The story of the implementation of the APS (Advanced Planning and Scheduling software) CyberPlan solution in the Selle Royal group, by Eng. Andrea Cecchinato – CIO & COO and Andrea Salviato – Production planning manager of the Venetian multinational.
What drove you to look for APS software?
“The Venetian company has grown considerably over time, expanding the offer in terms of brands and products,” says Cecchinato, who explains how this growth had led to considerable benefits but also brought out the limits of the production planning adopted previously. The tool used until then was in fact the ERP, which had limited planning features that did not allow to continue to govern the company during its growth. There was also a need to serve different channels in different ways with different types of service, with different lead times and with different strategies between make-to-order and make-to-stock.
Hence the need to substantially strengthen the demand planning activity, part of the broader Demand Management process. Planning quickly went from marginal activity to core process, a very important process for strategic reasons: “We therefore decided to equip ourselves with the CyberPlan manufacturing forecast and to increase the capabilities of the MRP and the CyberPlan scheduler by upgrading it from a hardware point of view to a server, then we expanded the number of users and increased the functionality“.
The head of programming, Salviato, adds: “One of the initial reasons that led us to look for an APS solution was to disconnect the needs of planning from the rigidities of the MRP provided by the manufacturer of the management system.” The MRP of the management system was rigid and presented very poor master data that had a fixed lead time while the company needed greater flexibility. Other needs related to the management of process waste, safety lead time rather than the calculation of safety stock or maintenance, and all with a certain speed.
What aspects of production do you manage with CyberPlan?
“Thanks to Cybertec’s APS we manage the purchasing, planning and scheduling part with the MRP and demand planning. We use the Manufacturing Forecast part to complete the demand plan, which also follows the seasonality and gives us indications both on the materials and on the needs or resources available.” answers Cecchinato; Salviato adds that “thanks to CyberPlan we also manage the availability of materials and the missing ones, the processing, the reminders and advance requests to suppliers“
In terms of time horizons, how does APS help you?
Cecchinato replies that “with regard to time horizons with CyberPlan we range from a few days to several months, depending on the sales channel. CyberPlan also helps us manage another particular aspect, namely seasonality. In fact, our production is characterized by a variation in demand with an annual seasonality, which fortunately we manage thanks to the plans released by CyberPlan“.
Does CyberPlan help you with suppliers?
“Absolutely yes, a relationship of trust and respect has been established with some Selle Royal suppliers that led us to decide together to plan the production of the latter, as if they were internal departments of our production. The benefits are those of greater dialogue and greater mutual organisation.” says engineer Cecchinato, and colleague Salviato adds that “in fact the supply chain of Selle Royal in some cases is relatively complex and involves different processes by suppliers or internal departments. This supply chain involves consequential processing so being able to plan orders throughout the chain is an important added value “.
What benefits did you get, using CyberPlan?
The benefits identified by the planning and operation managers are varied:
- 80% lead time reduction: on one channel in particular, the lead time went from 8-10 weeks to the current 1-2, which also led to an increase in business volume;
- Increase in the level of service: the level of service has increased by 35%, a remarkable result that leads us to a value of absolute importance;
- Increase in the turnover index of the warehouse: the value has increased and today the warehouse is more “healthy” and rotates more;
- Reduction of obsolete: the quantity of so-called slow movers has been reduced, despite the growth that has led to an increase in the number of codes and a reduction in the quantities per single code;
- Reduction of missing items: cases of missing items have decreased, which the company monitors per sales order line.
Eng. Cecchinato adds that “In addition to this CyberPlan has brought us a series of positive aspects, ranging from the best dialogue between departments to that towards suppliers, Cybertec’s APS then allowed us to carry out simulations and to do if-then analyses. Another feature that comes in handy is being able to export the data to be able to share it with colleagues.”
Link Management, a successful partner
The success of Selle Royal is also due to the great professionalism and expertise of Link Management, specialists in the field of Supply Chain and partners of Cybertec for over twelve years. This long partnership guarantees a complete knowledge of the CyberPlan solution, which the Link Management consultants have installed in the Vicenza company, integrating it with existing solutions and within an innovation project. Link Management carries out projects for the organisation and improvement of the factory: production planning and control, MES, Industry 4.0, supplier and warehouse management.
The company
Selle Royal was founded in 1956 by Riccardo Bigolin in Pozzolene, in the province of Vicenza. The company has grown over the years by acquiring and developing world-class companies such as Fi’zi:k, Brooks England, PEdALED and Crankbrothers, expanding its market from saddle manufacturing to bicycle components: shoes, pedals, wheels, bags, dumbbells, etc. Over time, the Vicenza-based company has become a multinational, the growth has been possible thanks to the passion that is put every day in developing products by the members of Selle Royal who work from Pozzoleone (Italy), Birmingham (UK), Laguna Beach (California), Taichung (Taiwan), and Janjin (China). The Vicenza-based company continues to evolve, listening to cyclists and the world of cycling according to the philosophy of “Support Cyclists”: although in business for over 50 years, the company is committed to deeply understanding needs, anticipating trends and becoming a social facilitator that promotes a cycling lifestyle.
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