Global manufacturing and service operations today are complex and the competition is intense. This is particularly true for the manufacturing, materials, energy and technology industries. The key to compete in these global markets is through efficiency and flexibility. In the face of volatile customer demand and global uncertainties, lowest cost operations and the ability to adapt and innovate are the hallmarks of today's manufacturing enterprise. By combining its industry expertise, proprietary methods, simulation and other analytical tools, DBTC can engineer operational strategies for the firm with a lasting competitive advantage.
What We Do
DBTC's Operation Improvement consulting helps customers gain competitive advantage through operations by addressing the following key areas:
Low manufacturing productivity is often caused due to a combination of factors in the plant floor which ranges from mismatch of flows to issues around labor productivity and automation. While each individual client's situation will be different, we find that our overall framework that addresses the basic questions around production cost, quality, flexibility, cycle times and control are generally applicable. DBTC's framework addresses some of the key levers which can help optimize operations.
- De-bottlenecking: Manufacturing operations can develop bottlenecks in certain operating areas which reduce the overall manufacturing productivity. These bottlenecks could be due to capacity mismatches, operating process complexity, flow mismatches or issues around scheduling, sourcing and movement. DBTC uses sophisticated simulation and analytical tools to identify the bottlenecks and recommend solutions to improve manufacturing productivity.
- Facility and Flow Optimization: Maintaining the velocity of flow has significant impacts on reduction of cycle time of operations. Our experts apply principles ranging from lean manufacturing to layout optimization to improve flow resulting in significant gains in shop-floor productivity.
DBTC improves its clients' manufacturing execution to meet the needs of customers better by applying manufacturing process redesign. Typically, a cost savings of 20 percent to 30 percent of the addressable cost base is attainable, but its real advantages are reduced cycle times, increased quality and customer satisfaction.
Manufacturing process redesign (MPR) examines the efficiency and effectiveness of a company's most critical manufacturing processes. It is a key enabler to deliver the highest-quality of service, in the most productive way, at the most competitive cost and time to output.
DBTC engages with each client to prioritize key processes based on the concept of process value. For each priority process we develop a view of the current state based on operational data, using detailed process maps and analysis to help identify major gaps. We use simulations and what-ifs to understand the process dynamics and recommend the optimal 'to-be' manufacturing process along with a roadmap to achieve the near and long term results.
New projects, expansions and reengineering require careful consideration to capacity additions, extractions or consolidations. Appropriate addition of capacity is a key determinant of the cash-flows and returns of the project. Decisions to buy or lease capacity in the face of demand variability are also important determinants of capacity planning. Similarly, DBTC often engages with its customers to figure out ways to extract capacities from existing operations. Using our diagnostic tools, knowledge bases and expertise, we are able to discover significant hidden capacities which have profound financial and operational impact on capital investments, revenues and cash-flows.
Planning and scheduling systems are key to flexibility in manufacturing operations. Customer order commits, efficient resource utilization and capacity usage are influenced by planning and scheduling systems. DBTC’s consulting services are particularly useful for designing and optimizing systems that are 'made-to-order' with capital intensive production processes as is typical in manufacturing. Products 'competing' for plant capacity and products requiring complex manufacturing transformations. Typically, a 15-20% return on investment is achievable due to better yields, reduced customer churn and more effective utilization of capacity.
Footprint Optimization
In global manufacturing and service operations, plant capacities are spread across continents. To be competitive, the size and number of these facilities need to be appropriate taking into account costs, flexibilities and operational risks. DBTC, footprint optimization services addresses these issues for an enterprise and designs footprints in line with dynamics of the markets.
Today’s global operations are inherently risky. The nature of risks ranges from the 'known unknown' to the 'unknown unknown'. These range from supply chain bottlenecks to terror attacks. Yet, operations need to be seamless even in the face of such diverse risks. DBTC’s risk assessment and management services help clients in mitigating operating risks by designing risk hedging and management mechanisms across their global enterprises.
Maintenance is an essential activity of capital-intensive industries and may account for upto 15% of the overall operating costs. Failure of maintenance systems can lead to significant lost opportunity costs due to breakdowns. At the same time ill designed maintenance systems can lead to significant MRO inventory running into billions of dollars with its consequent large write-offs due to obsolescence. DBTC’s maintenance consulting helps its client achieve the right balance between lost opportunity costs and the cost of MRO inventory and obsolescence.