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BUSINESSPROCESSANALYSISOFAN

OPTOELECTRONICSECTORCOMPANY

ConstanzeCharlotteEngelhardt

ProcessmodelingandanalysisinaGermanSME

WorkProjectpresentedaspartialrequirementforobtainingtheMaster`sdegreeinInformationManagement

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NOVAInformationManagementSchool

InstitutoSuperiordeEstatísticaeGestãodeInformação

UniversidadeNovadeLisboa

BUSINESSPROCESSANALYSISOFANOPTOELECTRONICSECTOR

COMPANY

PROCESSMODELINGANDANALYSISINAGERMANSME

by

ConstanzeCharlotteEngelhardt

ProjectWorkpresentedaspartialrequirementforobtainingtheMaster`sdegreeinInformationManagement,withaspecializationinInformationSystemsandTechnologiesManagement

Advisor:VítorDuartedosSantos,PhD

March16,2018

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, Iwould like to thankmyadvisor, ProfessorVítorDuartedos Santos, for theenormousexperiencesshared,precioushelp,availability,understanding,wiseadviceandsupportatalltimes.Withhissupport,itwaspossibletocarryoutthisworkproject.

Manythankstoallemployeesofthecompanyunderstudy,forprovidingthenecessaryresourcesforthedevelopmentofthisworkproject.EspeciallytoLeonKurz,forhisavailability,helpandtime.

Thankstomyfamilyandfriends,foralwaysstandingbyandencouragingmetobelieveinmyabilitiestoachievemygoals.Aspecialthankstomymother,whowasalwaysavailableforadviceandaction.Shecaredformeandaboveall,believedinme.

Finally,Iwouldliketosincerelythankeveryonewhosupportedmeunconditionallyincompletingthisworkproject,becauseitisyourstoo.

Toall,thankyou.

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ABSTRACT

BusinessProcessManagement(BPM)isappliedinmanyenterprisesandiswellknownforimprovingthecompetivenessandsustainabilityofabusiness.However,inSmallandMedium-sizedEnterprises(SMEs)BPMpracticesarealarmingly low,despiteofthepotentialpositive impactsBPMyields.TheproblemisthatSMEsoftenhavelimitedresources,theabsencesofacross-functionalmind-setandalack of strategic clarity. BPM reduces operational inefficiencies and supports innovative practiceswhich are essential for success, if adopted as amanagementparadigmacross the enterprise. Thisworkprojectwillanalyzethecurrentstateofvalue-addedbusinessprocessesinaGermanhigh-techSME, along with its problems and inefficiencies to create standardized models for businessoperations. Therefore, the goal of this work is to explore the potential of BPM and currenttechnologies, based on the analysis of a company that operates as a high-tech enterprise in theoptoelectronicsector.

KEYWORDS

BPM;Optimization;BPMN;Modeling;High-techSME

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INDEX

1. Introduction.................................................................................................................1

1.1.Context.................................................................................................................1

1.2.Motivation............................................................................................................2

1.3.Objectives.............................................................................................................3

2. Workplan....................................................................................................................4

2.1.ProjectPhases......................................................................................................4

2.2.Tools/Resources.................................................................................................5

2.3.Chronogram..........................................................................................................6

3. Literaturereview.........................................................................................................7

3.1.BusinessProcessManagement............................................................................7

3.1.1.Concepts........................................................................................................7

3.1.2.BPMLifeCycle...............................................................................................9

3.1.3.ProcessArchitecture....................................................................................10

3.1.4.Processmodeling.........................................................................................11

3.1.5.Modelingofthecurrentstate„AS-IS“andfuturestate“TO-BE”................12

3.1.6.Performancemeasurement........................................................................13

3.1.7.Transformation............................................................................................15

3.1.8.BusinessProcessModelandNotation(BPMN)...........................................17

3.2.OptoelectronicIndustry......................................................................................19

3.2.1.History.........................................................................................................19

3.2.2.CurrentSituation.........................................................................................20

3.3.RecentDevelopmentsandFutureTrendsinManufacturing.............................21

3.3.1.Industry4.0andIoT(InternetofThings).....................................................21

3.3.2.EnterpriseResourcePlanning(ERP)andCloudComputing.........................22

3.3.3.RoboticProcessAutomation(RPA).............................................................23

3.3.4.AutomaticIdentification(Auto-ID)systems................................................23

3.3.5.Wirelesscommunicationnetworks.............................................................24

3.3.6.FogComputing............................................................................................26

3.3.7.QualitymanagementISO9001.....................................................................27

4. Workproject..............................................................................................................28

4.1.Examinationofthecompany..............................................................................28

4.2.Existingprocesses...............................................................................................31

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5. ProjectDevelopment.................................................................................................33

5.1.ProcessArchitecture...........................................................................................33

5.1.1.IdentificationofProcesses..........................................................................34

5.2.SpecificationofEntities......................................................................................37

5.2.1.Actors..........................................................................................................37

5.2.2.Systems........................................................................................................38

5.2.3.Documentation............................................................................................40

6. Processmodeling.......................................................................................................42

6.1.Process“NT940”................................................................................................42

6.1.1.Process“Goodsreceipt(general)”..............................................................43

6.1.2.Process“Assemblingofgoods(NT940)”....................................................44

6.1.3.Sub-Process“Tubeandhousingassembling”..............................................45

6.1.4.Process“Orderfulfilment”..........................................................................46

6.1.5.Process“Goodscomplement”.....................................................................47

6.1.6.Process“Goodsoutput(general)”...............................................................48

6.2.Process“AN/PVS31”...........................................................................................49

6.2.1.Process“Goodsreceipt(ITAR)”...................................................................50

6.2.2.Process“LoanedPVS31”..............................................................................51

6.2.3.Process“PVS31complement”.....................................................................52

6.2.4.Process“Goodsoutput(ITAR)”...................................................................53

6.3.Process“General(Services)”..............................................................................54

6.3.1.Process“RepairL3devices”.........................................................................55

6.3.2.Sub-Process“Evaluation”............................................................................56

6.3.3.Sub-Process“Quoteandmaterialprocurement”........................................57

6.3.4.Sub-Process“Goodsreceipt(L3spareparts)”.............................................58

6.3.5.Sub-Process“Repairpass”...........................................................................59

6.3.6.Process“RepairNTdevices”........................................................................60

6.3.7.Process“Loaneddevices”............................................................................61

7. Criticalreviewofprocessesandimprovements........................................................62

7.1.Process“NT940”................................................................................................63

7.2.Process“AN/PVS31”...........................................................................................69

7.3.Process“General(Services)”..............................................................................71

7.4.Discussionofimprovements..............................................................................75

8. Conclusion.................................................................................................................78

8.1.Analysisoftheresults.........................................................................................78

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8.2.Limitations..........................................................................................................78

8.3.Futurework........................................................................................................79

BIBLIOGRAFY..................................................................................................................80

ANNEX............................................................................................................................86

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LISTOFFIGURES

Figure2.1-ProjectPhases.........................................................................................................4Figure3.1-BPMLifecycle..........................................................................................................9

Figure4.1-Organizationalstructureofthecompany............................................................29Figure5.1-OverallProcessesofthecompany.......................................................................33Figure6.1-Process“Goodsreceipt(general)”.......................................................................43

Figure6.2-Process„Assemblingofgoods(NT940)“.............................................................44Figure6.3-Sup-process“Tubeandhousingassembling”......................................................45Figure6.4-Process„Orderfulfilment“...................................................................................46

Figure6.5-Process“Goodscomplement”.............................................................................47Figure6.6-Process“Goodsoutput(general)”........................................................................48Figure6.7-Process“Goodsreceipt(ITAR)”............................................................................50

