Front End Integration to Remove Production Bottle Necks and Increase Efficiency

摘要

The trend in recent years particularly in the west, Europe and the USA, has been the movement of manufacturing from high volume to Quick Turn-Around and Small Batches. This leads to a dramatic increase in the number of jobs which must be quoted and manufactured by companies who were until recently coping with a low tens of new jobs and quotes per week at most. The consequence has been to put tremendous pressure on the “Front-End” systems of most manufacturing companies relative to manufacturing where demands are actually lower because of lower volume. The front-end systems most feeling the squeeze are Sales tools, engineering departments and CAM. To compound this problem there is usually a total lack of connectivity between the different software used by each Front End department. These systems also need to connect with back end systems such as MRP and finance and again there is no clear connectivity. All of this causes bottlenecks in the front-end and the danger of quality mistakes. Engineering in particular is not automated and synchronizing and comparing PCB production with multiple specifications from multiple vendors is a time consuming and manual task. The lack of connection of the front-end to the back end raises one of the most difficult issue many companies face, which is delivering accurate and quick quotations. Again, the pressure on PCB manufacturers to provide quick answers to their clients is increasing. Today, margins are low and the competition tough and a front-end that does not operate smoothly and competitively will not be able to complete this task.