link
Advanced Manufacturing
Latest News, Product Innovations, Fairs and much more
JANUARY 2018
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index
LANTEK LINK is the magazine of Lantek Sheet Metal Solutions
COVER Anonymous
03
EDITORIAL
04
MAIN TOPIC
06
SOLUTIONS
08
INTERVIEWS
10
TECHNOLOGIES
11
INNOVATION
12
NEWS
PARTNERS
Lantek leads the way in the digitization of metal and sheet metal companies
13
Digitization at Reichwald with Lantek
14
SERVICES
15
FACTS
Do you know your clients well?
Lantek Customer Analytics
LANTEK MARKETING TEAM Patricia Ruiz de Sabando Diana Sánchez Editors Juan José Colás Marketing Director
Integrating a corporate ERP with a Lantek solution
Alberto Martínez CEO of Lantek
SUBSCRIPTIONS Marketing Department marketing@lanteksms.com
“Progressive Corners Beveling”: Lantek MES+, the market’s The algorithm that revolutionizes most advanced sheet metal the way bevels are cut cutting software
Lantek Services Lantek Hint: Lantek Manager Lantek Integra
Trade Shows
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editorial
D
Do you know your clients well?
o you dedicate enough time to them? Do you dedicate to all the same time equally? Would you sell more if you had more sales reps? Managers who try to understand and deepen their knowledge of their market ask themselves these questions every day. In an increasingly hyper-connected world, the metal sector is no exception. Factories face new challenges related to the use of information and access to data; not only manufacturing data but also commercial data. At Lantek, we are aware that companies do not have fast and precise tools that cover the relationship with clients from preparation of a quote to invoicing an order despite the overwhelming amount of data obtained from the machines and ERPs integrated in plants. The high number of consultations and orders received by part subcontractors makes it difficult to prioritize and identify recurring clients and those that give us better or worse success ratios in offers while establishing an optimal number of necessary sales reps. Lantek will soon launch Lantek Customer Analytics, an advanced analytics tool. This business intelligence tool is adapted to the specific needs of the metal sector which feeds from the information generated by the Lantek suite of products while providing integrations with third-party products.
Juan JosĂŠ ColĂĄs Chief Sales and Marketing Officer
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main topic
Lantek Customer Analytics We live in a global world dominated by information. Modern factories face new challenges related to this context and the metal sector is no different. The environment is increasingly competitive and complex: a multitude of clients, smaller batches and in higher numbers, more reduced margins, more demanding delivery deadlines... Maximizing the return on investment is very difficult, as despite the abundance of data there is no precise information on the results of the operating profit, which cover the entire process from when the offer is prepared to when the order is invoiced. New tools are necessary that provide information to identify where there is margin for improvement and apply adequate corrective measures. Modern factories are increasingly technified and connected, which offers them the availability of a large amount of data. However, an abundance of data does not directly imply an abundance of useful data for decision making. Lantek Analytics seeks to fill this gap, making an advanced business intelligence tool available to all those involved in the production process.
The Customer Analytics module collects all the data generated by the rest of Lantek’s Suite of applications and third-party ERPs while displaying it in the most appropriate way to facilitate detailed analysis. Efficient production is not much use if the client attraction, quoting and sales processes do not operate optimally. The daily flurry of orders means that sometimes it is hard to identify who the good clients are, the sales reps who close more contracts, or knowing the details about revenues. The client analysis module makes it possible to analyze in detail the sales funnel, to identify the best clients with respect to sales and margins, and also the deviations of costs and their causes, among other aspects. Likewise, the comparison of historical data makes it possible to identify seasonal trends and patterns that enable the user to act in advance and plan in the best way possible. The Customer Analytics module covers the entire sales process:
• Quote Analytics: makes it possible to analyze the client attraction and quoting processes. Who are the most effective sales reps, in both number of accepted offers and in total amount? What clients request quotes most often and which of them accept more quotes? Who are the recurring clients? • Production Analytics: production from the point of view of the clients. When the workload is high, it is not always possible to provide an optimal service to all clients, meaning that it is essential to identify those that are most important to prioritize their orders. Knowing which clients generate the most production, what type and with what costs leads to the most adequate prioritization. • Sales Analytics: A detailed sales analysis is as important as analyzing customer attraction. Sales Analytics allows you to identify the regions with the most clients and whether they are meeting sales targets. It can also compare the quoted cost with the real cost enabling the evaluation of the efficiency of the quoting process. No two companies are the same, meaning that any software solution must adapt to specific needs. For this reason Customer Analytics offers the user the possibility of creating, configuring and saving their own visualizations. Likewise, it offers dozens of ready-to-use preconfigured metrics that the user can choose from and make different comparative and evolutionary analyses. It can also filter information using different criteria; from the most basic such as time range and material, to the more advanced, such as multi-plant filtering.
