Report: Engineers Spend More Than Half of Time on Low-Value Activity

By DE Editors

A research report by software maker Cincom Systems (Cincinnati, OH) has found that more than 50 percent of engineers at build-to-order and engineer-to-order manufacturers spend their time on activities that add no real value to the customer. The report was based on a survey of senior engineering managers at 900 manufacturers of industrial, electrical, and transportation equipment and systems between January and February 2007.

The report, entitled Best Practices: Mass Customization and Build-to-Order Manufacturing, notes that while engineers spend 32 percent of their time creating new product drawings for customers, the week is often consumed by numerous administrative tasks, including creating bills of material (14%) and change orders (13%), performing product selection and configuration (10%), manufacturing changes in line (5%), creating cost estimates (4%), pricing orders (4%), and making post-order revisions (4%). 

“Engineering is uniquely positioned to optimize the fit between a customer’s needs and manufacturing,” writes Jim Wilson, Cincom program director and author of the report. “Unfortunately, much of the time spent is low-value activity.”

Sales support activities such as general sales consultation and post-sales support of installation only consume five percent of engineers’ time. The report suggests that engineering management would benefit from increasing the influence of the engineering team on sales processes and solutions that affect customers directly.

According to Cincom, engineers could influence sales via a field-to-factory strategy that would speed up the entire sales process, creating more sales and work for the manufacturer and offering customers a better experience. With this strategy, engineering can translate their “factory speak” into “sales speak” (as a select group who knows both sides), capture this knowledge electronically through software, and empower the customer to spec their own products. Customers or a sales representative can enter needs into a program and discover the possibilities for creation; this captured knowledge can then be electronically applied to quotes, orders, and RFPs.

Wilson suggests that this field-to-factory strategy puts the engineer, the sales team, and the customer in sync earlier in the process. For a copy of the report, click here.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.