Figure6.8-Process„LoanedPVS31“......................................................................................51Figure6.9-Process“PVS31Complement”.............................................................................52Figure6.10-Process„Goodsoutput(ITAR)“..........................................................................53

Figure6.11-Process„RepairL3devices“...............................................................................55Figure6.12-Sub-process„Evaluation“...................................................................................56Figure6.13-Sub-process„Quoteandmaterialprocurement“..............................................57

Figure6.14-Sub-process„Goodsreceipt(L3spareparts)“...................................................58Figure6.15-Sub-process„Repairpass“.................................................................................59Figure6.16-Process„RepairNTdevices“..............................................................................60

Figure6.17-Process„Loaneddevices“..................................................................................61

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LISTOFTABLES

Table2.1-Chronogram..............................................................................................................6Table3.1-Workprocessdocumented,anddocumentationiskeptuptodate.....................11

Table3.2-Areprocessimprovementprogramsinplace?......................................................15Table3.3-BasicModelingElements.......................................................................................19Table4.1-Productsofferedbythecompany.........................................................................29

Table4.2-Proceduralinstructionofthecompanyoverview.................................................31Table4.3-Proceduralinstructionsofthecompanydetailed.................................................32Table5.1-Casetypesandbusinessfunctionofimageintensifiertubes................................34

Table5.2-Identifiedprocessesofthecompany....................................................................36Table5.3-Actorsofthecompany..........................................................................................38Table5.4-Systemsofthecompany.......................................................................................40

Table5.5-Documentsofthecompany..................................................................................41Table7.1-Criticalreviewandimprovementproposalsoftthecompany“NT940”...............68Table7.2-Criticalreviewandimprovementproposalsoftthecompany“AN/PVS31”.........70

Table7.3-Criticalreviewandimprovementproposalsoftthecompany“Services(general)”.........................................................................................................................................74

Table7.4-Technologiesforproposedimprovements............................................................77

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LISTOFACRONYMSANDABBREVIATIONS

A Accounting

ABC ActivityBasedCosting

ABM ActivityBasedManagement

ABPMP AssociationofBusinessProcessManagementProfessionals

BPEL BusinessProcessExecutionLanguage

BPM BusinessProcessManagement

BPTrends BusinessProcessTrends

BPMI BusinessProcessInitiative

BPMN BusinessProcessManagementNotation

BPR BusinessProcessReengineering

C Commercial

CPS Cyber-PhysicalSystems

CPPS Cyber-PhysicalProductionSystems

D&P DevelopmentandProduction

ERP EnterpriseResourcePlanning

g.A. GeneralAccounting

IaaS InfrastructureasaService

ICT InformationandCommunicationsTechnology

IoT InternetofThings

ITAR InternationalTrafficinArmsRegulations

KPIs KeyPerformanceIndicators

M&D MarketingandDistribution

NT NightTronic

OMG ObjectManagementGroup

RF RadioFrequency

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RFID RadioFrequencyIdentification

PaaS PlatformasaService

P&L ProcurementandLogistics

QMS QualityManagementSystem

RMA Returnmaterialauthorization

RPA RoboticProcessAutomation

SaaS SoftwareasaService

SME SmallandMedium-sizedEnterprises

TQM TotalQualityManagement

Wfm WorkflowManagement

WLANs WirelessLocalAreaNetwork

WMANs MetropolitanAreaNetworks

WPANs WirelessPersonalAreaNetworks

WSN WirelessSensorNetwork

WWANs WirelessWideAreaNetworks

UML UnifiedModelingLanguage

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1. INTRODUCTION

Nowadays,theturbulentenvironmentismoredemandingthaneverbeforeandorganizationshavealwayshadtoadapttoachangingworld(Lankhorst&Matthijssen,2016).Inrecentyears,ithasbeennoticed that enterprises are increasingly focusing on their business processes (Ho, Jin,&Dwivedi,2009;Ko,Lee,&WahLee,2009).Businessprocessesareanassetofcorporationswhichhavedirectimpact on the attractiveness of products and services, as perceived by themarket. Furthermore,business processes also determine tasks, jobs and responsibilities, as well as shaping thework ofeachemployee.Asafact,processesdeterminethepotentialofanenterprisetoadapttonewcasesand to comply with fast growing number of legislative requirements. They affect the revenuepotential as much as they shape the cost profile of an enterprise (Dumas, Mendling, La Rosa, &Reijers,2012).

Theimportantroleofprocesseshasbeenwidelyrecognized,butanoveralldisciplinepromotingtheimportance of process as well as providing integrated Business Process Management (BPM)mythologieshasbeenlackingforalongtime.Amajorreasonofthismaybewhyprocessthinkingisstill not as common as cost awareness, or employee focus aswell as ethical considerations (VomBrocke & Rosemann, 2010). Furthermore, with the growth of a company, they spread theirgeographicpresencetocovermoreregionsacrosstheworld.Therefore,businessprocessesbecomemore complex, inefficient and expensive. There aremany reasons, such as lack of visibility aboutprocesses, poor monitoring capabilities and others, which cause inefficiency along the processes(Ramaraju& Juturu, 2007).Althoughmanyorganizations are involved inprocess initiatives, only asmall number of companies follow a holistic approach and focus on the level of organizationalprocesses(Neubauer,2009).

1.1. CONTEXT

The company under study, namely IEAMil-Optics is focusing their operations on their day-to-daybusiness. In the current state, BPM is not practiced yet in the company and there are only a fewprocessesdocumented. IEAMil-Optics isahigh-techcompany,producingnightvisionproductsandactsasasupplierformilitaryandlaw-enforcement.Itisoneoftheleadingcompaniesinthesectorofoptoelectronics, characterizedbyhighquality requirements for all products. Particular attention ispaid towards new technologies, which are pursued through the continuous development of theirownknow-howsystemsolutions.Duetotheincreasedrequirementsinthefieldofsecurityandthefightagainstglobalterrorism,themarketisexpectedtogrowstronglyinthefuture(Löffler,2017).

In thisworkproject, the critical situationof several value-addedbusinessprocesses is analyzedbymodelingrespectiveexistingprocesses.Processesareconsidered frompurchasing throughtosalesof various products. After that, improvement opportunities are suggested for each businessoperationregardingtheuseofcurrenttechnologies, tooptimizetheexistingprocessesthroughoutthe company. The main advantages for the company after the work project will be a betterunderstanding of how the work is performed, as well as it is intended to convey a betterunderstandingabouttheresponsibilitiesandtasksoftheindividualemployees.Further,valuewillbeaddedtothetransformationofprocessestomeettheobjectivesofthecompany.

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1.2. MOTIVATION

Tobea competitiveorganization,anenterpriseneeds toassure thatallprocesses thatmakeupacommonvaluechainareintegratedandsupporteachother(Harmon,2007).AccordingtoO’Neill&Sohal(1999),enterprisesneedtoalignallfunctionalareastobeaccuratelyintegrated.Thisreferstotheimportanceofcrossfunctionalteams,wherethevalueofBPMisrecognizedasacrucialsourcefor competitive advantage. In recent years, many concepts have been created regarding BPM.Thereby,conceptsasworkflowmanagement(Wfm)andbusinessprocessreengineering(BPR)havebeenestablished.Nowadays,BPMisatopicwhichisincreasinglymovingintofocus(Koetal.,2009).Hammer(1990a)describestheroleofBPMascrucialincreatingsustainablecompetitiveadvantageandasestablishmentasanovelapproachtothemanagementofprocesses,withtheaimofcreatingradical improvements in performance. In a more recent case study, Dave (2017) investigates aconstruction companyusing semi-structured interviews to study theprocessesof sixdepartments.The study aims to demonstrate a need for a structured business process improvement whileorganizationalprocessesarerestructured.Thus,thestudysuggeststhatalsosmallbusinessunitsanditsprocessescanaffecttheoverallvaluechaininamajorway.Therefore,stressingtheimportanceofanalyzingprocessinterdependenciesbetweenorganizationalunits(Dave,2017).

