Performance Controls, Inc. (PCI) designs and manufactures Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) amplifiers and motor drives for applications demanding great precision, high power, extreme performance and/or outstanding reliability. From its conception nearly 30 years ago, PCI, has had the same mission: “To design and manufacture power amplifiers that provide performance and features beyond the ordinary.” During the company’s history, it has repeatedly contributed to the state of-the-art of Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) amplifiers, and has received numerous patents for its many developments.
Business Situation
Performance Controls Inc. (PCI) needed better monitoring of its supply chain and control of its costs. The company’s current 30 year old Made to Manage solution was not able to provide the controls PCI was looking for. In the spirit of managing expenses, PCI had a limited budget for implementing the new solution. As with many other manufacturers, PCI had put off implementing an updated system as long as possible; consequently, the leadership was anxious to have the new solution up and running as soon as possible. Hitachi Solutions gave PCI just what the company needed: a robust full-featured ERP with Microsoft Dynamics and a quick and cost effective deployment using Hitachi’s Instant//AX for Discrete Manufacturing implementation services.
Solution
The primary objective of this project was to implement Microsoft Dynamics AX within the allocated cost and timeframe without disruption of PCI’s operations. To meet the client’s limited budget and timeframe, INSTANT//AX for Manufacturing using Dynamics AX 2012 R3 was selected. It was deployed within three months at a cost that was approximately a third of the price of a typical Dynamics AX implementation.
INSTANT//AX for Discrete Manufacturing from Hitachi Solutions offered PCI a turnkey solution by identifying all the business process and best-fit system configurations required to operate the company. Hitachi Solutions also offered hosted environments with complete setup that allowed PCI to use the system even before procuring any hardware.
Because of this, Hitachi Solutions was able to focus on making the few changes needed to the system to align with best practices in PCI’s industry. As a result, the company was able to deploy Dynamics AX in a very short time frame and achieving considerable cost savings.
Benefits
Hitachi Solutions’ INSTANT//AX offering allowed Performance Controls to deploy Dynamics AX 2012 R3 on time and under budget. INSTANT//AX enabled the client to immediately use AX as their primary ERP. INSTANT//AX has provided Performance Controls with the following benefits:
Speed of Execution – In just three months, Microsoft Dynamics AX was implemented with core manufacturing functionality. PCI was able to fully utilize the Financial Management, Order to Cash, Procure to Pay, and Manufacturing in Dynamics AX.
Budget – INSTANT//AX allowed Hitachi Solutions to deliver Dynamics AX at half the cost of a typical Dynamics AX implementation. By the time PCI went live, the company had spent $210,000—well under half of its original budget of $450,000.
In three short months and just over half of the planned budget, PCI improved visibility throughout the supply chain to better manage the costs. Over time and with additional use, PCI expects the following benefits from the Dynamics AX solution:
- Improved product margins and reduced margin variance
- Pro-active control of product lifecycle
- Reduced information silos
- Improved use of resources (labor and equipment)
- Decreased lead time to provide better customer service
- Enhanced visibility into plans and improved customer response
- Ability to manage product quality, services, warranty, and maintenance
In the future, Performance Controls has plans to implement the Lean Manufacturing module for Dynamics AX as part of a second phase. Performance Controls has also signed up with Hitachi Solutions Managed Services offering for their future support needs.
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