Summary
Imagine running a massive global car company, managing multiple brands and endless production lines, and working with suppliers from all over the world. Throw in disconnected systems, data silos, and manual processes – a recipe for chaos, right? That’s exactly what one automotive leader faced before they found a smarter solution in Quickbase—going from disjointed shop floor and supply chain operations that cost them millions to saving millions.
The Struggle
This company was juggling a ton of moving parts. With fragmented systems, tracking things like vehicle production, supplier collaboration, and compliance was slow and error prone. Teams were constantly battling delays and dealing with miscommunications between shift teams- and key information was getting lost in the shuffle.
A lack of standardized processes and systems also jeopardized quality and safety—there was no clarity as to who was qualified to operate certain machines. This resulted in $34 million in lost productivity annually. They needed something that would reduce errors, increase safety, and bring systems together.
The Quickbase Fix
They turned to Quickbase, customizing the platform to fit their exact needs. Quickbase gave them:
- A single platform where everything – from workflows to data – lived in one place.
- Some 200 work management applications that allowed them to solve various problems:
- The Certified Personnel Management app ensures that only qualified personnel operate machinery, thereby reducing the risk of quality issues and rework. It has streamlined the process of managing certifications and assignments of operators on the shop floor.
- The Component Traceability app offers comprehensive traceability for engine components from manufacturing through to the end customer. This has enabled the company to quickly identify and address warranty claims, significantly reducing associated costs.
- The Production Loss Analysis app allows them to analyze machine data and identify the root causes of production losses, enabling targeted corrective actions.
- Automation to cut down time spent on manual tasks and grey work.
- Tools that tracked compliance in real time, so they didn’t have to worry about missing anything.
- Better collaboration across teams and suppliers, all thanks to centralized data.
The Quickbase Impact
- The Certified Personnel Management app alone shows the company in real-time who is on a particular shift and their qualifications so they can be placed in the correct stations. This app is projected to cut down on untrained productivity loss by 50% — that’s a savings of $17 million annually.
- The Component Traceability app has enhanced the company's ability to manage warranty claims and improve product quality.
- The Production Loss Analysis app has streamlined the process of identifying and addressing production inefficiencies, leading to significant time and cost savings. For example, in Q4, the company saved 1200+ hours in manual data entry thanks to automated processes.
- Teams actually started working together because the data was in one place.
- They shaved off hours from production and supplier planning.
With Quickbase, this manufacturing titan can put the right people in the right places at the right time and ensure that production efficiency is optimized. This has enabled them to turn confusion into clarity and to run leaner processes that enable cost savings and bigger ROI.