In every industry sector, it is necessary to be a competitive organization to counteract thecompetition and to meet customer requirements. With emerging technologies, new or improvedproductswillbeofferedonthemarket.Untilnow,IEAexistswithoutworryingaboutclients,asthecompany increases its sales continuously. Therefore, only small changes as well as extensions ofdepartmentsinthecompanyweremade.Tomeettheincreaseddemandoftheexistingclients,itisplanned to employmoreworkers. To be competitive in the future, it is indispensable to improveinefficient processes with the intention to successfully implement future enhancements andstructuralchanges.Todefineanewprocessortransformthosethatalreadyexist,thefirststepistounderstandthecurrentstateofthecompanyandthebusiness(Weske,2007).Forachievingabetterunderstandingofthebusinessprocesses,theexplicitrepresentationisthecoreconcept.Ifactivitiesandtheirrelationshipsareidentifiedandrepresentedbybusinessprocessmodels,stakeholderscancommunicate these processes in an efficient and effective manner, and potentials for improvingthemcanbedeveloped.

Atthebeginningofthisworkproject,thedocumentedprocessesareanalyzed,followedbyasurveyof the value-added processes through interviews with various employees of the company.Afterwards,theprocessmodelingofseveralproductsisdonewiththeintentiontocriticizethemandproposing appropriate improvements. The main advantages for the company is a betterunderstanding of the performed operations and their relationships within the company. Anotheradvantage is a better understanding of the responsibilities and task of each individual employee.Furthermore,cost,timeandtheneedofresourcesoftheperformedoperationscanbereducedaftertheoptimizationoftheexistingprocesses.Furtheradvantagesandbenefitsofthisworkprojectforthe company are: growth of productivity, interdepartmental communication and coordinationenhancement, increasedefficiencyandquality, improvedservice,higherseedinprocessexecution,monitoring of results and identification of inefficiencies. According the Association of BusinessProcessManagementProfessionals(ABPMP,2009),itisimportanttounderstandthematurityoftheorganization in process management, which will help to define the level of analysis preparationneeded.

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Therefore,ABPMP(2013)definesprocessmaturityasantraitandcapabilitythatdefinesthecurrentstateoftheenterprise’smovetounderstandandmanageprocesses.Assessmentscanbeusefulforestablishing a baseline of existing capabilities and to align the organization on the current state.Furthermore, theyarealsouseful to identifyandaddressanygaps.The framework fromForresterResearchProcessdividesProcessMaturityintofivelevels,asfollowing:

0.-Nonsexist:Notunderstood,notformalizedandneedisnotrecognized.

1.-Adhoc:Occasional,notconsistent,notplannedanddisorganized.

2.-Repeatable:Intuitive,documented,understoodandoccursasneeded.

3.-Defined:Documented,predictable,evaluated,occasionallyandunderstood.

4.-Measured:Well-managed,formal,oftenautomatedandevaluatedfrequently.

5.-Optimized:Continuousandeffective,integrated,proactiveandusuallyautomated.

The company under study is still in an early stage of maturity, namely the level of repeatable.Therefore, thepositionof thecompany in thisprocess journey,canhelpproperlysetperformancemeasurementcapabilityexpectationsandshowsaclearroadtoimprovemonitoring,measurement,andreporting(ABPMP,2013).

1.3. OBJECTIVES

Considering the problems identified previously, the focus of this work project is placed on themodeling and analysis of several value-added business processes for the company, along with itsproblems and inefficiencies to create standardized models for internal business operations.Therefore,thegoalofthisworkistoanalyzetheexistingprocessesindifferentdepartmentsandtoprovideproposalsforimprovements.This isdonewithvariousproductsalongthevaluechainfrompurchasing to sales, in different departments such as procurement, logistics, production andworkshop. Following, an evolutionary approach as well as using an BPM approach and currenttechnologies, improvementsopportunitiesare suggestedand if correctly implemented, costs, timeandresourcescanbereduced,aswellasimprovementsofoperationalexcellence.

Toachievethisgoal,furtherspecificobjectivesare:

1.Literaturereviewtoapplythebestimprovements;

2.Collectingandstudyingofexistingdocumentedprocesses;

3.Identifyinganddefinitionofkeyprocessesinthecompanywhichshouldbeanalyzed;

4.Surveyoftheidentifiedprocessesinthecompany;

5.ModelingofthedefinedprocesseswithBPMN2.0;

6.Criticalanalysisandproposalsforimprovementsofthedefinedprocesses;

7. Furtherwork, transformation of value-added processes based on the analysis presented in theprojectthatbestfitsthebusinessobjectives.

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2. WORKPLAN

Thefollowingchapterpresentstheprojectphasestoreachtheobjectives,aswellastheusedtool.Furthermore,theschedulefortheworkprojectisintroduced.

2.1. PROJECTPHASES

Figure2.1presentsthefourfundamentalstagesoftheproject.Thedetaileddescriptionofeachstagefollowsthefigure.

Figure2.1-ProjectPhases

Source:Ownfigure

Toachievethemaingoal,thefollowingspecificobjectivesshouldbeattained:

• Goalsettings

Toachievethegoal,theprojectbeginswithananalysisofthecurrentcompanysituation,intermsofbusinessprocesses.Inthisfirstphase,value-addedprocessesindifferentdepartmentswithvariousproductsare identifiedforthe laterproposed improvements.Afterthat,keyprocessesaredefinedformodelingandanalysisofbusinessprocesses.Existingbusinessprocessesdocumentsarestudiedandusedasastartingpointforthelatermodeling.

• Literaturereview

Inthesecondphase,aliteraturereviewwhichintroducesthemostimportanttheoreticalbackgroundof BPM is conducted, to understand the relevance of the topic as well as to anticipate themaindifficultiesthatmayariseduringtheproject.TheliteraturereviewhelpstofindthebestwaytoapplyprocessimprovementtosuitthemostappropriateBPMframeworkforthecompany.Theresearchisnecessaryforthecorrectmodelingofbusinessprocesseswithcriticalsuccessfactors.Thepresentedimprovementsandrecenttrendsinmanufacturingareusedtoguidetheproposedimprovements.

• Surveyandmodelingofprocesses

Value-added processes of the company are modeled using business process modeling notation(BPMN)andtheBizagiProcessModeler.Oneofthemainprobleminthecompanyisthattheyhavenographicalrepresentationofanyprocesses.Theyonlyhaveseveraldocumentedprocesses,writtenin severalWorddocumentsor PowerPoint slides asbullet points.However, becauseof somenewguidelinesandadditionalprocesses,it’sbeendecidedtomakeanewsurveyofrespectiveprocesses.For thisworkproject, variousmethods forgathering informationareused.The firstmethod is theobservation of daily business operations, which is done with responsible employees of definedprocesses.Bythis,daybydayobservationpromptedseveral insights, leadingtothenextmethods:Interviewsandworkshopswithrespectiveemployees.

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The information gathered from these interviews is used for modeling, as well as analyzing theproblemsandinefficiencieswhichareidentifiedthroughoutthecompany.

• Analysisofprocessesandproposalsforimprovement

In this phase, the critical situation is analyzed and opportunities for improvement are proposedundertheBPMapproachandcurrenttechnologies.Basedontheanalysis, inefficiencies,redundantactivities,inconsistentinformationandprocesseswhicharen’tmeasured,controlledoraretootimeconsuming,arerevealed.

