July 5, 2007 — A consulting group has reported the results of its investigation into performance standards in the mold and die industry. "The 21st Century Mold and Die Shop" supports improvement efforts of mold/die manufacturers, but also works as a guide to any organization that buys molds and/or dies.
The Aberdeen Group concludes that, despite intense global cost competition, the industry's "best in class" performers meet their business goals with 96% accuracy, and their report is offered as a guide to mold and die manufacturers seeking similar results.
Aberdeen used five performance criteria to identify the best-in-class mold and die shops. The key indicator is delivery time: the top performers deliver tooling three weeks earlier than average, and also hit other performance targets: develop job quotations accurately (96%); meet manufacturing cost targets (97%); deliver tooling with acceptable quality on every job (100%); deliver tooling to customer on time (99%).
In addition, the report identifies the common performance characteristics of the best-in-class performers, and outlines the actions other mold and die producers must take to meet the highest industry standards. These include: standardizing quotation and design processes; formalizing specialized roles for quotation and design; accelerating tool design with CAD tooling automation; assessing product manufacturability with simulation; managing tooling designs with product data management; and leveraging high speed machining technologies
Finally, the report presents commentary from some of the best-in-class performers, to illuminate their experience and clarify the details of their efforts.