AGC Automotive Selects Apriso To Improve Visibility And Efficiency Of Their Operations And Supply Chain

AGC Automotive will implement an Apriso FlexNet(R) Operations Execution System to improve  adaptability on their production line, while enhancing visibility across their global supply chain. This ambitious project will initially comprise 13 of their 15 facilities and network of external production centers and warehouses located across Europe, with an expected timeframe for completion of just under three years.



Faced with a growing need to increase operational efficiency, AGC Automotive recognized that a real-time operations system could complement their enterprise resource planning (ERP) deployment, providing the necessary integration layer between plant floor operations and corporate-level planning. The resulting objective is to improve responsiveness, while contributing to achieving 'best-in-class' customer satisfaction.



"We are impressed with Apriso's automotive industry knowledge and ability to cost effectively provide an operations system with real-time visibility, all the way across our global supply chain network," explained Luc Pirau, IT manager at AGC Automotive Europe. "As we engage in our ERP roll out, I feel better knowing that Apriso tightly integrates with enterprise applications such as ERP, demonstrating how well the two systems complement each other to improve overall operations performance."



Manufacturers with multiple production or supplier locations face increased complexity to improve operations management. The Apriso FlexNet solution addresses these challenges, by providing an adaptive platform to establish, distribute and maintain standardized business processes across the enterprise. With real-time visibility to business processes, it is possible to identify opportunities for improvement and then immediately implement those changes.



The Apriso FlexNet platform was designed as an enterprise application built on business processes, rather than as a plant floor application built on hard-coded commands. By taking this approach, it is easy to create a 'Center of Excellence' to identify 'core' processes suitable for usage throughout the organization. It is only through this 'Core' approach to global deployment that the ambitious roll out plan could be accomplished. Once a best-practice process has been identified and tested, it may easily be deployed to every location. The benefits from such a standardized approach include improved operational performance, lower training costs for employees and better aggregate results from continuous improvement programs, such as Lean manufacturing initiatives.