It hardly needs to be said that technology has revolutionised manufacturing over the last 30 years, both in production and in decision-support. In that time, weve walked thousands of factory floors: improving our clients throughput, reducing their bottlenecks, and helping them grow.
And yet we continue to see the same problems among new clients today as we did 30 years ago. Despite technology, manufacturers fundamental issues havent changed - even for the most successful businesses.
Its still the same old story
Almost all manufacturers tell us the same things. Customers change their orders at the last minute, but no one can gauge the impact on production. Materials dont arrive in time, and machines have questionable (and apparently unmeasurable) efficiency. No one knows which jobs are profitable, and theres insufficient data to update customers about their orders. Too much time is spent servicing customers, and not enough developing the business. And then theres all that manual data-entry.
Even companies with multi-million-pound IT budgets struggle to overcome the most basic problems which begs the question of how much more successful could they be with the right solutions?
Software alone is not enough Most software companies in this market are much of a muchness, with many implementation teams simply replicating their most recent project. And thats why Visdata stands out. But its also more than that: its because we offer so much management added-value.
We can look at a pile of material in a factory and know how much its costing and how to move it through the factory more quickly. Thats important, because software is only a tool: it can only help when the right problems have been correctly identified.
Dont solve the wrong problem
Once, in the 1990s, just a month after we implemented a pioneering shop-floor data-capture system, we called our client to see how things were going.
I put this system in to ensure a good return on our new stamping section, he replied, but youve made me realise Im making more money from my welding shop. The result? He cancelled an order for two further 250-tonne presses and invested in his welding section. Theyre now one of the biggest privately owned businesses in their sector; theyre still our client; and they continue to invest in IT.
We consider solving age-old manufacturing problems to be the most basic requirement. On top of that, we understand that what might seem to be your biggest problem might not be where the biggest gains can be found. And thats why software alone cant help: you need the additional expertise of an experienced specialist.
We focus on "Batch to Order" manufacturing where margin really matters. We can help control and streamline your operations so that you can be more successful. That means aligning technology with improved methodologies. It means providing not just practical and tailored software, but practical and tailored management advice. Solutions which dont do this are a waste of time and money.
For more information on Visdata and how it can help to streamline your manufacturing processes, visit http://www.visdata.co.uk or call 01283 711 441
The more things change, the more they stay the same
