PRODUCTION SET-UP
Setting up production on the unknown territory is a great challenge. The experienced specialists at Faircom Industry Solutions GmbH are familiar with the typical problems. They have the appropriate solutions available for you.
- In addition to the complex logistical challenges, often unexpected problems and risks occur in the course of setting up production. These problems then often prove to be unmanageable obstacles.
- Every complex project stands and falls with an “eye on the big picture”. Only with a comprehensive meta-perspective, the cooperation of many experts in planning and implementation will result in more than an unpredictable sum of its parts.
- Site management, both at headquarters and on-site, has to perform the balancing act of the interfaces between the pressure of reaching milestones and the actual “rough” conditions on-site, in the infrastructure and the supply chain.
Make sure you have the support of a competent partner who has the relevant experience and contacts on-site for your production set-up.
Service profile production set-up
Faircom Industry Solutions GmbH concentrates its services on the following modules:
- A comprehensive state analysis and an independent feasibility study enable realistic planning. Fallback solutions often form the backbone of a phase.
- The consulting and the execution of planning and realization are done in a constant change of perspectives, taking into account all local conditions. This applies in particular to the procurement, deployment and management of local manpower.
- Close reporting and accompanying coaching at management level reduce complexity if it is realistic, practical and solution-oriented.
- The accompaniment of all phases through the use of Augmented Reality* provides invaluable support, especially in an international environment.
Our services are available on a modular basis. Upon your request, we can offer integrated solutions in the form of turnkey solutions. Please contact us without any obligation.
* With the use of AR technology, complicated assembly steps or structural connections can be readily displayed and interactively processed on-site between experts and those carrying out the work. AR reduces on-site personnel deployment.
Notes on production setup
Anyone who looks at the literature on production setup in Asia, for example, quickly finds that the theoretical framework is hardly ever abandoned. One of the reasons may be that although the subject is of university interest, the actual experienced practitioners very rarely act as authors. Yet it is precisely in this area that the typical “lessons learned” would be invaluable. Medium-sized companies in particular therefore often find themselves in the tedious “learning by doing“, when they tackle the adventure of setting up production in non-European countries.
Each individual production setup presents unique peculiarities and problems for which it is virtually impossible to prepare theoretically. Thus, the often read division into different phases for the production set up is already a daring undertaking. Many processes do not only take place in parallel, but interlink in mutual dependencies. Errors or omissions only become apparent when “the train has long since left the station“.
Complexity and simultaneity in the initial phase
The analysis phase, the discovery phase, the research for establishing local supply chains and the required personnel are highly interdependent in their respective capabilities and outcomes. As in any complex project planning, all decisions from the outset must be about pushing the “points of no return” as far back as possible. A thematically related formation of different project teams favors the build-up of the highly diverse expertise. Therefore an experienced project management is needed that can proceed without any hierarchical or company-political dependency.
Only in this way promising communication can be established to bring together decisive information. Collected from the various levels it must be passed on in a way that is as skillfully condensed as it is real. A big picture that is nicely colored for the management back home is often the beginning of the end.
Supply chain and personnel in the production setup
Supply chain and local staff setup is certainly highly dependent on the type of production. In many areas, you will neither be able nor want to avoid local manufacturers. The necessary research, contacts and negotiations should have been thoroughly explored and prepared during the analysis phase. Framework agreements provide the important confidence-building for the reality in Asia, which is strongly based on good relationships. In any negotiation, intimate knowledge of the respective culture represents the non plus ultra of success.
Framework contracts, mastery of language and local customs in personnel management are also crucial in the recruitment environment. Well-trained employees are not only scarce, but are now also aware of their value in Asia. The planning of individualized further training measures, which are linked to remaining in the company, ensures the absolutely necessary low fluctuation and job satisfaction.
Location and new construction
In most cases, building a new production hall is the best way to get a grip on the technical requirements. The location required is often also the condition for obtaining a business license. Only well-connected local representatives are in a position to initiate and establish the indispensable good relations with local politics. Many authorities have to be involved before any construction work can begin, and their approvals take varying lengths of time. Labor law, environmental protection, energy supply, road construction, fire protection, etc. can be stumbling blocks that can set the project back to the initial planning phase.
While one can usually assume good political support, the devil is in the details and in the middle management of government agencies. However, a likely need for additional infrastructure can only be achieved through close and trusting cooperation in a reasonable amount of time. This is where the intercultural skills of those involved also tip the scales. Constant exchange is necessary for architects, construction management and the project team on site to handle the necessary flexibility for the expected expansions or production adjustments.
Management and organizational form
On-site management represents an entirely separate chapter. A temporary transfer of technical experts and project-experienced managers to the new location is crucial. It can be supported, but not replaced, with the use of augmented reality. In addition to setting up the technology and preparing production, the managers are concerned with respectfully familiarizing their local successors. On top they are responsible for qualifying the new employees. Well in advance and at the beginning of the planning process, the ability and willingness of the relevant personnel in the company should therefore be assessed.
Technical expertise, intercultural training and the urgently needed tact are not always found in one and the same person. Wholehearted support from the respective parent company has proven to be essential in many aspects of relocating and setting up production. Therefore, the organizational form as a wholly owned subsidiary is usually preferable for the new location.
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