Baan system helps Boeing cut cycle times

Baan system helps Boeing cut cycle times

Keywords Baan,Cycle times, Software

The Baan Company, a global provider of enterprise applications, has announced the successful deployment of a new enterprise software system at The Boeing Company that embeds the results of a major business process reengineering effort. Along with new business processes, the enterprise software has already simplified work ­ and information flow ­ for 25,000 of the aviation manufacturer's employees and has significantly reduced parts shortages. Boeing reports that in one manufacturing business unit in particular, shortages have dropped from an average of 350 per day to only ten.

To date, 19 Boeing parts fabrication plants and three Boeing Commercial Airplane Group (BCAG) sites­ central contract procurement, finance and central spare parts ­ have gone live with BaanERP software. Mid-assembly and final-assembly plants are also expected to go live with Baan Company enterprise application software by early 2000. Eventually, all BCAG sites will upgrade to Baan Company enterprise application software.

"At Boeing, our goal is to find simpler, more efficient ways to configure and build airplanes, and do it at less cost," said Bob Hammer, vice-president of Define and Control Airplane Configuration/Manufacturing Resource Management (DCAC/MRM) at Boeing Commercial Airplane Group. "Baan software provides access to best-in-class systems, which we are coupling with business processes gathered from other manufacturers."

Baan Company enterprise applications software is helping Boeing streamline its aircraft manufacturing. Previously, Boeing workers used more than 30 different shop floor control systems and 14 bill of material systems. As a result, processes differed from plant to plant.

The 25,000 Boeing employees using Baan Company software, which is integrated with several other commercial off-the-shelf applications, now share a single information platform across the enterprise. This reduces the need for training on multiple platforms and simplifies the manufacturing process.

The Baan Company applications at Boeing ­ manufacturing, finance and distribution modules­ run on Hewlett Packard application servers, Sequent data servers, and Oracle databases. In addition, Baan is linked to the SDRC's Metaphase Product Data Manager, Trilogy's Sales Configurator and CIMLINC's Computer-Aided Process Planner.

"So far, the Baan solution gives Boeing employees more information and control over factory operations",said Larry Kolesar, director of DCAC/MRM Information Systems at Boeing. "The immediate pay-off is that we have reduced cycle times and inventory costs. The long-term benefit is that Boeing will be able to manufacture aircraft more efficiently and quicker than our competitors. This system helps our company achieve a strategic advantage in the marketplace."

Baan Company enterprise applications have improved Boeing's flexibility: the result of employees using a single system is that job titles and responsibilities between parts fabrication plants are now consistent, so employees can be moved if needed. With a clearer picture of the workflow, Boeing can better manage the bottlenecks and minimise delays in areas where this system is in place.

Baan Company software has improved materials planning: Baan Company's system uses algorithms that map to real-time supply chain requirements. The information gives employees the actual dates when parts should be provided to various plants.

To speed implementation,Boeing used Baan Company's Dynamic Enterprise Modeling Strategic Execution(DEM-SE) application to deploy the system. DEM-SE is a tool that helps an organisation determine which of Baan Company's 10,000 session modules are needed for implementation. Boeing first captured its organisational and business processes in a series of flow charts and then used a template of industry best practices. The DEM-SE application then dynamically configured the Baan Company enterprise software appropriately to meet Boeing's needs. DEM-SE can be reconfigured later as a company's needs or business practices change.

"Our implementation times are one-third to one-half the time of our competitors", said John Wilkerson,global vice-president and general manager, Aerospace and Defence, Baan Company."The flexibility of our system and the ability to link with third-party systems significantly reduces risk. We are helping Boeing reduce the total cost of manufacturing and better position itself against competitors."

Baan Company has dual headquarters in Barneveld, The Netherlands and Reston, Virginia, USA. The company's common stock is registered on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol BAANF and on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange under the symbol BAAN.

Details are available from The Baan Company. Tel: +44 (0) 1252 380937.