2.2. TOOLS/RESOURCES

AccordingtoDavis&Brabänder(2007),BPMisdescribedasastructuredmanagementapproachthatusesmanagementpractices,policies,methods,metricsandsoftwaretools.BPMaimstoorganizeallaspects of the design, specification, implementation, operation, measurement, analyzes andoptimizationofbusinessprocessestoeffectivelyandefficientlyreachbusinessobjectives.

Anumberofprocessmodelingtoolswereevaluated,includingBizagiProcessModeler,ARISExpress,BPMN.io.,Modelio,CamundaandADONIS:CommunityEdition.ThechosentoolforthisworkprojectisBizagiModeler3.1.Bizagi.BPMSuite containsa totalof three sub-tools:BizagiModeler (designprocessmaps)BizagiStudio(buildprocessapps),andBizagiEngine(runBizagienterprise-wide).TheBizagiModelersuitsallnecessaryrequirementsforthisproject.Itisafreebusinessprocessmodelinganddocumentationtool,enablingvisualdesign,documentandthesimulationofbusinessprocessesin an easy way by using BPMN (Business ProcessModel and Notation). It enhances productivity,efficiencyandpromotessustainablegrowthoverthelongterm.Furthermore,BPMNmodelscanbeextendedtoBPEL(BusinessProcessExecutionLanguage)toautomateprocesses(Bizagi,2014).

ThemainbenefitsofBizagiProcessModelerare(Bizagi,2014):

• Easytouse,noprogrammingskillsrequired.Innovativeinterfaceduedraganddrop;

• Free;

• Documents can be exported into different formats, such asWord, PDF,Web pages, SharePointorWiki;

• ThetoolisbasedonBPMNnotation;

• BizagisupportstheserviceforModelerCollaboration.

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2.3. CHRONOGRAM

Table2.1describesthescheduleoftheworkproject.

2017 2018

Section Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr

1.Introduction

Definitionofobjectivesandmotivationoftheproject

Problemdefinition

2.Literaturereview

3.Interviewsandcollectionofexistingflowcharts

4.Surveyofvalue-addedprocessestomodel

5.Processmodelingofdefinedprocesses

6.Criticalreviewofprocessesandimprovements

7.Resultsanddiscussion

8.Conclusion

9.Updateofliteraturereview

SupervisorsReview

Milestones M1 M2 M3 M4/5

Table2.1-Chronogram

Source:Owndrawing

Milestones:

1.DeliveryofproposalforProjectWork;

2.Informationformodelingreceived;

3.Processmodelingandcriticalreviewfinished;

4.Preliminaryreport;

5.ProjectWorkreportfinished.

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3. LITERATUREREVIEW

Thischapterpresentsthenecessaryconceptsforthedevelopmentoftheworkproject.ItstartswiththeexploringoftheBPMstandardsandrelatedfields,suchasBPMlifecycleandBPMNaswellasabriefdescriptionoftheoptoelectronicsector.Furthermore,recentdevelopmentsandfuturetrendsinmanufacturingareelaborated.

3.1. BUSINESSPROCESSMANAGEMENT

3.1.1. Concepts

Processes are existing everywhere and in every organization as in governmental, non-profitorganization,orenterprises,whereanumberofprocesseshavetobemanaged(Dumasetal.,2012).The actual process improvement methods affiliate their roots back to the work done by (Porter,1985) on value chains, Hammer (1990a) work on business process reengineering (BPR) andDavenport&Short(1990)workoninformationtechnologyandbusinessprocessredesign.Thelattertwo works address the integration of technological innovation within business processes and aretryingtoalignbusinessstrategieswithchangingtechnologicaltrends(Dave,2017).Thedevelopmentof process-oriented thinking arises from the development of Total QualityManagement (TQM) atToyotaandother Japanesemanufacturing companies (Deming,1982), aswell as the improvementtechnique “Lean Thinking” (Dave, 2017). (Ohno, 1982) was the pioneer of “Lean Thinking”, heidentifiedsevendifferentwastecategorieswithin theproductionprocessandproposed that theseshould be eliminated or optimized to improve process efficiency (Dave, 2017). Recently, TQMprocessedintotheprocessoptimizationstrategiesof Six-SigmaandLeanManufacturing(Hoetal.,2009).

The business process reengineering (BPR) movement began in 1990 with the publications of twopapers: Michael Hammer`s “Reengineering Work: Don`t Automate, Obliterate” and ThomasDavenportandJamesShort`s“TheNewIndustrialEngineering:InformationTechnologyandBusinessProcessRedesign”(Davenport&Short,1990;Hammer,1990).Theorists likeHammer,Champy,andDavenportemphasizethatcompaniesneedtothink intermsofcomprehensiveprocesses,which issimilar to Porter`s value chain (Harmon, 2007). Hammer & Champy (1993) defined BPR as afundamentalrethinkandradicalredesignofbusinessprocessestogenerateimprovementsincriticalperformance measures, such as cost, quality, service and speed. Moreover, managing businessprocessesisalsoinfluencedbyinformationtechnology(IT)whichcanberetracedtoHammer,statingthat organizations should “reengineer” their business with the use of modern informationtechnologytoradicallyredesigntheirbusinessprocessesinordertoachievedramaticimprovementsin their performance (Hammer, 1990). BPR and BPMmust be distinguished.Whereas the formerrefers to the radical reconstruction of existing business processes, the latter is more iterative,incremental and practical related in fine-tuning business processes (Ko et al., 2009). Kohlbacher(2010)describesthedifferencebetweenBPRandBPMasfollows:BPRisasingleprojectconcernedwith the radical redesign of business processes,whereas BPM refers to the ongoingmanagementandoptimizationofanorganizationbasedonitsbusinessprocesses.Amongthevariousdefinitionsofanprocess,aclassicdefinitionisgivenbyABPMP(2009),definingaprocessasasetofactivitiesorbehaviorsperformedbyhumansormachinesforachievingagoal,orforsolvingaspecificproblem.

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Dumasetal.(2012)describesabusinessprocessasacollectionofinter-relatedactivities,eventsanddecisionpointswhichincludeseveralactorsandobjects,andleadtoanoutcomewithvalueatleastforonecustomer.ThisdefinitionisrelatedtoABPMP(2009),whichdefinesabusinessprocessasan“end-to-end”job,goingbeyondfunctionallimitsandcrossinganyfunctionalboundariestogeneratevalue for the client. In a further notion, BPMdoes not only covers the representationof businessprocesses,butalsoadditionalactivitieswhichcontainconcepts,methodsandtechniquestosupportthedesign,administration,configuration,enactment,andanalysis(Weske,2007).Furthermore,BPMis described as structured approach that is made in an organization to continuously analyze andimprove fundamental activities such asmanufacturing,marketing, communications and other keyelementsofacompany’soperations(Zairi,1997).

TheABPMP(2013)viewsBPMasamanagementdisciplinethattreatsbusinessprocessesasassets.Becauseofthis,organizationalgoalscanbeachievedthroughthedefinition,engineering,controlandcommitmenttothecontinuousimprovementofbusinessprocesses.BPMintegratesITandbusinessprocess expertise with the aim of transforming isolated business efforts into integrated andmeasurable cross-functional activities, in order to deliver operational and strategic competitiveadvantage (Lederer Antonucci & Goeke, 2011). The principal idea in BPM is to optimize anorganization’s business process by eliminating activities that do not add value and to improveprocess fluency within the limits of organizational functions (Kujansivu & Lönnqvist, 2008), in anefficient and effective manner (Lederer Antonucci & Goeke, 2011). According to Peppard (2000),differentdepartments inanorganizationstilloperateassilosandasaresulthorizontalend-to-endcustomer processes are still not well understood or defined throughout the whole company.Companiesshouldembracechange, it isoneof themeans forhandlingthechallengeof improvingthecompany’sbusinessprocesses foroptimizingperformanceandenhancecompetitiveadvantage(Trkman,2010).

