How DELMIA solutions help overcome the limitations of legacy systems

Legacy systems are a major roadblock in the automotive industry’s journey towards modernization. Typically involving disjointed software solutions, manual processes, and siloed data, these systems prevent manufacturers from reacting swiftly to market demands. For example, planning is often managed through spreadsheets, which are not integrated across departments, leading to inaccurate data, redundant tasks, and slow response times.

Automotive manufacturers end up dealing with inefficiencies that make it difficult for them to optimize supply chains, manage global operations, and make data-driven decisions. In an industry where real-time visibility and agility are critical, legacy systems simply cannot support the level of coordination and responsiveness required. Key limitations of legacy systems include:

Time-consuming and prone to human error, manual processes that hinder a company’s ability to plan and execute efficiently.

Data being often scattered across different systems and departments, leading to disjointed operations and poor decision-making.

Lack of the integrated, end-to-end visibility that modern automotive manufacturers need to manage increasingly complex global supply chains.

Failure to adapt quickly enough to customer demand, resulting in missed opportunities and inefficiencies as consumer preferences shift toward customization and personalization.

A solution configured to your business reality

To keep pace with the continuous technology advancements and environmental regulations, automotive companies must replace these outdated systems with modern, integrated solutions designed to meet the industry’s challenges. This is where DELMIA steps in.

DELMIA’s exhaustive offer of manufacturing solutions provides automotive companies with the tools they need to overcome the limitations of legacy systems. What makes DELMIA unique is its capability to configure solutions based on your manufacturing model, rather than offering a one-size-fits-all approach.

Every automotive manufacturer faces a different set of challenges based on its product mix, geographic locations, and customer demands. DELMIA adapts to your unique production environment, enabling you to:

Create strategic, tactical, and operational plans that align with your specific goals and constraints, from long-term business objectives to short-term production needs.

Adjust your production and supply chain strategies to respond quickly and efficiently to market changes driven by new environmental regulations, shifts in consumer preferences, or unexpected disruptions.

Leverage the integrated planning framework to ensure that business goals, operational plans, and execution are aligned across all departments, locations, and production facilities, reducing inconsistencies and maximizing efficiency.

Visualizing the entire planning process for enhanced efficiency

One of the key advantages of DELMIA is its solutions’ capability to provide full visibility into the planning, scheduling, and execution processes. With DELMIA, you can visualize your entire production and supply chain operations, including all relevant knowledge, rules, and assumptions that drive decision-making. Equipped with valuable insights and unmatched clarity, manufacturers across diverse industries and sectors can effectively optimize their operations at every level.

DELMIA Supply Chain Planning Solution Map Illustration 768X610

For example, you can visualize how production schedules will be affected by a shortage of key materials or a delay at a critical supplier. This ability to “see” potential issues before they arise enables you to proactively adjust your plans and allocate resources more effectively. DELMIA’s detailed insights into resource availability—including materials, equipment, and labor—ensure that each element of the supply chain is synchronized, minimizing downtime and bottlenecks.

Furthermore, this transparency enables better collaboration across departments and teams, as all stakeholders have access to the same real-time data. By breaking down silos, you can reduce waste, increase productivity, and drive continuous improvement.

Scenario planning: A key tool for smarter decision-making

In an industry as dynamic and apt to change as automotive manufacturing, the ability to plan for various scenarios is essential for staying ahead of the curve. Leveraging DELMIA solutions for scenario planning, you can successfully evaluate the potential impact of different decisions and answer critical “what if” questions before committing to a course of action:

What if we shift production to a new facility?

What if demand for a specific model increases unexpectedly?

What if a supplier can no longer meet our delivery deadlines?

Scenario planning enables you to explore the outcomes of different strategies and make informed decisions based on objective data. For instance, when faced with trade policy changes, an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) can use DELMIA software to simulate the cost and feasibility of shifting production to another location, factoring in material availability, transportation costs, and capacity limits at other facilities.

As an OEM, you can capitalize on this predictive insight to mitigate risks, reduce the chances of costly mistakes, and improve the ability to meet key performance indicators (KPIs). Your planners are no longer forced to making decisions based purely on intuition but are instead guided by solid data and forecasts generated by the system.

How DELMIA solutions help automotive manufacturers

DELIMIA provides solutions that effectively enhance your planning and operational abilities, providing numerous benefits to enterprises on their digital journey. By selecting DELMIA solutions for your Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) needs, like DELMIA Ortems APS, as well as Manufacturing Execution System for your production processes, like DELMIA Apriso MES, you can experience:

Increased efficiency

By optimizing supply chain processes and reducing inefficiencies, DELMIA solutions help increase production output while lowering costs.

Enhanced agility

Using DELMIA solutions allows for faster responses to market changes, whether that means shifting production in response to new regulations or quickly adapting to shifts in consumer demand.

Improved collaboration

By providing a unified platform where all departments can access the same information, DELMIA solutions break down data silos, facilitating better communication and decision-making.

Future-proofing

Using DELMIA solutions for scenario planning and long-term strategic forecasting, manufacturers become more resilient and prepared for future challenges and uncertainties the continuously evolving automotive industry.

Ready to learn more?

As automotive companies continue to navigate complex supply chains and increasing customization needs, they must move beyond the limitations of legacy systems. How? By embracing end-to-end, integrated solutions like DELMIA Ortems APS and DELMIA Apriso MES to stay competitive.

By configuring DELMIA to your business reality, visualizing your entire planning process, and leveraging scenario planning for better decision-making, you can optimize efficiency, reduce costs, and gain a competitive edge. If wonder where to start, Andea has an intimate knowledge of DELMIA solutions and a proven track record of reselling, integrating and deploying APS systems and MES solutions in the automotive industry.

Check out our extensive case study to learn how Andea supported the world’s largest supplier to the automotive industry and assisted in real time to provide support as soon as issues were reported. Discover how Andea supported an automotive industry company on the way to the digital transformation of fleet management. Find out how Andea helped Autoliv deliver a unique and customizable GEO solution.

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Overcoming the limitations of legacy systems in the automotive industry with DELMIA