VELUX ensures production with flexible development processes
VELUX manages to adapt the products to the uncertain supply situation on the global market for electronic components.
Like so many other manufacturing companies, VELUX is affected by the worldwide challenges of sourcing electronic components, which are included in a wide range of products. The suppliers find it difficult to deliver components due to a lack of both production capacity and raw materials as well as challenges with logistics and transport. For VELUX, the supply uncertainty means that production is at risk. At the same time, it is unknown how the situation will develop in the future.
VELUX has a proactive approach to delivery uncertainty and makes sure to uncover possible scenarios and risks. This means that the company works to develop more alternatives to the solutions, so that production – and thus the business – does not come to a standstill.
Read more in the case description below, where we talk about one of the projects where kaastrup|andersen helps to ensure that VELUX maintains its position in the market.
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Challenge
The very specific challenge in the project that we are talking about here was for VELUX to ensure the continued production of a core product. Production was threatened due to missing deliveries of components, so an alternative component had to be identified and incorporated into one or more new versions of the existing product. And the new versions of the well-known products naturally had to meet the market's demands for (and VELUX's standards for) both fast delivery and high quality.
The challenge was divided into two: short and long term. In the short term, it was central to maintaining production and satisfying the market with the product in question. In the long term, there is a need for the VELUX organization to work agilely and create flexible and robust solutions that take several different scenarios into account at once, so that any future shortage situations can be dealt with quickly and efficiently.
Solution
The problematic component was a microcontroller unit (MCU). The project's first task was to identify a suitable replacement and then ensure that VELUX's product was adapted to the alternative component – so that the consumer did not experience changes in the promised quality and functionality of the product.
Once the replacement component had been found, the project had to carry out both software and hardware development at a high pace to ensure that the production of the product did not come to a standstill. VELUX's stage-gate project model is well tested and helps to ensure a high quality of the products, but it also results in relatively long project processes, because one gate must be passed before the next stage can begin. In order to reach results quickly and be able to start the production of the new version of the product, it was necessary to adapt the traditional project model to be able to run several processes in parallel.
Changes in project model and process require a part of both organization and systems. VELUX is known for high quality in both products and service, and there was a sharp focus on ensuring that the acceleration of the development process did not have a negative impact on this quality. It was therefore central to the project to keep the focus on communication and involvement of the project participants, so that all stakeholders had a good overview of the many tasks that were executed at the same time.
The importance of the project was clearly communicated by the management, so the prioritization was clear in the organization. This meant that it was possible to gather the right skills at short notice for, for example, workshops, where you could freely discuss different proposed solutions. At the same time, the clear prioritization made it possible to get the participation of all the 'right' input providers, so that new solutions and/or mitigations were quickly put in place.
The project manager from kaastrup|andersen also had a sharp focus on continuously uncovering future risks and possible scenarios in order to constantly be one step ahead of both the development process and the external influences – for example in the form of delayed or missing deliveries of other components.
Result
The project team carried out the accelerated development process, where VELUX's traditional development model was modified and the project received extra attention and resources. This resulted in a finished, new version of the product with the new, alternative component, within the set deadline.
At the same time, the project process is a good indication of how production companies can increase the flexibility in the development processes in the future. It also shows the importance of keeping a sharp focus on scenario planning and risk management, as well as ensuring a comprehensive, up-to-date overview that both covers the project itself, but also relates to the surroundings - both the other initiatives and projects taking place in the organization, but also the movements happening in the market.
On a more general level, the uncertainty about security of supply will have a major impact on how production companies such as VELUX work with several different variants of their products. It requires a change in both processes and thinking:
- The development department must create several variants of a given product, all with the same functionality and quality
- The purchasing function must be in close contact with suppliers and constantly scan the market to find alternative solutions
- The sales department must be spot on with their predictions of future purchasing patterns among consumers and be able to assess where and to what extent it can be permitted to change the functionality of the product
- The production department must be able to juggle diverse purchases, time consumption and production processes, so that production of one version of the product can be switched to another
- S&OP (Sales and Operations) processes must be adapted so that they are flexible and can support the frequent changes in the environment
- And the entire organization must be prepared to – and motivated to – change course quickly and work agilely
kaastrup|andersen was responsible for the management of the project.
Does the lack of security of supply cause problems in your company? We are ready to tell you more about how we can help you and your company to continue to grow, so that the business is strengthened and prepared for a turbulent future. Call or write to Thomas Tengstedt on 5093 7243 or tte@kaastrupandersen.dk and have a non-binding chat about how we can take your business one step further.
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