Lantek Analytics is a business intelligence solution adapted to the specific needs of the metal sector that uses all the information generated by the suite of Lantek products that can easily be integrated with third-party products. It is an innovative tool that converts the data into useful information that makes it possible to get full performance out of the plant’s production process. The Customer
The Customer Analytics module collects all the data generated by the rest of Lantek’s Suite of applications and third-party ERPs while displaying it in the most appropriate way to facilitate detailed analysis
Analytics module provides detailed information about your company’s entire sales process, as well as the factors that influence it, to be able to improve it and get the most performance out of your investment.
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solutions Integrating a corporate ERP with a Lantek solution
Nowadays, the customization of products and services is the priority for any manufacturer in the metal sector. As a technological company, making software that is 100 percent adapted to the sheet metal market available to companies is a key goal for Lantek. Under the umbrella of Lantek Integra, we have our own specific software for the business management of metalworking factories. That said, when the client already has an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system implemented that is generic or cross-cutting to whatever different operations there are during manufacturing, Lantek has integration mechanisms that offer countless possible added value services that make the processes between the Lantek systems and the corporate ERP cooperate. These integrations are carried out via web services (Avantiaservices) or special communication files (Powersync, Masterlink). These coded files can be totally standard, according to the definition by Lantek, or customized, according to the particular needs of the ERP software the client has.
The integration offered by these mechanisms can be carried out at any point of the system, but we highlight the following scenarios: • Quoting: The Lantek systems understand the production process of a part, including the cutting and other operations, and can give an estimate of the cost of these operations, the material used, and even apply certain margins based on a series of rules defined by the company, and calculate the final price of a part or series of parts. The quote can include, for example, additional costs or transport expenses and can be exported to another system. In other cases, only the production cost of the part is exported so that the corporate ERP system can calculate the final quote. • Manufacturing: Lantek systems record the manufacturing of the day and/or week that the company must produce. In a scenario of integration, we import the definition of the parts, from their manufacturing route to the geometry, to finally generate a manufacturing order with a specific amount, material and thickness.
Once all the production orders are in the Lantek systems, the technical office manager can program their operations based on different criteria, such as the delivery deadline or the capacity of the workstations, allowing them to make decisions all in real time. • Validation: Once nesting is completed, we can export the related information, such as the sheet consumption (weight and traceability labelling used), the scrap generated, the parts lost, the use of validation and much more data. With all this information, the corporate ERP system can manage the state of the orders and the inventory to know at all times the stocks of material, scheduling the necessary purchases in the event of stockouts. • Inventory: We face scenarios in which the material is not managed exclusively by Lantek, but another business management program. In these situations, there is a synchronization of inputs and outputs so that both systems have the same data, guaranteeing the consistency of the inventory in both. In addition, if there is a purchase of material in the corporate ERP system, it is synchronized with Lantek and the consumption of material caused by the nestings is returned to the ERP during the validation process, keeping the stock updated. Along with the nesting process, the Lantek system can generate material needs that are sent to the cooperating ERP system in order to schedule
the purchases that make it possible to have sufficient stock for the manufacturing process.
The Lantek ERP Solution can be integrated with other systems in all of the processes a company has • Invoicing: Synchronization with the accounting systems can be done bidirectionally; that is, Lantek exports the information from the sales and/or purchases invoices and records the payments made in the accounting system, whether they are total or partial payments. Lantek has a credit management system which, thanks to this transfer of information between systems, will always be up to date. The Lantek ERP Solution can be integrated with other systems in all of the processes a company has, from manufacturing to invoicing, adapting to the different integration options that clients need. This ability to be open and at the same time specific is one of the strengths of Lantek solutions for metalworking companies.
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interviews
Alberto Martínez CEO of Lantek
Towards Digital Transformation The digital transformation has led us to review and reapproach our business, applying technology as a facilitator of change, but with a particular focus on the people in our organization, so that they can help us manage this transformation. What stage of the digital transformation is Lantek at?
cultural change within organizations. How has this affected Lantek?
