Management Strategies for Applying Product Development

Contents:

How To Plan Engineering Systems Strategy
Organizational Impacts
Applying Business Practices to Engineering Systems
Systems Use
Technology Issues

The following publications are available:

How To Plan Engineering Systems Strategy

How to link to Corporate Strategy
Planning Engineering Systems for the Factory of the Future
Understanding Engineering Systems Strategic Importance to the enterprise
A Strategic Approach to Engineering Systems Planning
Management Considerations in Engineering System Implementation

Organizational Impacts

Guidelines for Assigning Engineering Systems Management Responsibilities
How To Maximize Engineering Systems Acceptance and Use
How To Track the Development of Computer-Integrated Manufacturing

Applying Business Practices to Engineering Systems

A Method for Evaluating Engineering Systems Applications Opportunities
How To Formulate Realistic Expectations of Systems Benefits
Engineering Systems Justification and Follow-Up
Strategic Cost Analysis: A Case Study for Differentiating Cost Analysis and Control

Systems Use
Systems Implementation

Policies and Procedures for Efficient Engineering Systems Use
Implementing Computer-Aided Process Planning
Keys to Implementing Flexible Manufacturing Systems
FMS Scheduling and Control

Ongoing Support

How To Customize Engineering Systems Software
How To Plan for System Growth and Evolution
System Support Considerations for Engineering Systems Managers
Policies for System Implementation and Use

Managing the Database

Developing and Implementing an Engineering System Data Distribution Strategy
Solving Data Management Problems
Database Management and Factory Automation: A Management Perspective
How To Develop a Computer-Aided Design and Material Requirements Planning Interface

Training and Staffing

How To Develop and Deliver an Engineering Systems Training Program
Cooperative Training: A Case History of an Industry and College Partnership

Technology Issues
Specification and Evaluation Techniques

Preparing Technical Specifications for Engineering Systems
Using Benchmark Tests for Engineering Systems Evaluation
Assessing the Feasibility of an Automated Testing System
Evaluating Engineering Systems – Analysis and Feasibility Study
How To Develop the Request for Proposal
Tools and Techniques for Production Scheduling and Control

Selecting and Developing the Best System

Choosing the best Enterprise System for your company is no easy task. It requires an up-front investment of time and effort. Often companies fail to make this investment for the sake of expediency, or to save selection costs. This usually results in systems which are not well suited for the company, late, ineffective, and over budget. There are four basic steps which can help avoid this situation. We have the experience to help you perform each of them right.

System Strategy

Planning for Enterprise Systems must begin with the company’s strategic plan. We can work with you to assess:

The impact of introducing Enterprise Systems into your business environment
Where Enterprise Systems support achievement of your strategic plan
Which systems are appropriate for your company, based on our knowledge of recent trends, computer hardware, and available software packages.

The output of this process is a conceptual system design, identifying which of the components (illustrated above) are required by your company.

Define Needs

Commitment at all levels of an organization is fundamental to success. Therefore, it is important that your people are involved at an early stage. Using the conceptual design of your system as a framework, we can work with your management and staff to develop the details of your company’s needs. This process involves:

Obtaining agreement on the nature of your key business processes
Identifying activities supporting key business processes
Determining the functionality required to support activities

The output of this process is a statement of the company’s critical needs, expressed in clear and specific terms.

Acquisition

We can help you structure a request for proposal (RFP) detailing your requirements to appropriate software vendors. It will ensure that a clear response is made to each of your requirements. We can then train your team on how to evaluate and choose the best match using a structured methodology to evaluate vendors and their software. In addition, we can advise you on how to negotiate the best contract terms with a vendor.

Detailed System Design

Since every company is different, it is likely that no software system will meet all your requirements exactly. You may need to have modifications made to the software of develop compensating controls and procedures. We can assist your company in both areas by helping you to specify and test vendor software modifications and providing skills training and coaching for people to develop policies and procedures.

Manufacturing Systems Within a Quality Context.

Companies can find that manual and computerized systems alike do not effectively support the business processes. Symptoms of this situation include decreases in productivity, expediting, dwindling employee morale, and possible lower customer service. These symptoms may indicate the need for a new system. However, in many cases, they also indicate that a company does not have the capacity to monitor its processes to ensure that they are effective and properly executed. The purpose of any system is to enhance the performance of certain business processes. Effective quality management can ensure that business processes are continually improved to meet needs. By focusing on their customers, companies can ensure that their business processes evolve to help them become more competitive. AMGI has been providing a range of Enterprise Systems services to clients from various industry sectors always taking a pragmatic approach. This same experience, together with our quality management tools, ensure the necessary degree of culture change inherent to a successful manufacturing system implementation.