Situation
Scania, a global company renowned for its buses, trucks, and engines, is in a partnership with Higer Bus Company Ltd. In this arrangement, Scania manufactures the chassis and ships it to Higer, who designs and produces the bus bodies based on Scania’s configuration. These buses are sold worldwide by Scania, who also takes on the responsibility of providing full aftermarket service for the vehicles. For Scania to maintain the technical documentation and spare part inventory, Higer provides an as-built product structure for each individual bus body.
Problem
The manual process to update the product structure has led to quality issues and problems in downstream service activities, resulting in an incomplete spare part inventory and catalogue. The manual process was also reliant on a select few individuals, which proved unscaleable when Scania planned to increase production volumes with Higer.
Solution
Eurostep, in cooperation with Scania, developed the External Partner Product Specification (EPPS) platform based on Eurostep ShareAspace PLM Collaboration. This platform is designed to manage product information created by any external partner, providing Scania with a versatile tool for managing product specifications with their partners. Additionally, another platform named PRIO (Product-Related Information Online) was built atop EPPS to serve as a single source for all product data specifically between Scania and Higer. This platform offered both companies the necessary processes to evaluate the data.
Benefits
- Easier Data Transfers: A standardized method for entering information, monitoring requirements, and handling the verification process facilitates smoother data transfers.
- Easier Problem Solving: Consolidating all data in one place, including a history of products and product changes, simplifies problem identification. A user-friendly system also makes it easy to address known issues.
- Time-Saving: Clear delineation of work processes and a reduced number of items in stock results in fewer errors. This improves data quality, which means that any errors that do occur can be efficiently addressed through the system.
In summary, Scania CV AB, which offers sales, services, and financial services in many markets worldwide, has effectively streamlined its partnership with Higer Bus Company Ltd. through the implementation of Eurostep’s EPPS and PRIO platforms.