At Lantek not only have we always strived to be at the vanguard, but to also create it, to be that necessary step ahead of the market.
Digitization is a phenomenon that affects the entire company and places us before a new paradigm where collaboration is at the epicenter. It is necessary to change mentality and to undertake a process of deep cultural change within the organization itself, as it requires the transformation of people and a commitment to the acquisition of new skills. Achieving this requires training and raising awareness among employees so they are aware of their new role and can properly integrate the new tools in their dynamic and routines.
In a sector defined by innovation in technologies and processes, and conditioned by the demands of a global and hyper-connected world, reaction times are extremely short. We must be flexible and quick to be competitive. Evidently, we could not talk about promoting the digital transformation of the metal industry if we, as a company, had not assumed and internalized this challenge. After laying the foundations of this necessary evolution and adopting and adapting ourselves to the market’s trends, we can say that we have achieved a significant level of digitization and that our company is a driving force in our sector. The digital transformation has led us to review and reapproach our business, applying technology as a facilitator of change, but with a particular focus on the people in our organization, so that they can help us manage this transformation. This firm commitment to technology associated with Industry 4.0 has made Lantek a pioneer in the digitization of companies in the sheet metal sector.. To reach this point, what are the main challenges the company has faced? Technology is in our DNA, and developing specific solutions for the digitization of our clients has cleared the path towards preventing the challenges from being excessive or unattainable. However, challenges are intrinsic to processes of change and to business. To mention one, we could say that the acquisition of new knowledge and technologies derived from this transformation has been a challenge, not so much as users, but as in-house developers of our own solutions. The digital transformation not only consists of deploying enablers or tools, it also entails a
To achieve the digitalization it´s essential to have a trustworthy partner The Fourth Industrial Revolution means, like any big revolution, a deep reconversion of the labor market. It is a challenge for which companies and workers must be prepared: the company, to retain and attract talent; and the workers, to adapt, retrain and learn new digital skills. What situation are companies in the metal sector in regarding the digital transformation? Our sector is rapidly evolving, as an increasing number of companies understand the benefits of connecting their machines and factories globally. In addition, we’re at the perfect moment, as the surrounding conditions are there to favor digitization, which is making it possible to undertake this transition: the technology is available; the prices of developments and innovative tools are falling; most governments are willing and have designed specific programs to help companies in their digital transformation; and new managers are aware of the importance of digitization and are prepared
to implement the cultural change in their companies to achieve it. Many companies have barely automated their processes and are cut off from the world of the Internet because it doesn’t seem crucial for their company. How do you make them realize that it is imperative for them to digitize to stay competitive in today’s market? Changing is always tough, that’s why some organizations are reluctant, claiming that it would be impossible to return a profit on the investments in machinery, or that they do not have the resources to undertake this digital transformation. I think this is a short-termist outlook. The sooner they redesign their methodologies, redefine their processes by giving them greater interconnection to facilitate data analysis and decision-making, the sooner they will speed up and add intelligence to their plants, prepared to compete in the Industry 4.0 environment and ready for the future. Lantek also advises its clients, understanding their starting point, on how far they can go and how to get there, and of course, accompanying them during their digital transformation process. What advice would you give them? Where would you recommend that they start? The changes are so huge, that it requires the firm commitment of management, who must be aligned with the goal of digitization, defining and directing the goals to be achieved. Employees must also understand why they need to change, training in digital skills, and how they will benefit personally from this change. At the same time, we recommend that they analyze and see the direction they want to take, establishing a roadmap and seeing what processes need to change to adapt to the new reality. Having explained these points, we have to decide what technologies will support this change and what complexities can be eliminated to gain efficacy and productivity. To achieve the digitalization it´s essential to trustworthy partner.
have a
In addition to developing software, Lantek is committed to helping other companies, its clients, to undertake the digital transformation. How will it be done? We’ve committed ourselves to developing advanced manufacturing solutions that connect machines, processes and plants to facilitate the digitization of our clients by making them more competitive. In our case, advanced manufacturing is applied to “how” the different technologies enable advanced interconnection, integrating machines, systems and processes horizontally and vertically, and the management of data in the plant, helping our clients to also connect plants between each other and between their ecosystem. All this to turn the plants into Smart Factories, improving the technological and competitive positioning of the company in their sector.
