Italian industry is showing signs of recovery, largely driven by the electromechanical sector. Together with the electronic one, the electromechanical sector is acting as a driver of the recovery. Italy, in these two sectors, is technologically at the forefront and one of the main players at European level. In fact, the competitiveness of the manufacturing department and other important parts of the national industry depends on these two sectors.
“In the two-year period 2017-2018, the entire electromechanical supply chain, especially thanks to electronics, will be one of the main drivers of the recovery of the manufacturing industry” Fonte la Repubblica (20 February 2017)
Italy’s economic situation is still quite uncertain, as is the international macroeconomic framework, but some sectors promise to be able to focus on them to overcome the crisis that has hit the country in recent years. Electromechanics (or electrotechnics) and electronics are certainly two sectors on which to focus. In fact, after a very difficult three-year period, they have supported the gradual recovery of the national manufacturing industry thanks to exports and the slight recovery of the domestic market. These are technologically advanced sectors with an aggregate turnover of over €50 billion, almost 60% of which were achieved thanks to exports. The companies operating in these sectors are over 1,200 companies with 410,000 employees. In recent years, these companies have opened new frontiers from mechanics to automation to IT, and have generated technological innovation in strategically important markets such as energy, transport and construction. Hence, the Italian manufacturing industry accounts for 7% of total turnover and 10% of total employment. The electromechanical sector in particular ranks 2nd within the EU, for total revenues after Germany (Source: Anie). Compared to other sectors, they are also among those with the highest growth prospects, as evidenced by the analyses of Prometeia and Intesa Sanpaolo.
Be prepared to deal with recovery and change
Economic growth and increased sales and production are certainly a good sign for a business. Business growth in these cases means an increase in orders and consequently in the quantities to be produced. This also entails an increase in all aspects directly related to them, such as the quantities to be kept in stock, the production of spare parts, reordering, etc. This situation, if not properly addressed, can turn into a risk for the company. This increase in complexity, if on the one hand it increases turnover, on the other hand it risks translating into a loss of control. In many cases, in fact, companies, if not equipped with adequate tools to manage the increase in complexity, are faced with new and unexpected critical issues, such as:
- Difficulty in guaranteeing customers an adequate level of service;
- Frequently managing emergencies and unforeseen events;
- Difficulty in having vision and managing resource loads, leading to inefficiencies on the one hand;
- Production stoppages caused by missing materials despite the increase in warehouses
- Dealing with late orders often.
These problems are likely to emerge in a very short time even in the face of minimal growth in turnover. This happens because the growth of complexities is typically more than proportional to that of the business size.
These critical issues, typical of rapid and/or unexpected growth, will be added to others that are instead characteristic of these sectors and technologies.
“When obstacles such as increasingly complex systems and large amounts of data to be assorted will appear on the horizon.” Source: Italian Industry (13 October 2017)
It is therefore of fundamental importance to equip their companies with the appropriate production planning tools. This foresight allows us to be ready in the event of an increase in production and to be able to see with the necessary advance notice the possible occurrence of critical situations such as late deliveries, missing deliveries and bottlenecks. APS software is therefore of fundamental importance for forward-looking companies that intend to present themselves prepared to seize these opportunities.
Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) software in the electromechanical sector
To achieve ambition challenges in an uncertain market, the best solution for manufacturing companies is definitely to eliminate the numerous Excel sheets by integrating the company’s ERP with advanced software for production planning and scheduling (also known by the acronym APS). The companies that have chosen CyberPlan , Cybertec’s famous APS, find all the necessary winning features (previously sought in the various offline tools) in a single tool:
- powerful algorithms with advanced logic and integrated into the ERP;
- calculation speed and ease of use far superior to an Excel;
- intuitive graphical interface greater than that of the Projects.
With these features, planners are able to easily verify the consequences of every possible action. The results are optimized production plans and scheduled at finished capacity to take into account all resource and material constraints. Companies that have integrated CyberPlan into their management system or ERP have found the following benefits:
- improving the punctuality of deliveries and the level of customer service;
- increased saturation of resources and reduced set-up times;
- reduction of warehouses and crossing times;
- collaboration between purchasing, production and sales.
In addition, the savings obtained in terms of capital invested in inventories and reduction of operating costs, allows the investment to be returned within the year. CyberPlan allows companies to achieve certain, measurable and lasting results, providing an effective response to current competitiveness needs, reducing costs and exceeding the expectations of their customers. By integrating directly into the management system, it eliminates the need for other offline tools, keeping information centralised and shared. The Supply Chain Manager has complete visibility over the production process, receiving optimal and feasible plans consistent with the needs and availability of materials and resources. This makes it possible to reduce production and management costs. The Sales Department has at its disposal a more stable and precise output from the planning, which allows a more consistent and reliable scheduling of deliveries. The IT Manager has the possibility to provide effective support to the business, centralizing the planning process in a single system and avoiding the proliferation of unshared tools.
Numerous testimonials from the electromechanical sector
Numerous companies in the electromechanical sector have been using CyberPlan advanced planning and scheduling software for years. Some of which are:
- ABB;
- Ansaldo;
- Cameos;
- De Angeli Prodotti;
- Fanton – Cables and electrical components;
- Gewiss;
- HT – Advanced Heating Solutions;
- LTC – La Triveneta Cavi;
- Lafert Group;
- Vimar.
Contact us to seize this opportunity and put your company in a position of strong advantage by providing it with adequate tools to support it. Govern your supply chain!
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