"The advantages of Configure to Order compared to Engineering to Order are enormous"
Goudsmit Magnetics in Waalre is considered a worldwide specialist in the field of magnet systems. The family business develops and supplies installations to hundreds of customers in the manufacturing industry, mainly in Europe and increasingly also in Asia.
In close cooperation with Cadac, Goudsmit has now switched to a sales-engineering configurator. "The advantages of Configure to Order compared to Engineering to Order are enormous," says manager Leander van der Palen.
Faster and cheaper with CTO
Recycling – one of the markets in which Goudsmit is active – is essential in building the much-desired circular, sustainable economy and so the demand for waste separators is growing explosively. The installations that extract and separate valuable metals from waste are particularly popular. A few years ago, the management foresaw a strong growth in demand and consultants from Configure Me were called in to comprehensively examine the business processes.
In the old situation, an engineer built a complete machine each time. Now he builds the installation with standard modules.
Leander van der Palen
Manager Goudsmit Magnetics
Billions
"There had to be profit to be made, that was soon clear," says Leander van der Palen, responsible for marketing and manager of the business unit where Eddy Current Scheiders are built. Machines the size of a large truck in which powerful magnets hurl various metals from a conveyor belt with waste and sort them at the same time.
'In fact, every installation was redesigned and built, customer-specific. In terms of design alone, this was a major task that easily involved a working week . In addition, we saw bottlenecks in production. For example, there were errors in the drawing, not all parts were in stock and transport sometimes caused problems. For example, some machines did not fit in a truck or sea container. In summary: the total lead time of an order took too long. Engineering and production in particular were able to benefit from the implementation. Costs had to be reduced and customers had to be served faster so as not to lose them to our competition.'
Configurator
Three years ago, Goudsmit initiated the transition from Engineering to Order to Configure to Order. Part of this was the implementation of a sales and engineering configurator so that products can be assembled for an order by means of configuration. "That may seem like a long process," says Michel Nelissen, account manager at Cadac, which has owned Configure Me since June, "but these are far-reaching changes.
It's not a matter of installing a software program and that's it. Before the complete database can be filled, choices must first be made (standardisation) by a multidisciplinary team according to a new process. In addition to filling, this process also provides for the maintenance of the database. Then there is the link with other systems in the company. Warehouse, production floor, logistics. All processes are affected by it. Diligence is a prerequisite. And perhaps the biggest change: the engineers will work completely differently.'
Behind the scenes, everything is digitised, the customer doesn't notice it. Only that it is operated faster.
That's exactly right, Leander van der Palen chimes in. 'In the old situation, an engineer built a complete machine each time. Now he builds the installation with standard modules. In such a change, it is extremely important to convince people, guide them and take them with you. That takes time. At first there is scepticism and they think that their work is getting boring, because a valid design and the accompanying correct quotation are now ready in an hour. However, this is the key to much more interesting work because now the engineer finally has time to work on innovation and expanding or improving the platform with standard modules. Installations like this can always be improved. With new magnet systems, for example. Moreover, we want to produce more and also sell more outside Europe. There is plenty of work here.'
With the engineering configurator, different types and sizes of the waste separator can be assembled and produced. Doesn't that mean fewer choices for the customer? 'No', says Michel Nelissen. 'The choice is even greater. However, for each installation, standard modules are used. This makes no difference to the dimensions and options. Behind the scenes, everything is digitised, the customer doesn't notice it. Only that he is served faster.'
The benefits
The advantages are becoming increasingly clear in practice, says a satisfied Leander van der Palen. 'We can plan much better, produce faster and the bottlenecks in production have virtually disappeared. This reduces the cost price and makes us more competitive.
Another significant improvement can be seen in logistics and transport. The modules can be transported separately, so you will never have the problem that the installation does not fit in a container. This offers more flexibility both by road and by water. We are more agile and that fits in with Goudsmit's ambitions to conquer more market share outside Europe. And assembly is no problem. The modules can be attached to each other with simple bolts.'
Goudsmit Magnetics is a perfect example of a company that wants to innovate and digitise.
Michel Nelissen, together with his colleague Marcel de Goey, who was previously involved in the project on behalf of Configure Me, looks back on an intensive period. 'Certainly, digitisation is necessary, but it takes time. Marcel started with extensive knowledge sessions at the time, then we built the database for a long time and of course we trained all the people involved. We are very proud of this. Goudsmit Magnetics is a perfect example of a company that wants to innovate and digitise. Here we can show what we can do with our services, experts and software solutions.'
Example
Cadac is not finished in Waalre yet, promises Leander van der Palen. "In the coming year, we will implement software that allows our customers to operate the online sales configurator themselves . And I think that after this example, we can also make other product packages smarter within Goudsmit.
With 160 employees, we develop and produce dozens of magnetic systems for hundreds of customers every year. It is obvious that we will use the sales configurator on several fronts . As far as we are concerned, Cadac is an excellent party. A partner rather than a supplier.'