We’ve committed ourselves to developing advanced manufacturing solutions that connect machines, processes and plants to facilitate the digitization of our clients by making them more competitive
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technologies
Francisco Pérez OEM Channel Director
“Progressive Corners Beveling”: The algorithm that revolutionizes the way bevels are cut
One of the big obstacles that the metal industry faces is cutting bevels or chamfers on corners. After months working on how to overcome the loop that is generated, we’ve developed Progressive Corners Beveling (PCB), an algorithm based on dynamic control of the 5 axes, which means that the head is progressively oriented with the angle of the next bevel. That is, it no longer remains perpendicular to the cutting direction, as it does in tangential programming. Thanks to this we save 15 mm to 30 mm of material from each loop. As a result, there is no material waste, so we gain time and therefore, money. PCB is a revolutionary advancement that is not only possible in exterior bevels, but also in interior ones. In addition, there is another new development with which it is possible to draw the bevel in 3D – increasing precision even more. Up until now, technology for cutting bevels has evolved from the triple blowtorch to a proliferation of cutting machines with 5-axes heads. This solution has made it possible to produce countless shapes thanks to the interpolated movements of the axes. In the case of plasma machines, angle corrector and compensation tables are used for the calculation of
the trajectory for each angle defined in each edge, depending on the material, thickness, type of bevel and angle. These different trajectories will affect the nesting of these parts. On the other hand, in water jet cutting the 5-axes capacity is taken advantage of to provide a better finish in the straight cut. By slightly modifying the angle of incidence on the material, we can minimize the delay in the cutting between the top and bottom of the sheet, inherent to this technology, as well as the taper angle. Designing progressive bevels can be a problem if there are no semiautomatic tools available that, based on the definition of the top and bottom geometries, are capable of calculating the transitions between the different angles of the bevel necessary to connect them in the desired way, making possible a design process that up until now was exclusive to other more expensive 3D software. The introduction of 5 axes was a landmark in bevel cutting; we’re facing a turning point with the development of Progressive Corners Beveling. The factory that decides to commit to this technology will experience a substantial increase in the profitability of the plant.
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innovation
Javier Román Key Account Manager Lantek
Lantek MES+, the market’s most advanced sheet metal cutting software In order for a plant to operate with the highest efficiency regarding deadlines and costs, and with total optimization of raw materials and processes, it requires advanced manufacturing management. Intelligent production that offers you, in real time, a global view of all the manufacturing processes and their automated planning. This is already possible thanks to Lantek MES+, the market’s most advanced sheet metal software, which enhances and completes the capabilities of the traditional MES. This new product is launched based on Lantek Expert (CAD/CAM) and Lantek MES. Together, Lantek MES+ and Lantek Analytics integrate the value proposition for advanced manufacturing, Synergy Intelligence. In order for Lantek MES+ to work offering the best performance of the company, it is necessary to feed it the company’s data. But not just any data, it has to be adequate to the questions asked, those that offer a historical perspective of the plant, that describe its evolution to identify behavioral
patterns in our clients, their orders, etc. We can do two things with this, and this is where Lantek Analytics comes in. On the one hand, a descriptive analysis based on the data of what has happened in the past, which help to make decisions in the future; and on the other, a predictive analysis that allows you to anticipate the future and optimize your resources. The combination of these scenarios will help factory managers to make better decisions and get the best performance out of the plant, with maximal efficiency and productivity levels while also substantially reducing costs. Let’s look at the features of Lantek MES+ in detail: General overview This software has the ability to offer a complete overview of the plant’s manufacturing and of each and every one of the production processes, and all this in real time. Precise information is provided on the state of the machines (availability, maintenance, load state) and of the warehouse’s capacity to satisfy the material needs for the orders. In addition, it offers the ability to view the progress of the orders and to know what manufacturing stage they are at (cutting, bending, painting, assembling, etc.), and the delivery deadlines. All of this data, when viewed together, offers answers and solutions for any eventuality. Intelligent planning This tool makes it possible to provide an automatic planning response, taking into account all of the orders available. A management tool that receives feedback from real-world incidents (unscheduled stops, urgent orders, lack of workers...), and also input thanks to the data generated by Lantek Analytics. This adaptation goes as far as being capable of generating a virtual simulation of any possible contingency. The path towards intelligent manufacturing brought by Industry 4.0 is not a choice, but a necessity for any company to stay competitive in today’s market.