Silvestro&Westley(2002)havedeterminedtheprocessoftwoUK-basedcompanies.Onewasthedivision of a large multi-national electronics company, and the other a major retail organization.Because of the BPR, the companies could achieve increased market responsiveness, bettercollaboration between functions and alignment of organizational objectives. However, therewerealsosomedisadvantagesoftheBPR initiatives.They identifiedaduplicationoffunctionalexpertiseandincreasedoperationalcomplexity,resultinginanescalationofcost,theemergenceofhorizontalsilos. In addition, there are inconsistencies in the execution of functional decisions betweenprocesses and general erosion of the efficiency of the operations network (Silvestro & Westley,2002).Accordingtothese limitations,theadoptionofBPMalonewillnotbringanycontributiontoeither their operational or strategic goals of an organization. Moreover, BPM can help in theexecutionofastrategicprogrambyenablingabettermatchbetweentheorganizationalstrategyandthetheirbusinessprocesses(Trkman,2010).Infact,BPMinheritsfromthecontinuousimprovementphilosophyofTotalQualityManagement(TQM),aswellasotherprinciplesandtechniquessuchasoperational management, Lean and Six Sigma. BPM combines the named philosophies with thecapability offered bymodern IT, hence to an optimal alignment with business processes and theperformanceobjectivesofanorganization(Dumasetal.,2012).

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3.1.2. BPMLifeCycle

As Dumas et al. (2012) defined BPM, “as a body of methods, techniques and tools to discover,analyze,redesign,executeandmonitorbusinessprocesses”(Dumasetal.,2012,p.5).TheyreflectthisdefinitionasthefactthatbusinessprocessesarethefocalpointofBPM,whichinvolvesdifferentphasesandactivities in the lifecycleofbusinessprocesses. In the literature, thereareseveralBPMlifecyclesmodelsavailablewhicharedifferent fromtheoneproposedbyABPMP (2009).TheBPMlifecycle by ABPMP (2009) is structured in six steps and establishes those activities that comprisemanagerial practice in BPM. These six steps include: planning, analysis, design and modeling,implementation, monitoring and control as well as refinement. The lifecycle model proposed byDumasetal.(2012),viewsBPMasacontinuouscyclecomprisingwiththefollowingphases(seefig.3.1).Thislifecycleisbestsuitedtodeveloptheworkproject,becauseofthemoredetailedsteps.Thephasesofthelifecyclearedescribedinthefollowingsection.

Figure3.1-BPMLifecycle

Source:(Dumasetal.,2012,p.21)

Processidentification

In the first phase of the BPM lifecycle, a business problem arises, and other relevant processesrelated to the problemare identified, delimited and linked. The result of these phase is a neworupdated process architecture, which provides a global understanding of processes at theorganizationanditsrelations.Dependingonthecase,theidentificationofprocessescanbedoneinparallelwithperformancemeasureidentification.

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Processdiscovery

Inthesecondphase(“AS-IS”processmodeling),documentationisdoneofthecurrentstateofeachrelevantprocesses.Thiscanbedoneintheformofoneormore“AS-IS”processmodels.

Processanalysis

In the third phase, the identification and documentation of problems associatedwith the “AS-IS”processes takes place, andwhen possible quantified using performancemeasures. The result is astructured collection of issues, which are normally prioritized according to their impact, andoccasionallyalsointermstheestimatedeffortrequiredtoresolvethem.

Processredesign

Inthephaseoftheprocessredesign(process improvement),processchangesare identified.Thesecanhelpsolve the identified issues in thepreviousphaseandenable theorganizationtomeet theperformanceobjectives.Thebasis forthenextphase isgiventhroughtheresultof thisphasewiththe“TO-BE”processmodel.

Processimplementation

Inthisphase,thepreparationandexecutionaredonewiththerequiredchangestomovefromthe“AS-IS”processtothe“TO-BE”process.Thisphasecomprisestwoaspectswhichareorganizationalchange management and process automation. The former one is related to a set of activitiesrequiredtochangethewayofworkingwithallparticipantswhoareinvolvedintheprocess.Processautomation is thedevelopment anddeployment of IT systemsor enhanced versions of existing ITsystems,thatsupportsthe“TO-BE”process.

Processmonitoringandcontrolling

When the redesigned process is running, the next phase is to collect and analysis of data todeterminethelevelofsuccessoftheprocessperformance,tomeettheperformancemeasuresandperformanceobjectives.Onceinefficiencies,discrepancies,barriersanderrorshavebeenidentified,correctionsareinitiated.Ifnewissuesarise,itwilltriggerarepeatedlifecycleoftheBPMprocess.

3.1.3. ProcessArchitecture

In thephaseofprocess identification it isnecessary todefinethesetofbusinessprocessesandtoestablishaclearcriteria forprioritizing them(Dumasetal.,2012).Theprocessarchitecture,whichrepresentsthebusinessprocessesandtheirinterrelationsistheoutputoftheprocessidentification.There are different criteriawhich can be taken into consideration for determiningwhich chain ofoperationsisforminganindependentbusinessprocessandwhichonesarepartofanotherprocess.Accordingly, there are several sights on categorizing a business processes. The value chainmodelfromPorterisoneofthemostinfluentialones,whichdistinguishestwocategoriesofprocesses:coreprocesses(primaryactivities)andsupportprocesses(supportactivities).Coreprocessesincludetheessential value creation of an organization such as production of goods and services for whichcustomerspay.

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Furthermore, it covers inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics,marketing and sales, andservices. Support processes are necessary in order to facilitate the execution of the primaryprocesses. This comprise infrastructure, human resources, technology development, andprocurements.Thissetoftwocategoriescanbeextendedbyathirdonewhichisthemanagementprocess. Therefore, from a strategic point of view, primary, support, and management processesshould be distinguished. There are several approaches for defining a process architecture inliterature.TheapproachesdevelopedbyDijkamnleadstoaprocessarchitectureonlevelonealongtwodimensions:casetypesandbusinessfunctions.Acasetypeclassifiesthetypesofcasesthatarehandled inanorganizationsuchasproductsorservices that isdeliveredtoacustomer.A functionclassifiesthefunctionofanorganization,inotherwordssomethingthatonorganizationdoes.Theyconsistofoneormoresub-functions(Dumasetal.,2012).Inordertobeacompetitiveorganization,it isnecessary toassurethatallprocesses thatmakeupacommonvaluechainare integratedandsupporteachother(Harmon,2007).

3.1.4. Processmodeling

Various organization have realized the importance of process modeling, but there are stillorganizationwho have concerns regarding time and effort in developing andmaintaining processmodels (Ramaraju& Juturu,2007). In2005 theBPTrends (BusinessProcessTrends) conducted thefirstmarketsurvey“TheStateoftheBPMMarket”,whereasthesixthandlatestonewaspublishedin2015witha responseofover100 respondents throughout theworld (Harmon&Wolf,2016).Theanswerstothequestion(seetable3.1)“Arebusinessprocessesdocumentedandkeptuptodate?”of2005and2015aresimilar.Mostorganization“Occasionally”keeptheirprocessdocumented.Thelevelof “MostTimes”were indicatedwith14% in2015,which is a lowervalue compared to2005with23%.

Arebusinessprocessesdocumentedandkeptuptodate?

Pleaseindicateyourorganization´soveralllevelofperformance.

2005 2015

Never(0%) 4%

Occasionally(1-30%) 46% 50%

Frequently(31-60%) 24% 29%

MostTimes(61-99%) 23% 14%

Always(100%) 4% 4%

Total 97% 100%

Table3.1-Workprocessdocumented,anddocumentationiskeptuptodate.

