Crystal clear Costing for Manufacturer of Window Fittings - HAUTAU

Hautau realizes a higher degree of product cost data sharing during the product development process.

By implementing costing software by FACTON, HAUTAU significantly reduces its manufacturing cost. The company detects existing cost drivers at an early stage to optimize product cost. Moreover, employees work with a standard calculation scheme that yields cost traceably. FACTON provides HAUTAU higher quality with cost-saving manufacturing variations. At HAUTAU, such savings start with the small parts. An example is a rivet sub assembly, which is now replaced by a single stamping. In this manner HAUTAU originates products that are not only economically beneficial, but superior in technical development as well.

OUR CUSTOMER

HAUTAU GmbH is a leading company in the lock and fitting industry located in Helpsen near Hanover. With a wide variety of products, HAUTAU is an innovator of trendsetting fitting development. Besides window fittings HAUTAU also produces smoke and heat exhaust ventilation systems. In the 2006 business year, the company with its 280 employees achieved a turnover of 38 million Euros ($53 million).

REQUIREMENTS

Similar to many middle market companies, HAUTAU predominantly used Excel solutions for product costing. This lead to a lack of consistent information for labor intensive developing costing due to each employee maintaining their own Excel scheme. These various types of formatting prevented fast reporting and required the collection of data by each individual. Engineers, for example, created drawings and parts lists that cost accountants then entered to the Excel documents. Costing of product variations was especially complicated: ERP-data had to be manually applied to Excel tables. A completely new costing was demanded when prices, components or production steps were changed.

THE PROJEcT

With FACTON, HAUTAU GmbH introduced a software that fulfilled their needs. Relevant information made available by the development, engineering, purchasing, and controlling departments are combined in a central database. Data from ERP- and CAD-systems are utilized via standard interfaces. Based on this information, a digital cost prototype is generated at the push of a button. This prototype makes future product cost transparent; cost drivers are discovered early on and alternatives can be quickly analyzed. By means of choosing cost-saving product variations, HAUTAU significantly reduces future manufacturing cost and thus lowers their commercial risk.