But now as lean principles are being applied to more transactional events such as controlling supply chains, reducing inventories and manufacturing to customer demand, being truly lean takes on a whole new level of complexity.” "When those kinds of transitions start happening, they become difficult to handle without some sort of IT involvement," explains Narayan Laksham, CEO of Ultriva Inc., a provider of lean manufacturing software. "IT can be used as a mechanism to systemize the lean discipline and help companies sustain it and scale it across the organization. However, software on its own is not going to solve anyone's problems." "Normally the place companies should start off a lean journey is by looking at their pain points," says Laksham. "There might be several problems within the organization, but they really need to nail down the most important constraints. That's the key to the first six months of the process. When everyone is on the same page, then you can move on to the integration of new software." But this progression also requires a change in thinking. At the shop floor level, it means getting comfortable with smaller batch sizes. In terms of procurement, it's the idea of using a limited number of vendors with frequent deliveries. Even at the office level, orders should start flowing through the organization as opposed to moving from one function to the next. Two years ago the facility decided to take a renewed approach to its lean transformation that would eventually involve the introduction of new IT tools provided by Ultriva. But first, management knew they had to address a few key weaknesses in the operation that could stand in the way of any meaningful changes taking place. Cultural differences between production and IT are inherent, so integrating a new set of tools to assist a lean movement is never easy. In many situations, this perception is perpetuated when companies allow IT to implement new technology independently, taking the shop floor completely out of the equation. However, while too much IT involvement can be counterproductive, Laksham says that leaving them out is also a mistake. "Once you have made a decision about the kind of solution that you are looking for, then you should engage the IT department and how they are going to interface it and make it sync up," he explains. "That is where IT becomes very relevant, because they understand the ERP (enterprise resource planning) system, they have owned it and they can play an important role in how IT will be integrated." To read the entire IndustryWeek article users have to sign in to access the newsletter and will get instant access. The introductory issue is free of charge and can be access immediately by registering at http://www.ultriva.com/News/newsletterreg.aspx?smc. Ultriva www.ultriva.com Cindy McGowan pr@ultriva.com 408.248.9803 |
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