IFS > Case Studies > Kitron's Digital Transformation: Enhancing Supply Chain and Manufacturing Efficiency

Kitron's Digital Transformation: Enhancing Supply Chain and Manufacturing Efficiency

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Inventory Management Systems
Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)

Applicable Industries

Aerospace
Electronics

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation
Product Research & Development

Use Cases

Additive Manufacturing
Supply Chain Visibility

The Customer

Kitron

About The Customer

Kitron is a leading Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) company with operations in Norway, Sweden, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, China, and the USA. Established in the early 1960s in Arendal, Norway, Kitron's head office is now in Asker, Norway. The company has 1700 employees deployed in six different countries in Europe, Asia, and the US. Kitron's core areas of expertise are in the sectors Defense/Aerospace, Energy/Telecoms, Industry, Medical devices, and Offshore/Marine. The company manufactures and delivers anything from fully assembled electronic circuit boards to complete end products for customers globally. Kitron is also developing expertise in Automotive Electronics with a special focus on Autonomous Technologies. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker: KIT).

The Challenge

Kitron, a leading electronics manufacturing services company, was facing challenges in maintaining its competitive edge in a rigid market. The company needed to stay up-to-date with the latest technology, robotics, automation, and digitalization. Kitron was also looking for a partner, not just an IT supplier, who could understand their industry, needs, and challenges. The company had previously used other leading industry solutions but found them too rigid. They needed a solution that could integrate with other systems. Kitron also had high growth targets, aiming for a 30% increase in revenue. As the company worked with high complexity products with low volume production, this translated into a focus on supply chain, flexibility to change, security, and efficiency. The company also needed to find the best suppliers.

The Solution

Kitron partnered with IFS, replacing around 50 individual systems with IFS Applications. This partnership was not just about software provision, but also about influencing the direction of future solutions. After standardizing their operations around IFS in 2009, Kitron set up a Solution Competence Centre to assure results and continuous improvements. IFS's strategic decision to create a partner network solved much of their capacity challenges. Kitron is now using IFS for supply chain, integrations, configurations, and demand-driven material requirement planning (MRP), which has the potential to reduce inventory by 40 percent and lead times by 80 percent. MRP enables the manufacturers to access an interface of their current parts and see the parts highlighted in red that need to be reordered, resulting in a more agile supply chain management. Kitron also invested in four new ABB Yumy automated robots for their Swedish factory, in addition to their autonomous production line in Lithuania.

Operational Impact

The partnership with IFS has allowed Kitron to maintain a high rate of innovation and meet the high expectations of their customers. The company now has precise control over its supply chain, which is of vital importance. The use of IFS as their business platform across all regions with the same databases and processes in place has provided Kitron with a high degree of flexibility, a key requirement for their customers. The company's investments in technology, combined with their skills, allow them to deliver products so precise that they can successfully meet expectations on high-risk products, like in the medical industry where it is often a matter of life and death. The partnership with IFS has also allowed Kitron to extend its ability to manage alternative suppliers.

Quantitative Benefit