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Digital Manufacturing for Howdens Kitchens
Our team implemented and integrated an end-to-end manufacturing solution to transform Howdens' production model.
Howdens Joinery is a leading fitted-kitchen manufacturer, serving in the United Kingdom and France at more than 800 depot locations. The company sells more than 10,000 products across kitchens, joinery, white goods, work surfaces and hardware so homes can be serviced completely from under one roof. With free design and planning services available at every depot, our customer has delivered millions of kitchens within the United Kingdom, even supplying the royal family.
First, IndX experts delivered a proof-of-concept based on one of Howdens Joinery existing production lines, which operated on an on-premises SAP MES solution. Our proposed solution leveraged SAP Digital Manufacturing (SAP DM) to transition the customer’s production model, connect MES and ERP via the cloud and create a closed-loop supply chain. Following customer approval, the solution delivery and integration phase took place at their greenfield site.
The kitchen manufacturer’s previous make-to-stock production model involved a proactive approach in which production plans were based on sales forecasts and/or historical demand. To deliver more color options to the market, our experts transformed their manufacturing from a make-to-stock to a make-to-order model, in which production plans are linked to specific sales orders. One of the biggest challenges of the make-to-order model is the increased complexity that comes with targeted manufacturing. To solve this problem, our experts delivered end-to-end system integration and developed a new supply chain process for manageable, traceable, efficient production.
Our team integrated SAP DM with the customer’s existing SAP ERP Central Component (SAP ECC) to enable the automatic sharing of product information in real-time as well as access to advanced analytics that support informed decision-making. This data helps the kitchen leader monitor performance, manage production-related issues and increase traceability while making manufacturing operations more efficient and scalable. Now, at the end of production, the customers customized order can be tracked in the supply chain, aggregated, packed and delivered to customers through an easy-to-use digital ecosystem of integrated SAP products.
As a trusted partner for strategic transformation, our Digital Manufacturing team was introduced and recommended by SAP to Howdens Joinery for our implementation experience, extensive integration capabilities and strong expertise across SAP’s on-premise and cloud Manufacturing Suite. With a global network of Industry 4.0 specialists, we are ready to provide support at any stage of the kitchen manufacturer’s customization journey.
