Functional highlights

InnoVites Cable ERP provides business critical functionality for the Wire & Cable business that is not covered by standard ERP solutions

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Wire & Cable businesses require software providing cable design, powerful search, length management, tolerances management, copper price management and drum management

Cable manufacturers typically have large product portfolios with hundreds of different constructions. Only a limited set of these products are being sold in a year. The sales teams need help to navigate quickly to the products that meet the customer requirements. InnoVites Cable ERP introduces powerful search capabilities, based on the cable specifications, to respond to the customer requirement immediately.

In addition to this, the cable industry has a special type of calculus. In this cable calculus 200m plus 100m doesn’t equal 300m. A telecom network installer will not accept two drums with lengths of 200m and 100m when the order was for one 300m cable.

Also, customers are specific about the length tolerances that they accept: the customer can reject the cable if the actual length of the cable is outside this range.

Another customer specific requirement is the drum type that should be used to deliver the cable. The right drum type depends on customer preferences and the capacity of the drum, based on weight, length and bending radius of the cable.

This means that the customer requirements concerning length information, and the length tolerances need to be captured in the system accurately and complete.

InnoVites Cable ERP provides the solution that conveys these customer requirements into the supply chain right away. The customer cable requirements are continuously validated against the actual deliveries from production or external suppliers.

The objective is to meet customer expectations better and faster every day.

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InnoVites Cable ERP provides length-based optimization of the supply chain

Simply put, cable manufacturing is about assembling expensive conducting materials (e.g. copper, aluminum, glass fiber) into a construction that isolates and protects these materials. This means that a cable factory is full of expensive raw materials and that’s why we usually see solid fences surrounding the production facilities. It also means that cable manufacturers have high levels of working capital stuck in inventory. The inventory turnover in days (ITID) for cable manufacturers (107 days) is 50% higher than average for the manufacturing industry. This notion has an impact deep in the supply chain. For cable manufacturers this means that the operations in inventory and production need to be carefully managed. Inventory levels and scrap losses need to be minimized to protect the bottom line.

With length-based planning, InnoVites Cable ERP allocates the (odd) lengths in stock and then calculates the required production lengths needed to deliver the cable in time to the customer.

For example to get 1,000m of cable, we need to produce 1,050m to compensate twist and scrap losses. This means that we require 1,150m lengths of conductors, which we can produce by stranding 7 wires of 1,200m. The InnoVites Cable ERP system will not only create these planned orders, but also ensures full traceability throughout the chain of orders, from the purchased copper rod (or raw fiber), to the finished cable.

InnoVites Cable ERP also helps creating optimal production lengths by grouping demands from other customers or other constructions, while taking the maximum pay-off length into account. Our customers can use this to minimize the change-overs on their extruders and become more efficient and reduce material losses.
 

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InnoVites Cable ERP reduces the risk of NF metal price volatility

The costs of the conducting materials, such as copper and aluminum often represent over 80 percent of the value of a finished cable. Moreover, the prices of these non-ferrous metals are highly volatile. That’s why specific management controls are required to manage the risks related to inventory valuation and sales margins.

The Precious Materials module in the InnoVites Cable ERP solution helps cable manufacturers to protect themselves against risks of these raw material price changes. The comprehensive module protects the margin of sales order lines, by adjusting sales prices of the cable, based on the actual copper price at e.g. the LME or the Comex.

Also the module supports hedging strategies, and validates the conditions of the hedge contract against the actual deliveries to the customer.

The module also enables mass update of price lists, based on revised prices of materials such as copper, eliminating the labor-intensive and error-prone activity of manual adjustments.

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InnoVites Cable ERP integrates best-of-breed industry solutions

You always want the best in class? With the InnoVites Cable ERP solution you don’t need to accept compromises. We combine the best-of-breed industry products into a single integrated solution for the wire and cable industry.

The foundation of InnoVites Cable ERP is Microsoft Dynamics AX. Simple to learn and use, Microsoft Dynamics AX is the comprehensive business solution for the enterprises of today and tomorrow. InnoVites complements the powerful Microsoft technology with functionality that supports the specific business processes of the wire and cable industry.

For product design and costing we use the leading cable design software CableBuilder. The source of all product data, CableBuilder is a powerful and efficient tool to keep the Product Master Data in the Cable ERP system consistent and up-to-date.

The integration with Cable MES, based on the world-class Wonderware MES software closes the loop with the shop floor, driving the factory OEE to the highest levels.

InnoVites is the one-stop-shop combining the innovative power of Microsoft, Cimteq, Wonderware and InnoVites and leveraging the unique strengths of the respective products into a single industry solution for the Wire & Cable industry.

InnoVites keeps the different product versions in sync, making sure that our customers run a sustainable solution which is continuously enhanced with functionality that is relevant for your industry.