Source:(Harmon&Wolf,2016,p.4)

AtvariousstagesoftheBPMlifecycle,businessprocessmodelsarecrucial.Therearemanyreasonswhytomodelaprocess,suchasasimpleunderstandingoftheprocessaswellasthesharingofourunderstandingoftheprocesswiththepeoplewhoareinvolved(Dumasetal.,2012).

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In1946,flowdiagramswereoneofthefirstapproachestovisualizeabusinessprocess,developedbyGoldstine and Neumann (Rosemann, 2006). Historically, there is a broad variety of differentdiagrammingnotationsavailablefordescribingaprocess.OneofthefirstnotationwasintroducedbyGeary Rummler and Alan Brache in their popular book, “Improving Performance” in 1990. Thenotationwas called “Rummler-Brache” notation and further formalized in the IBMnotation called“LOVEM”.SomeoftheRummler-BracheconceptswerelinkedintotheObjectManagementGroup’sUML Activity Diagrams. In 2004, a new notation was created, the “Business Process ModelingNotation” (BPMN), through theBusiness Process Initiative (BPMI) groupwhobroughtmost of themajorbusinessprocessmodelingtoolsvendorstogether(Harmon,2007).

According to ABPMP (2009), processmodeling includes a set of skills and processes that provideinsights and understanding and enable analysis, design and performance measurements.Furthermore, an end-to-end perspective of organizations primary, supporting and managementprocessesareprovided(ABPMP,2009).Themodelofaprocessenablesanorganizationtoanalyzeallrelationshipsbetweentheirproducts,processes,peopleandsystems,andhelpstofightcomplexity.Questioncanbeansweredsuchashowdifferentpartsareconnected,who is responsible forwhatand what are the essential business processes, as well as what is redundant (Lankhorst &Matthijssen, 2016). Rosemann (2006) mentioned two complexity drivers of a process model,modeling complexity and process complexity. The first one refers to theway processmodeling isapproachedandthesecondonetothecomplexityoftheprocessitself.Thereby,aprocessmodelcanbe seen as a mirror, which reflects it and allows a deeper focus on the elements of interest(Rosemann, 2006). A process model contains icons that represent workflow, data flow, events,decisions,gatewaysandotherelementsoftheprocess itself(ABPMP,2013).Multipleperspectives,notation and diagrams are enabled through a business process model (Burlton, 2014). A briefdescriptionoftheiconsisgiveninsection3.1.8.

3.1.5. Modelingofthecurrentstate„AS-IS“andfuturestate“TO-BE”

When it’s time to analyze a specific business process, it usually beginswith an analysis ofwhat iscurrentlybeingdone.Thisisreferredtotheprocessdiagramthatdocumentstheexistingprocessasthe “AS-IS” process diagram (Harmon, 2007). To assess the current state, this involves sessions,workshops,andinterviewswiththeconcernedsubjectmatterexperts,peoplewhoowntheprocessaswellastheoneswhoexecuteandusetheprocess.Whenprocessdocumentationalreadyexists,itis suitable touse itasa startingpoint fordiscussion,aswellasorganizationsbrochureswhichcanalso be utilized for providing insight into the organizational processes (Sharma, 2015). To capturemoreinformationforprocessmodeling,thereareseveraldifferentwaysasdirectobservation,one-on-oneinterviews,structuredworkshops,webconferencingorwrittenfeedback(ABPMP,2009).

AccordingtoABPMP(2013),thecurrentstate“AS-IS”ismentionedinthestageofprocessdiscoverywhere the understanding of the current situation of the company cannot be omitted. Theseunderstanding includes the complex network of the company with customers, suppliers,collaborative partners, workers, rules, financial history, market and more. In order to guide theevolution of the company, the current state is critical in designing an implementable change orchangeroadmap(ABPMP,2013).

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Aftertheunderstandingofwhatiscurrentlybeingdone,alternativeworkflowscanbegeneratedandcomparedwith the current one. The first speculative alternative diagrams are called “COULD-BE”processdiagramsandfinallythenewgeneratedprocess iscalled“TO-BE”diagram(Harmon,2007).The“TO-BE”processdiagramisthemainoutputoftheprocessredesignphase,becauseitaddressestheidentifiedissuesinthe“AS-IS”processdiagram(Dumasetal.,2012).

3.1.6. Performancemeasurement

Whenit’stimetoanalyzeabusinessprocessthereisnosinglewaytodothat.Inthebeginningoftheanalysistopics,methodsandtoolsarealldependentonthenatureoftheprocessandtheavailableinformation(ABPMP,2013).Foransuccessfulorganizationalchange,whichdonotalwaysrequireanradicalchange,aneffectiveformulationofprocessalternativesisneededincludingevaluations,andimplementationoftheselectedprocesses(S.Lee&Ahn,2008).AccordingtoABPMP(2009),“ifyoucan`t measure it, you can`t manage it” (ABPMP, 2009, p. 103), this statement expresses theimportance,thatanorganizationshouldnotinvesttimeandresourcestoimproveaprocessiftheydonotknowwhattheyhavetomeasureto improve.Themanager’sawarenessofthenecessitytodesign and control a company from a process-oriented perspective increases. As a result, thecompany should be strictly aligned to the requirements of the customers (Leyer, Heckl, &Moormann,2015). Inthe literature,severalprocessperformancedimensionscanbefound.Dumasetal.(2012)mentionfourprocessperformancedimensionswhichare:time,costandqualityaswellas a fourth dimension which gets involved in the equation once the issue of change has to beconsidered, which is called flexibility. These performance dimensions can be refined into severalprocessperformancemeasurescalledkeyperformanceindicators(KPIs).AccordingtoABPMP(2009),theymentionedfourfundamentalprocessperformancemetricswhichare:time,cost,capacityandquality.Thereareothermetrics,suchasefficiencyandeffectiveness,whichareusuallyafunctionofoneormoreofthefourfundamentalmetrics.

Time - is a measurement of process duration, which measures the time it takes between thebeginningandendoftheprocess;

Cost– isametricofmonetaryvalueassociatedwithaprocess,which include two types, resourceandopportunitycost.Resourcecostisneededtocompleteaprocess,measuresthemonetaryvaluewhich isassociatedwiththerecourse(humanorotherwise).Opportunitycost isthevaluewhich isescapedformtheprocessbynotgettingtheresultantoutputoftheprocess;

Capacity–isanamountorvolumeofanoutputassociatedwithaprocess;

Quality – is generally used tomeasure in percentage terms, it expressed the value of the real inrelation tooptimalmaximum in termsofprocess, that canbepresentedby satisfaction, variation,anderrororrateofdefect.

