"The advantages of Configure to Order over Engineering to Order are enormous"

Goudsmit Magnetics in Waalre is regarded worldwide as a specialist in the field of magnetic systems. The family business develops and supplies installations to hundreds of customers in the manufacturing industry, primarily in Europe and increasingly in Asia.

In close cooperation with Cadac, Goudsmit has now switched to a sales-engineering configurator. The advantages of Configure to Order over Engineering to Order are enormous," says manager Leander van der Palen.

goudsmit

Faster and cheaper with CTO

Recycling - one of Goudsmit's markets - is essential to building the much-desired circular, sustainable economy, so the demand for waste separators is growing explosively. The installations that extract and separate valuable metals from waste are particularly popular. Several years ago, the management already foresaw a strong growth in demand, and Configure Me consultants were called in to examine the entire business processes.

More about CTO

In the old situation, an engineer would always build a complete machine. Now, he builds the installation with standard modules.

Leander van der Palen

Manager Goudsmit Magnetics

goudsmit-640-04

Billions

''There had to be a profit, that was clear from the start,'' says Leander van der Palen, responsible for marketing and manager of the business unit where Eddy Current separators are built. These are machines the size of a large truck in which powerful magnets hurl various metals from a conveyor belt of waste and sort them at the same time.

In fact, each installation was designed and built all over again, customer-specific. In terms of design alone, this was a major task that quickly took up a working week. We also saw bottlenecks in production. For example, there were errors in the drawings, not all parts were in stock and transport sometimes caused problems. Some machines did not fit in a truck or a sea container, for example. In short, the total lead time of an order was too long. Engineering and production in particular could benefit from the implementation. Costs had to be reduced and customers had to be served more quickly so as not to lose them to our competition.

What can CTO do for your organisation?

goudsmit-640-05

Configurator

Three years ago Goudsmit initiated the transition from Engineering to Order to  Configure to Order . Part of this transition was the implementation of a sales and engineering configurator that allows products to be configured for an order. This 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 is 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. Besides 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. Accuracy is a key requirement. And perhaps the biggest change of all: the engineers are going to work in a completely different way.

Behind the scenes, everything is digitalised, the customer doesn't notice a thing. Only that he is served faster.

That's absolutely right," Leander van der Palen agrees. ''In the old situation, an engineer would always build a complete machine. Now he builds the installation with standard modules. In such a change, it is extremely important to convince, guide and take people along. That takes time. At first, people are sceptical and think that their work will be boring, because a valid design and the corresponding correct quotation are now ready in an hour. However, this is actually 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. We also want to produce more and sell more outside Europe. There is plenty of work to do'.

With the engineering configurator, different types and sizes of waste separator can be assembled and produced. Doesn't that mean fewer options for the customer? ''No,'' says Michel Nelissen. The choice is even greater. However, standard modules are used for every installation. That makes no difference to the dimensions and the options. Behind the scenes, everything is digitalised, the customer doesn't notice a thing. Only that he is served faster.

goudsmit-640-02

The benefits

The benefits 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 all but disappeared. This reduces the cost price and makes us more competitive.

Another significant improvement is in logistics and transport. The modules can be transported separately, so you 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 manoeuvrable, and that fits in with Goudsmit's ambitions to capture more of the market outside Europe. And assembly is no problem. The modules can be attached to each other with simple bolts.

Discover our CTO-solutions

Goudsmit Magnetics is a perfect example of a company that wants to innovate and digitalise.

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, digitalisation is necessary, but it takes time. Marcel started with extensive knowledge sessions, then we spent a long time building the database, 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 digitalise. Here we can show what we can do with our services, experts and software-solutions.’

goudsmit-640-03

Example

Cadac is not yet finished in Waalre, Leander van der Palen promises. Next year we are going to implement software that will enable 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 each year. It is obvious that we will use the sales configurator on several fronts. Cadac is an excellent partner for us. More of a partner than a supplier.

Will our approach work for you too?

We are here to help you.

Ask a question Make an appointment
Log in to receive your personal prices

Log in to My Cadac

You are logged out

You have entered the wrong email address or password

New to Cadac Group?

  • The best prices Discover your personal price after creating an account
  • Buy or extend your Autodesk products Buy or extend your Autodesk products
  • Clear and easy to use webshop Clear and easy to use webshop
Need help? Service & Support

Create an account

Your password must be at least 8 characters long, and include at least one lowercase letter, one uppercase letter, and a number.

You have left some fields blank or not completed them correctly

This email address is already in use.

Privacy statement

Why create an account?

  • The best prices The best prices
  • Buy or extend your Autodesk products Buy or extend your Autodesk products
  • Clear and easy to use webshop Clear and easy to use webshop
Need help? Service & Support

Forgotten password

Having problems logging in? Enter your email address. You will then receive a link where you can reset your password. If you're not sure which email address was used, get in touch with us.

You have entered an invalid email address.

We do not have a record of this email address in our system.

Oops... An error occurred, please get in touch with us.

New to Cadac Group?

  • The best prices Discover your personal price after creating an account
  • Buy or extend your Autodesk products Buy or extend your Autodesk products
  • Clear and easy to use webshop Clear and easy to use webshop
Need help? Service & Support

Forgotten password

You have been sent an email from us with a link to reset your password.

New to Cadac Group?

  • The best prices Discover your personal price after creating an account
  • Buy or extend your Autodesk products Buy or extend your Autodesk products
  • Clear and easy to use webshop Clear and easy to use webshop
Need help? Service & Support

Reset password

Unfortunately, your link has expired or is invalid.
Click on the button below to request a new link.

Enter your new password below.

Your password must be at least 8 characters long, and include at least one lowercase letter, one uppercase letter, and a number.

Password only entered once or passwords do not match.

We do not have a record of this email address in our system.

Oops... An error occurred, please get in touch with us.

New to Cadac Group?

  • The best prices Discover your personal price after creating an account
  • Buy or extend your Autodesk products Buy or extend your Autodesk products
  • Clear and easy to use webshop Clear and easy to use webshop
Need help? Service & Support

Password has been reset

Your password has been successfully changed. From now on, you will be able to log in with your new password.

New to Cadac Group?

  • The best prices Discover your personal price after creating an account
  • Buy or extend your Autodesk products Buy or extend your Autodesk products
  • Clear and easy to use webshop Clear and easy to use webshop
Need help? Service & Support