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news Lantek leads the way in the digitization of metal and sheet metal companies
Lantek continues to use industrial sector trade fairs and events to demonstrate the way towards digital transformation as part of its strategy to consolidate and reinforce its leadership in the global market. Lantek concluded its agenda of events in 2017 very positively after attending fairs around the world, the latest being MetalMadrid, where it presented its proposal for the digital transformation of companies in the sheet metal and metal sector, attracting great interest among attendees with its offer of specific Industry 4.0 solutions. They were also present in other fairs in countries such as the United States and Germany. As part of its commitment to promote and help the digitalization of companies in its sector, accompanying them in this transition, Lantek has developed a set of advanced manufacturing solutions capable of adapting to the different states of digital maturity that these companies find themselves in.
Thanks to Lantek, companies in the metal industry now have specific and flexible solutions that are more adapted to their needs and provide them with optimal opportunities to integrate, manage, and control all their manufacturing processes more quickly and easily, connecting factories around the world and providing a 360ยบ visibility of the business. All this enables better decision making based on quality data that generates a greater knowledge of the business. Lantek, through its participation in these events, has demonstrated its strong position in this regard. This is also evident in their agenda for 2018, which corroborates not only their strength as a company, but also their commitment to digitization. Their continuous effort to work closely with customers equips them with new developments and innovations that aim at providing a better user experience with a guarantee of quality.
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partners Digitization at Reichwald with Lantek The Siegen-based traditional company Reichwald+Co., with the support of sheet metal software expert Lantek, has switched from orderrelated processes to parts-related production. The result: Work centers and machine running times are better utilized, the material usage has improved, feed rates have been accelerated and stops reduced. Wherever Falko Reichwald is - when customers ask about the status of their order, the managing director of Reichwald+Co. can provide information immediately. He has direct access to the company’s management system through his smartphone. In the best case, he then sees that parts are about to be shipped. “Customers are increasingly awarding orders because of the delivery time,” says the head of 100 employees in the steel trade, custom sheet metal and processing sectors. “In this respect, speed is a crucial success factor for us.” Not least to improve this factor, but also to increase
its efficiency and cost-effectiveness, the traditional Siegen company converted its production in early 2015: from the order-related working method to a parts-related process. “Every part finds its own way with us - and all elements of an order are first brought together for shipping,” explains Reichwald. “This is significantly faster and more efficient.” In order to keep the overview in the parts-related production and modernize their aging ERP system simultaneously, Reichwald+Co. has brought in Lantek as a partner. The parts-related production is embedded in Lantek’s overall software architecture, which controls all business and operational processes. Lantek’s customer relationship management (CRM) makes them more transparent: from purchasing to order delivery, invoice creation to accounting, and warehouse management to thirdparty manufacturing.
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services
If you are interested in any of these services, send us your contact info to sales@lanteksms.com and one of our sales representatives will be pleased to give you all the information you need.
Lantek Hint
Lantek Manager - Lantek Integra
Did you know that you can set different scrap reasons when validating sheet parts? Firstly, you need to define the scrap reasons. Configure them by workcenter in case you want to reduce the number of reasons to display. In labor ticket validation you will be able to assign scrap reasons in case of lost parts. If you want to define more than one reason, click on “+� button and a new window will open to set them. If you define reasons for less than the total amount of lost parts, the reason for the remaining ones will be empty.
If you would like to find out more tips, send us an email at: marketing@lanteksms.com
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facts Trade fairs November 2017
Next Trade Shows TECHNISHOW 2018
TOLEXPO 2018
SIMTOS 2018
MACH 2018
MARCH 20-23
MARCH 27-30
APRIL 3-7
APRIL 9-13
Utrecht HOLLAND
Paris FRANCE
Gyeonggi-do SOUTH KOREA
Birmingham UNITED KINGDOM
Success along the Digital Path “Kice Industries has been in business for almost 70 years and as we continue to upgrade equipment. Lantek has been there to help us. We added a laser a few years ago and our next Project is forming. We continue to find ways to improve our process with Lantek.� Tim Kice Vice President of production www.kice.com Kice Industries - Wichita, KS
We know the way www.lanteksms.com | info@lanteksms.com