Supply Chains

Benefits of working with MEP

Accelerate Program

Accelerate Program

As global competition continues to challenge U.S. manufacturers, OEM's are recognizing speed and flexibility in their supply chains is key to reducing their supply chain risk. OEM's are realizing what's fundamental to flexibility is time-based competitiveness with a robust, cost-effective, U.S. supply chain. Domestic suppliers can win---but only if they optimize their value streams to their customer and drive out waste!

OEM's want improved quality, delivery, and cost reductions. Traditional approaches to supplier development have had mixed success. Suppliers are often asked to improve, and have tried to comply, but without a clear roadmap and enterprise-wide view, results are uneven and often not sustained.  Traditional methods not only sub-optimize results, but the spirit of collaboration, trust, and competing together is often missing. Supplier ownership is essential to drive and sustain change generating stronger, bottom line results. To overcome problems with traditional strategies, MEP, with the thought leadership from the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMWP) and several progressive-thinking OEM's, developed Accelerate, a supplier improvement solution, now emerging as a national model.

The Accelerate model begins when an OEM nominates a supplier to participate. The supplier recommends a value stream to optimize and the supplier and OEM agree and sign a project charter that defines roles, responsibilities and a timeline.

MEP is a neutral coach and mentor, providing support when the supplier's Lean-ness gap is determined, i.e. where Lean methods could be applied. Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is used to identify areas for improvement and to establish the existing MCT, or Manufacturing Critical-path Time, the typical amount of calendar time from when a manufacturing order is created through the critical-path, until the first single piece of the order is delivered to the customer. It's measured in calendar days and includes all order entry, manufacturing, and logistics shipments. A future VSM and MCT is also established as a goal along with an action plan.

MCT has been developed and proven with nationally known OEM's over the past decade. It is a robust metric to drive all other traditional supplier metrics of quality, delivery and pricing. Traditional metrics don't typically reveal problems like shipping from finished goods inventories or costs reductions from margin (very risky!). A short MCT means the supplier is Lean, flexible, and can shift and respond quickly to demand changes. MCT is a time-based, universal measurement, which can relieve suppliers of having to deal with multiple measures and different OEM measurement systems.

The next step is to close the Lean-ness gap by applying Lean tools to achieve the future MCT. The supplier takes ownership of the project, deciding what Lean changes to make and implementing those changes. WMEP assists and guides the supplier with the identification of the Lean-ness gap and implementation. MEP maintains complete confidentiality, and the supplier chooses what is shared with the OEM. Establishing a Lean Culture ensures the improvements are sustained.

The benefits to suppliers of the Accelerate model include:

• Focus on implementation and results for the supplier;
• Co-investment by all parties-everyone has a stake in it;
• Freedom for the supplier to decide what changes to make and where to make them;
• Use of a charter to delineate responsibilities and expectations of all parties;
• Confidentiality, with the supplier choosing what information to share with the OEM;
• Creation of a collaborative, strategic relationship with the OEM that allows both to compete globally;
• Use of a single time-based metric, instead of being based on margin;
• Joining in a national model with MEP support/expertise;
• Lean Culture to sustain improvements and spread continuous improvement to all other areas.

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