Tasks that previously took days, and were dependent on personnel remembering to manually make changes, now take minutes and the risk of errors is minimised. This is due to a digital electrical design flow linked to the compnay’s ERP system.
BCA Leisure designs and manufactures mixed power cable harnesses for almost every UK-based OEM of caravans and motorhomes. The company has been using E3.series for a number of years and recently started using E3.cable, part of Zuken’s E3.series suite, which is now heavily relied upon during the development of 100+ different prototype harnesses each year. This is followed by provision of detailed production drawings to the shop floor.
Through close integration with the company’s ERP and by sharing live data, E3.series is enabling BCA Leisure to remain extremely competitive. This despite customers all requiring harnesses around the same time of year, and a supply chain complicated by long lead-time items, material shortages and fluctuating currencies.
Results
Time and money saved helps BCA Leisure maintain profitability despite varying exchange rates and volatile material costs.
The use of E3.series, and the CAD tool’s tight integration with BCA Leisure’s ERP (and by extension its business infrastructure) is keeping the company lean and responsive. Tasks that previously took days, and were dependent on personnel remembering to manually make changes, now take minutes and the risk of errors is minimised. In addition, sight of, and therefore control over, the company’s cost centres has made a big difference and it is futureproofing the business.
Improved visibility of material requirements helps planning for long lead-time component ordering.
“We’re importing components from Japan and the US, so have to be mindful of exchange rates. Also, copper price volatility will certainly affect wire costs – irrespective of where we source from. In fact, it’s fair to say had we not switched to E3.series and been able to improve our operational efficiencies I don’t think we’d feel as confident about the future. As it is we’re able to better accommodate changes in the supply chain and provide a fast and cost-effective service for our customers.”
Swift and painless switching to E3.series: drawings look the same but are now backed up by real data.
For the roll-out, it was essential that switching to a new electrical design package did not disrupt shop floor activities. “We had the peace of mind that these look-alike drawings were the result of a tightly integrated database running seamlessly in the background. Though at the time it felt like we were making a leap of faith, the adoption and integration of E3.series could not have gone better.”