In order to reduce inventory and increase supply-chain efficiency, modular assembly is becoming an increasing trend in the automotive business. Major OEM’s are delegating assembly of front-end and cockpit modules to Tier-1 suppliers, in some cases inside OEM plants.

To support modular production, Tier-1 supplier processes must be closely integrated with OEM and Tier-2 suppliers to enable total supply-chain visibility and support the fast response times required to build modules to OEM specifications.

MIS has developed a Sequence Management System (SMS) that integrates seamlessly with OEM systems and Internal Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Shop-Floor Manufacturing systems, and supports the entire Planning, Production Scheduling, Manufacturing and Shipping processes.

Developed using Oracle Forms technology, the system operates independently of Supplier ERP and Manufacturing systems but allows seamless integration with OEM and internal systems.
The system supports the following core processes:-

• Receipt of firm OEM vehicle and module build schedules.
• Receipt of OEM achievement point messages.
• Receipt of vehicle specification change messages.
• Display of vehicle sequence and product assembly information.
• Messaging capability (email and SMS Text) to inform key staff of priority or late vehicle specification changes.
• Picklist capability to generate and process  transfer orders from assembly cells to Tier 2 warehouse facilities.
• Automatic “launch” capability when the vehicle reaches production.

In addition, integration tools have been developed to allow smooth and immediate transfer of information between OEM and internal supply systems:-

• Direct receipt of OEM build schedules, achievement point and spec-change messages.
• Direct transfer of vehicle launch information to internal manufacturing systems.
• Receipt of “build complete” signals from manufacturing systems.
• Transfer of “shipment” information to internal ERP systems to trigger shipment and billing processes.

In the background, the system is entirely configurable to support the typical fast-changing automotive environment.

• Transfer of Bill-of-Material information from ERP systems.
• Facilities to populate and cross-reference customer product identification to internal.
• Multi-product, multi-customer.
• Messaging configuration