By Thomas Cutler
The current issue of Advanced Manufacturing includes animportant case study regarding the selection, use, andcost-efficiencies of e-kanban. The article was authored byleading manufacturing journalist Thomas R. Cutler
Cutler provided a detailed profile of the lean manufacturingprocess including how e-kanban solutions are central to aneffective lean manufacturing initiative. According to MatthewMarotta, founder of Datacraft Solutions, "We do not charge forupgrades to the system as we learn about new best practices thatclients ask us to incorporate. Before Datacraft incorporates therequest, it is reviewed buy a lean advisory board to validatethe value of the best practices and the value added impact uponour partner community. Once it is passed, they develop, test,and implement."
The hosted solution provides the customer with their own set ofservers which are maintained offsite by and outsourced set ofadministrators. All of the administration fees, equipment,support teams and software updates are all included in themonthly service fee which is less then the cost of hiring aninternal system administrator.
The value of an ASP is that manufacturers can buy "by thedrink", low risk, and a see a rapid ROI. Only internet access isrequired.
The non-ASP option leaves manufacturers investing a large suminto the communication network, IT personnel, IT training,application servers, consulting for system modification, alongwith all the hidden costs that come with it. The onlydisadvantage of using an ASP is the client never owns the system(application), only their own data. This concern tends to be theissue of IT since they want to control all phases of thee-kanban operation. The cost of the control is wasteful andcompletely antithetical to a Lean Initiative.
While some ERP systems QAD, Factory Logic, and Supply Workshave some e-kanban functionality is not their core focus, somanufacturers are purchasing the ERP system at a significantprice tag including all the prices increases (and upgradecharges). From the perspective of Lean functionality andimmediate ROI the cost cannot be justified, unless there is aplan for a manufacturer to replace the ERP system.
Datacraft Solutions www.datacraftsolutions.com Matthew Marotta800-819-5326
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