According theeffectivemetrics, thereareusually referredtoasKPIswith12characteristics,whichare(ABPMP,2009):

1. Alignmentwithcorporatestrategiesandobjectives;

2. Anowner,whichcanbean individualorgroupwho is responsible for theaccountabilityoftheoutcome;

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3. Predictive, measurement of the value of business drivers and are leading indicators ofdesiredperformance;

4. Actionable, and timely provided information on how users can intervene to improveperformance;

5. Usersfocusingonafewhighvalueactivities,orontheoveralleffectivenessoftheprocess;

6. Straight,easy tounderstandandnotbasedoncomplex indexes thatmanagersdon’tknowhowtoinfluencedirectly;

7. Balancedandlinkedtowhatisbeingmeasuredandnotcompeteandconfuse;

8. Transformative,whichencouragespositivechangesintheorganization;

9. Standardized,whichguarantiesmoreeffectivemeasurements,includingstandarddefinitions,rulesandcalculations;

10. Context-driven performance by applying goals and limits so that users can measure theirprogressovertime;

11. Reinforced,canbeenhancedbyincludingcompensationorincentives;

12. Relevant,theneedofaperiodicallyreviewandupdateduethegraduallylossoftheirimpactovertime.

Tomeasureaprocess thereare twomethodswhichcanbeused:manual,wheredata is collectedmanually,or throughanautomatedmethodusingofsophisticatedsoftware includingBPMsuits. Ifthedateiscollectedmanuallyitcanbeplacedinaspreadsheetormodelingtool,orevendrawnonpaper. ABPMP (2009) mentioned four process performance management critical success factorswhichare:

1.Focusingonbothpeopleandprocess;

2.Ensuretheunderstandingoftheentireprocess;

3.Ensuretheunderstandingofhowtheprocess is tiedtooperationalperformancemetrics for theorganizationandaligncompensationtoit;

4. Ensure that those who design and approve the activities are the same people who do theactivities.

To sum it up, in order to improve a given business process it is necessary to analyze the processperformancein-depth.Criteriatodetermineprocessperformancesuchasindicators,measures,andfiguresmustbedefinedbeforehand.It isachallengetoselectthe“right”criteria,duethefactthatthereisnoagreementintheoryorpracticesonhowtodothisbest(Leyeretal.,2015).

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3.1.7. Transformation

According to ABPMP (2009), they define the process transformation as a planned evolution ofbusiness processes using a well-defined mythology and disciplined approach to ensure that abusiness process continues tomeet business objectives. Depending on the level ofmaturity in anappropriate manner and timeline, the organization will adopt various methods to monitor andrespond to these factors to solve individual situations. Regarding the purpose of transformation,Sharma(2015)definesseveraltoolsandtechniqueswhichcanbeusedtogainanunderstandingofthecurrentstatus,andtodefineanddesignnewwaysofworkingtoachievebreakthroughresults.Some of the tools and techniques are: process analysis, productivity analysis, customer analysis,functional analysis, business process modeling, value stream mapping, best practice analysis,competitive analysis, market trends, lesson learning log, life-cycle analysis, organization analysis,performance metrics, financial metrics, investment analysis, quality tools, data analysis, and costanalytics.Intheliterature,therearemanytoolsandmethodologiesavailable.

Neubauer (2009)mentioned the following as processmanagementmethods: Balanced Scorecard,benchmarking,TQM,SixSigma,value-orientedmanagement,andLeanManagement.ABPMP(2009)mentions several familiar improvements methodologies which are Six Sigma, Lean, TQM, activitybasedcostingandactivitybasedmanagement,aswellasperformanceimprovementmodels.Inthesurvey of BPTrends, they also investigate a question related to process improvement programs inorganizations which was “Are process improvement programs in place to identify and improveproblemsanddefect?” (Harmon&Wolf,2016,p.20) (see table3.2).Theymentionedtwoprocessimprovementsprograms, (1)process redesignwhich results inaproject teamundertakingamajoreffort to fix broken or deficient processes or (2) to generate new, more effective processes andcontinuous process improvement that incrementally improves existing processes. In 2015 mostorganization are “Occasionally” involved in process improvement, compared to 2005 fewerorganizationaredoingit“Frequently”(Harmon&Wolf,2016).

Areprocessimprovementprogramsinplacetoidentifyand

improveproblemsanddefect?Pleaseindicateyour

organization´soveralllevelofperformance.

2005 2015

Never(0%) 13% 12%

Occasionally(1-30%) 33% 54%

Frequently(31-60%) 34% 18%

MostTimes(61-99%) 16% 13%

Always(100%) 4% 4%

Total 100% 100%

Table3.2-Areprocessimprovementprogramsinplace?

Source:(Harmon&Wolf,2016,p.20)

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AccordingtoAPBPM(2009),thefollowingimprovementmethodologiesaredescribedinmoredetail.

SixSigma

The Six Sigma approach was developed by Motorola in 1996 (Neubauer, 2009) and is a specificmeasureofquality,usedtoimprovequalityandtoreducecosts(Hammer,2002).Furthermore,itisadisciplined,data-drivenapproachandmethodologyforeliminatingdefectsbasedonstatisticaldatafrom manufacturing to transactional and from product to service with the use of six standarddeviationsbetween themeanand thenearest specification limit (ABPMP, 2009). Furthermore, SixSigmacanbecharacterizednotonlyasanstatisticalmeasure,butalsoasangoalthatreachesnearperfectionforperformanceimprovementandasanmanagementsystemtoachievelastingbusinessleadership and world-class performance (Pande & Holpp, 2002). From the statistical view, itdescribeshowaprocessisperformingandinordertoachieveSixSigma,aprocessmustnotproducemorethan3.4defectspermillionopportunities.Adefectisdefinedasanythingoutsideofcustomerspecification and an opportunity as the total quality of chances for a defect. This can be easilycalculatedusingaSixSigmacalculator(ABPMP,2009).

Lean

The origin of Lean philosophy is Toyota and focuses on the reduction of seven wastes: over-production, waiting-time, transportation, processing, inventory,motion and scrap (ABPMP, 2009).Moreover, Lean involves both process redesign and improvement, as well as it concerns theenterprise (FlowKaizen) and process level (Process Kaizen). Flow kaizen focuses on improving theflowofthehigh-levelvaluestream,whereastheeliminationofwasteisrelatedwithprocesskaizen(Harmon,2007).According toABPMP(2009),organizationshoulddevelopandreviewchecklists toreview product designs. In addition, “Lean Thinking“ has been practiced in government andcommercial,manufacturingandservicesectors.Itisaboutgettingtherightthings,totherightplace,at the right time, in the rightqualitywhileminimizingwasteaswell asbeing flexible andopen tochange.

ThekeyLeanprinciplesare:

• Perfectfirst-timequality:zerodefectdetection,revelationandclarificationproblemsatthesource;

• Wasteminimization:eliminatingnon-value-addingactivitiesandsafetynets,maximizeuseofscarceresources(people,capital,andland);

• Continuous improvement: cost reduction, quality improvement, production enhancementandshareofinformation;

• Pullprocessing:productsandservicesarerequestedbythefinalconsumerandnotpushedfromtheproductionend;

• Flexibility: production of different mixes or greater diversity of products quickly, withoutsacrificingefficiencyatlowervolumesofproduction;

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• Building and maintaining a long-term relationship sharing suppliers through collaborativesharingofrisks,costsaswellasinformationsharingarrangements.

TQM

TQMfocusesoncontinuously improvingandsustainingthequalityofproductsand in itsextensionalso of services (Dumas et al., 2012), to meet or exceed customer requirements (ABPMP, 2009).Furthermore, it focuses on process measurement and controls as a mean of continuousimprovement.InTQM,statisticalanalysisisusedtoidentifydefectandmonitorprocessbehavioraswellasopportunitiesforimprovement.

ActivityBasedCostingandActivityBasedManagement

ThemethodologyofActivityBasedCosting(ABC)isusedtomeasurecostsandperformanceofcostobjects,activitiesandresources(ABPMP,2009).Inthiscase,activitiesareconsumedbycostobjectsandresourcesareconsumedbyactivities.Resourcecostareassignedwithactivitieswhilethesearebased on their use of those resources. The reassignment of cost objects (outputs) are caused byactivitycosts.Thismethodologyincorporatescasualrelationshipsbetweencostobjectsandactivitiesbetweenactivitiesand resources.According toDumasetal. (2012), the conceptofABC isused toassign indirect cost to products and services, and to individual customers. In otherwords, humanresourcesandmachineryareoftensharedbydifferentproductandservices,and theyareused toserve different customers. The discipline of Activity BasedManagement (ABM) is focusing on themanagementofactivitieswithinbusinessprocessesas theroutetocontinuously improveboththevaluereceivedbycustomersandtheprofitearnedinprovidingthatvalue.ThesedisciplineusesABCandperformancemeasurementsinordertoinfluencemanagementactions(ABPMP,2009).

