ECO

We are interested in experiences with implementing ECO. The client is a make-to-order and assemble-to-order company and managing BOM changes has too many people too busy. Can ECO deliver in terms of quality and time-savings?
Any comments about how users respond to it? and how it was to implement?
We expect the engineering group to be the main users, are these the right people?

I have implemented ECO in the JDE World product. It helped with ECR/ECO
tracking and the updating of the BOM. We had a data entry group between
engineering and Inventory planning. In world, JDE did not provide use up
logic for inventory so when to update the BOM was manual call.
Is this a engineer to order or only assemble to order shop? For assemble to
order the configurator can help.
Good luck !



AS/400 Web Client / XE / Installing SP20 currently on SP18 / WAS 3.5 / Multi Foundations / OS 400 V4 R5 / AS400 is JAS / Enterprise and Logic serve

Robert,

Have you examined using the sales configurator
application? If they are using may pre-manufactured
parts and customizing the assembly or making minor
adjustments, this may save the complexity of ECO.
--- rekblad <[email protected]> wrote:
http://www.jdelist.com/ubb/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=OW&Number=43450


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World, OW B733X and Xe

Good question... an on-going discussion.
Can you shed some light on the use of Configurator? Our 3 fundamental questions are (1) managing repeat orders and repair parts; (2) having to configure every order for a particular product line; (3) maintenance/obsolesence.

Re: RE: ECO

Configurator is an on-going discussion.
There are 2 general product lines - 1 is assemble-to-order and the other is engineer-to-order (really assemble to order but with frequent engineering changes just to keep it interesting).
Can you shed some light on the use of Configurator? Our 3 fundamental questions are (1) managing repeat orders and repair parts; (2) having to configure every order for a particular product line; (3) maintenance/obsolesence.

JDE does indeed provide obsolesence (use-up logic) for Sales & Purchase orders, but not directly for manufacturing. The BoM needs to be manipulated for use-up processing and this is where we thought ECO would help reduce the manual -- and frequently incomplete -- changes.

Re: RE: ECO

Robert,

There is a configurator discussion group that you
could post your questions. It is
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jde_sales_configurator
You'll need to subscribe in order to read and post
messages. Good Luck!!
--- rekblad <[email protected]> wrote:
http://www.jdelist.com/ubb/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=OW&Number=43483


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World, OW B733X and Xe

Rob -

I am the founder and moderator of the international JDE Configurator Discussion Group that Mike Dupaix mentioned. I am also a consultant, specializing in the Sales Configurator.

Answers to your questions are as follows:

(1) managing repeat orders and repair parts

Without a good understanding of the configurator, and the proper management of it, repeat orders and repair parts can cause major problems. If the configurator is managed correctly repeat orders can be handled through the use of the configured string ID (CSID) number. The same with repair parts. The problem is that the CSID defines the product's features and options, not the parts that go into (or went into) the product, so some extra steps must be taken in order to utilize the CSID for these purposes.

(2) having to configure every order for a particular product line

This is one of the costs of using the configurator. On the other hand, there are also tremendous benefits. (It is a poor use of engineering resources to have engineers "configuring" products, and yet that is what is happening in a lot of companies. By letting the configurator take over this mundane task, engineers can work on improving designs of existing products or designing new products.) An analysis should be done before starting to implement the configurator to compare the costs versus benefits and make sure the client is aware of the pros and the cons. Also, there are several ways around "having to configure every order." I'd be happy to discuss these with you in more detail privately.

(3) maintenance/obsolesence.

The amount of maintenance is dependent on a number of factors and is different for every client. Some installations are very static while others are extremely dynamic. This is another area that I like to address during my initial analysis. In some ways maintenance and obsolesence are easier to deal with than with static BOMs and routings. (For example, just imagine trying to implement an engineering change that makes a part obsolete ONLY on products where option C is either XXX or YYY and option F is greater than 40.)

One of the configurator presentations that I have made at local User Groups and regional Quest conferences is an overview of the configurator. Some of the topics covered in this presentation are: what is a configurator; reasons why more companies aren't using the configurator; what types of products lend themselves to being configured; costs versus benefits. If you (or anyone else) want a copy of this presentation send me a private e-mail and I'll send it to you. Also, if you have other questions about the configurator feel free to e-mail or call me.

Don Herd
[email protected]
503-816-0444