ASK Power Improves On-Time Delivery to 99% with DemandCaster
Company Size
200-1,000
Region
- America
Country
- United States
Product
- DemandCaster
Tech Stack
- ERP/MRP System
- Capacity Planning Functionality
- Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) Module
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Cost Savings
- Customer Satisfaction
- Productivity Improvements
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics
- Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
- Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
Applicable Industries
- National Security & Defense
- Telecommunications
- Transportation
Applicable Functions
- Quality Assurance
- Warehouse & Inventory Management
Use Cases
- Inventory Management
- Predictive Maintenance
- Supply Chain Visibility
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
ASK Power is an Aurora, IL-based manufacturer of electrical power connectors for the transportation, military, telecommunications, and OEM markets. With more than 50 years of tool design and applications engineering, ASK Power also provides design, development, tooling, and production for entire product lines, gauge ranges, and prototyping.
The Challenge
The company’s ERP/MRP system worked well but couldn’t provide the flexibility of detailed capacity planning or sales and operational planning (S&OP) the company needed to remain competitive. Monthly manual forecasting done on spreadsheets was time-consuming, out of date, and inaccurate. The company could not get detailed shop floor control through visual finite capacity planning for a realistic snapshot of work center loading, late jobs, lead times, or inventory. Unable to provide a high level of service to the company’s top 100 customers without stocking inventory—raw material from overseas required a two to three-month lead time; but, customer lead time was less than a month.
The Solution
Kase discovered that very few systems can do that as well as DemandCaster’s capacity planning functionality; so, he decided to add it onto his company’s ERP system. Using DemandCaster, ASK Power can get detailed shop floor control with visual capacity planning that forecasts 45 or 60 days out, and regenerate planning according to the company’s machine layout on an as-needed basis. Daily updates from the ERP/MRP are automatically fed into DemandCaster for an updated, more accurate demand and supply plan. Another key area Kase wanted to improve on was sales and operations planning to stay competitive. Since ASK Power serves a variety of markets, it became difficult to serve these markets at a high level without building up stock. Each month the company would compile spreadsheets to determine optimum inventory levels but soon realized this was not accurate, or sustainable. With DemandCaster’s Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) module, the company collects sales and order data from its ERP system and develops forecasts based on segments unique to its business. After reviewing available capacity, inventory, and scheduling, ASK Power can set inventory targets and plan supply accordingly. DemandCaster proved to be an excellent budgeting solution for the company’s operations.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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