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Feasibility studies play a crucial role in the automotive industry during the procurement process for parts under development. After all, even before these new parts are developed and contracted, companies need to ensure that they can be delivered in the required quality and quantity, on time and at appropriate conditions. SupplyOn Technical Review has been efficiently handling all of this for years. In most cases, the customer provides the specifications. But it can lead to even greater efficiency and project success if the suppliers can also initiate changes themselves.The classic Technical Review processTechnical verification is the process of verifying the quality, quantity, delivery dates, and conditions of a new part. For this purpose, the customer company requests information from the suppliers by means of a questionnaire. The customer then assesses the supplier's feasibility and maturity.Change management: a new process for Technical ReviewAutomotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen has been one of the main users of the Technical Review process since its inception. And because Technical Review has worked so well from the start, they wanted to see if Technical Review could be extended beyond the standard process.ZF project manager Alejandra Rangel Granados explains: "We often have a situation where a supplier needs to independently coordinate and approve necessary or desired changes to the product and process with us as the customer before the change is implemented. In this way, the supplier can be sure that ZF, as the customer, agrees to the change. "And it was no coincidence that SupplyOn already had a concept up its sleeve. There were already concepts on how Technical Reviews could also be initiated by the supplier. With a small expansion of the Technical Review, the time had come at the beginning of 2023: the improved process based on Technical Review was ready for ZF.How the supplier-driven Technical Review process for change requests worksAs a prerequisite for the supplier-driven process, the customer first creates a template. This template defines the type of changes, such as product information, that the supplier can send to the customer.The supplier can then use this template to send structured change requests and start the coordination process with the customer. After receiving the request, the customer may need to coordinate further details with the supplier and check the feasibility of the change. The result is immediately displayed to the supplier in Technical Review and sent as an email notification.Advantages of the optimized processZF project manager Alejandra Rangel Granados: "The ZF Commercial Vehicle Solutions division has been using the new process with its suppliers since mid-January 2023. Previously, change requests for parts and processes were made via unstructured e-mail communication, which was difficult to track. Thanks to SupplyOn, we can now offer a fully electronic, easily traceable and data-secure process. In addition, we are now much better informed before the supplier makes any changes."Suppliers also benefit from the new process. They now receive timely feedback on important change requests. Emails from the supplier are no longer lost because the change is stored transparently and securely at SupplyOn.Meanwhile, SupplyOn is already making plans for the next expansion stages of Technical Review. Product Manager Martin Weber comments: "We are sure that we will be able to implement further use cases based on Technical Review quickly and easily." So, it remains to be seen what the future holds for the all-rounder Technical Review — in any case, the end of the line does not seem to have been reached yet.
With the D328eco™ aircraft, the innovative German aircraft manufacturer Deutsche Aircraft shapes the future of aviation as groundbreaking, forward-looking platform. Therefore, sustainability is a key topic for the company – not just in the D328eco, but also across the supply chain.A resilient and sustainable digital supply chain is essential for the complex production ramp-up. In this context, Deutsche Aircraft is pursuing the ambitious goal of 100% paperless, fully digital control of the entire supplier network, with partners who share the values of Deutsche Aircraft.In order to successfully implement this strategic goal for its global network of almost 90 suppliers in the shortest possible time, Deutsche Aircraft has opted for the SupplyOn collaboration platform which is well established in the manufacturing industry.SupplyOn as a strategic partnerSupplyOn supports Deutsche Aircraft in digitally managing collaboration processes with suppliers and establishing structured communication. SupplyOn not only offers sophisticated, industry-specific solutions and processes, but also access to a global network of over 140,000 companies, a large proportion of which are dedicated suppliers to the aerospace industry.SupplyOn also recognizes the responsibility to reduce its impact on the world and is highly committed to the principle that business can and must be a force for good. These are the best prerequisites for Deutsche Aircraft to map its supply chain in a sustainable way and electronically from end to end.Step by step to a digitized, sustainable supply chainIn the first step on the way to a sustainable supply chain, the focus was on digitizing the tendering phase in order to select competitive and innovative bidders. The comprehensive digitization started with the involvement of the approximately 30 strategically most important suppliers involved in the development and construction of the prototype. These will supply the top 20 components.In the second step, the final assembly line in Leipzig/Halle will be included in the digitization of the processes. The aim is to expand the group of suppliers until 2026 to almost 90 companies by the time serial production starts.Fully digitized final assembly — 100% paperlessFollowing the digitization of the tendering process, Deutsche Aircraft also plans to optimize other processes in the supply chain – first and foremost joint product development. For this purpose, SupplyOn offers Project Management, a structured, template-based development process in which all phases of development can be handled in a structured manner via one central tool.This way of work is based on the process known in the automotive industry as Advanced Product Quality Planning – in short APQP – which has been tried and tested for many years.The concession process, which can be used to obtain approval for parts that deviate from the specification, can also be handled efficiently and transparently via SupplyOn.This is an essential step towards Deutsche Aircraft‘s vision of working with the highest quality suppliers in the long term in order to achieve excellence and sustainability not only in product development but also in the company‘s overall processes. Our strategic goal is to fully digitize our supply chain. We chose to work with SupplyOn because we know that with this partnership, we can effectively achieve this ambitious goal.Maximilian FahrDirector of Supply Chain, Deutsche Aircraft GmbH About Deutsche AircraftFounded on the proud legacy of Dornier and Germany’s high reputation for engineering, quality and innovation, Deutsche Aircraft is the new specialized German aircraft original equipment manufacturer (OEM).Deutsche Aircraft builds on the legacy and expertise of 328 Support Services GmbH, the type certificate holder for the Dornier 328 aircraft (D328®). Deutsche Aircraft will enable the further development of the D328® platform, leverage future technologies and competencies to produce a more capable, economical and environmentally friendly aircraft and will thus lead the way for the future of aviation in the transition to zero-emission flight.In collaboration with the German government, Deutsche Aircraft is leading the way to a new era of clean aviation and addressing the need to protect our planet to inspire future generations to fly in a way that is greener, safer and more efficient.
