Author_Institution :
Cincom Syst. Inc., Cincinnati, OH, USA
Abstract :
Making manufacturing an essential part of any customer-facing process is a feature of the revolution that customers actually want. This includes facilities for: defining customised products; access to the status and completion of orders; and setting and keeping production and delivery commitment dates. There is, however, a problem: the closer that processes bring customers to manufacturing, the more engineers and time are required to make these many processes work. It is crucial that manufacturers align more closely with customers, give them the revolution they want, and free up engineering to design, develop and produce the next generation of products. Manufacturers that have redesigned how their quotes are created to automate the role of engineering find that quote volumes go up, incomplete and incorrect orders drop, and engineers have time to design, develop and manufacture the next generation of products.