A commercial truck manufacturer was tasked with eliminating waste in its manufacturing process as part of an enterprise-wide continuous improvement initiative. The solution has to implement Lean Manufacturing principles and a pull-based electronic inventory Kanban system.

Enter Ultriva by Upland.

The commercial truck manufacturing company is a global supplier of complete cab systems in the heavy-duty truck, construction and agricultural equipment markets including the specialty and military transportation markets. The firm employs over 7,000 employees worldwide.

To be competitive in the automotive industry, this leader is always working to eliminate waste in all processes with a key focus on continuous improvement. The company has a highly focused Lean Manufacturing initiative. Part of that initiative was to implement a pull-based inventory Kanban system as opposed to push, and one that would give complete visibility. The customer also wanted a product that was simple to use, would engage suppliers, be vendor-agnostic, and would integrate with Microsoft business systems.

The company implemented the Collaborative Supply Portal featuring Electronic Kanban from Ultriva by Upland.

Adoption by Suppliers, Large and Small

Suppliers large and small adopted the Kanban system. Suppliers did not need to invest capital to do so and could utilize their existing internet connection to access the portal. Suppliers could see which of their parts were being consumed and which parts needed to be replenished on a daily basis. Full visibility was achieved and clear vision of the inventory could now be viewed at all times. Suppliers were once receiving faxes twice a week asking for large shipments, and now, are making smaller, more manageable shipments every day.

Inventory could be viewed and tracked at every phase of the process. This gave the lean leader the real opportunity to adjust inventory and run the most efficient lean material flow to provide on-time delivery to all customers. With Ultriva, the firm improved on-time delivery, with a 28% gain in inventory turns and a 43% reduction of overall inventory.

Another added benefit achieved with the Ultriva platform was the ability to leverage the Microsoft family of products. The electronic Kanban system seamlessly integrates with back-end business systems. Alerts are sent as emails and information is easily downloaded to an Excel spreadsheet for further filtering and analysis, freeing up time for personnel to focus on customer satisfaction and retention.