In 1995
Lantech was reviewing all Windows based integrated
manufacturing systems. Lantech had already
decided that they would base their future information
systems on a Windows platform and dispose of
their existing mainframe infrastructure.
The decision
to totally replace their existing information
systems was part of Lantech’s continual and
ongoing review of operations and procedures
designed to provide the highest possible customer
satisfaction level.
Having
discussed WinMan’s philosophy to integrated
manufacturing systems and satisfied themselves
as to that company’s flexibility and ability,
Lantech made the decision in July 1995 to install
the WinMan system with a planned live date
of 1st October 1995. WinMan’s sales order processing
programs were modified to accommodate the separate
sales order processing systems then in use
for the various types of activities. Configuration
tools were designed for the sophisticated robotics
equipment manufactured by Lantech and many
hundreds of megabytes of current and historical
data were converted and verified. In addition,
it was decided to write a sales tax module
from scratch as those currently on offer were
considered too expensive and inflexible.
Lantech
makes extensive use of external KanBan and
the WinMan ordering / receiving / vendor payment
process claimed by WinMan to involve less user
input than any other system available anywhere
in the world.
Lantech’s
main manufacturing activity relates to high
quality stretch wrapping equipment like that
pictured above. In this highly competitive
market Lantech have to be able to offer a 10
day lead-time and such demands require a high
proportion of material supply to be by way
of KanBan and for the manufacturing software
to reflect the manufacturing process and not
to restrict it in any way.
All manufactured
product is back-flushed with WinMan down-dating
inventory levels by manufacturing cell on a
real-time FIFO actual basis.
To meet
the disparate needs of a mixed business of
spares sales, volume equipment manufacture
and large project build, WinMan enhanced its
then standard MRP functionality to provide
additional options, in particular, a separate
spares requirements profile which operates
within the overall company requirement.
With a
concurrent user count normally over 200 and
a product structure file greater than 1.4 million
records, speed is obviously of critical importance
and the normal elapsed time of less than 1
hour for a full regenerative requirements run
is well within Lantech’s original specification.
The successful
implementation of WinMan at Lantech enabled
the company to grow its share of the stretch-wrap
machinery market from 35 percent to 50 percent.
Since WinMan’s implementation, Lantech has
improved all aspects of their enterprise from
front office to shipping. Lantech and WinMan’s
innovations were recognized by Microsoft as
a finalist in the Leonardo Medal for Technical
Innovations in Manufacturing. To view the Microsoft
press release on Lantech and WinMan, click
here .