Performanceimprovementmodel

In the mid-1990s, the Rummler-Brache methodology became the most widely used, systematicbusiness processmethodology. Rummler and Brache developed a framework, that shows a singlediagram, where everything is related to everything else (Harmon, 2007). Based on humanperformance improvement, it can be used to understand the alignment of the human resourcecentraltotheperformanceofoneormorevaluechains(ABPMP,2009).Theframeworkissegmentedin three levels of performance: (1) an organizational level, (2) a process level, and (3) a job orperformer level. They also introduce a matrix that crosses their three levels with three differentperspectives,whichare:goalsandmeasures,designand implementation issues,andmanagement.TheaimoftheRummler-Brachemethodologyistohelporganizationswhoareinvolvedinbusinessprocesschangetounderstandthescopeoftheproblemanditprovidesthefoundationonwhichalloftoday’scomprehensiveprocessredesignmethodologiesarebased(Harmon,2007).

3.1.8. BusinessProcessModelandNotation(BPMN)

A well suited way to express orderings between activities of a business process are graphicalnotations(Weske,2007).Intheliterature,thereareseveralprocessmodelingapproachesavailable.Howeverforthisworkproject,BusinessProcessModelandNotation(BPMN)(ObjectManagementGroup (OMG), 2011; White, 2004) was selected because of the ease with which it can illustratebusinessprocessesandaccessibilitytonon-experts,aswellastheBPMNmodelscanbeenhancedtobusinessprocessexecutionlanguagetoautomatetheprocessworkflows(Dave,2017).

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Today,BPMN isawidelyusedstandard forprocessmodelingwith the latestversionBPMN2.0. In2011,BPMNwaspublishedasa standardby theObjectManagementGroup (OMG) (Dumasetal.,2012).AccordingtoABPMP(2013),BPMN2.0isusefulforpresentingamodeltomultipleaudiences,tosimulateabusinessprocesswithaprocessengineandtoexecuteaprocess.Weske(2007)statesBPMNas, that theprimarygoalofBPMN is toprovideanotationthat iseasy tounderstandbyallbusiness users, from the business analysts who create the initial designs of the processes, to thetechnicaldevelopersresponsibleforimplementingthetechnologywhowillperformthoseprocesses,and finally, to the business people who manage and monitor those processes (Weske, 2007). InBPMN,roundedrectanglesrepresenttheactivitiesanddiamondshapesarerepresentedascontrolnodes (gateways). The connections between activities and control nodes are through arcs (flows)thatdeterminetheorderinwhichtheprocessisexecuted(Dumasetal.,2012).

To develop an BPMN diagram, there are two conflicting requirements which create a simplemechanism for creating business process model, as well as being able to handle the complexityinherent tobusinessprocesses. Thus, graphical aspectsof thenotation into specific categoriesareorganized,whichprovideasmallnumberofnotationcategoriesandthediagramreadercaneasilyrecognize thebasic types of elements andunderstand thediagram. Furthermore, someadditionalvariations and information can be added to meet complexity requirements, without dramaticallyaltering the look-and-feelof thediagram.Theyare fourbasiccategoriesofelements: flowobjects,connecting objects, swimlanes, and artifacts (White, 2004). Table 3.3 presents themain graphicalnotationsanditsdescription.

Category Element Description Notation

FlowObjects Event A cycle represents an Event, somethingthat “happens” during a course of aprocess. They affect the flow of theprocess and normally have a cause“trigger” or an impact “result”. Threetypes are available, which are based onwhen they affect the flow: Start,Intermediate,andEnd.

Activity A rounded-corner rectangle representsanActivityandisagenerictermforworkthat organizations perform. It can beatomic or non-atomic (compound). Thetypes are: Sub-Process and Task(roundedrectangles).

Gateway A diamond shape represents a Gatewayandisusedtocontrolthedivergenceandconvergence of Sequence Flow. It willdetermine decisions, forking, merging,and joining of paths. Internal Markerswillimplythetypeofbehaviorcontrol.

ConnectingObjects

SequenceFlow

A solid line represents a Sequence Flowand is used to show the order (thesequence) that activities will beperformedinaProcess.

MessageFlow

AdashedlinerepresentsaMessageFlowandisusedtoshowtheflowofmessages

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between two separate ProcessParticipants (Business entities orbusiness roles) that send and receivethem.TwoseparatePoolswill representthetwoParticipants.

Association Adotted line represents anAssociationsand is used to associate data, text andother Artifacts with flow objects. Theyareusedtoshowtheinputsandoutputsofactivities.

Swimlanes Pool A Pool represents a Participant in aCollaboration and acts as a “swimlane”as well as a graphical container forpartitioningasetofActivitiesformotherPools(usuallyB2Bsituations).

Lane A sup-partition within a Pool isrepresented by a Lane, and will extendthe entire length of the Poll, eitherverticallyorhorizontally.

Artifacts DataObject To show how data is required orproduced by activities is represented byData Objects. They can represent asingular object or a collectionof objectsand are connected to activities throughAssociations.

Group Aroundedcornerrectangledrawnwithadashed line represents a Group. It doesnotaffecttheSequenceflowandcanbeused for documentation or analysispurposes.

Annotation A mechanism for a modeler areAnnotations that provide additional textinformation for the reader of a BPMNDiagram.

Table3.3-BasicModelingElements

Source:(ObjectManagementGroup(OMG),2011;White,2004)

3.2. OPTOELECTRONICINDUSTRY

3.2.1. History

Light has always been fundamental for life and humans. In the optoelectronic field, research hasmade a huge bound forward in the last few decades, and light is no longer used to lighten oursurroundings only. Light consists of photons, proven to have excellent attribute for carryinginformation.Theoptoelectronicsector isa technical field thatmakesuseof theattributesof light,based on the science of geometric and physical optics. Nowadays, light is combinedwithmodernelectronics,mechanicsandsoftware,whichhasbeenwidelyusedwithinapplication in the fieldofindustryandascustomerareas.Thereisarapidgrowthintheoptoelectronicindustryandthereisnosignsofwaringoff(Optronic,2013).

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The first functional model of the image converter tube was demonstrated in 1934 by WalterSchaffernicht. Initially, research focused on television and immediately thereafter for militaryapplicationsuchasnightvisionandsignals,lighttelephony,opticaldistancesdetonators,andhomingdevices(Maier,2002).TheuseofnightvisondevicesbeganintheWorldWarII,andcameintowideuse during the VietnamWar (MarketsandMarkets, 2015). Night vision devices gather the existingambient light, including moonlight, starlight, or infrared light, through the front lens. The lens ismade of photos which are converted to electrons by passing through a photocathode tube. Theresult of this chemical and electrical process is a visible light, which the users sees through theeyepiece,aclear,green-huedimage,amplifiedrecreationofthescene(Technavio,2015).

3.2.2. CurrentSituation

At the beginning was the light. Light has made life on our earth possible. Light is energy, is

inexhaustibleandprotectstheenvironment.Morethan70percentof informationwetakeover

light, light connects, is the internet. Light is a universal tool, offers solutions, often the only

solution, often revolutionary. Light is today a 250 billon-euro world market. (Goetzeler &

Leibinger,2009,p.4).

Light provides decisive stimuli and solutions in numerous branches of industry and areas ofapplicationforthecurrentandfuturechallengesoftheeconomy,scienceandsociety(Löffler,2017).Photonicshasdevelopedintoagloballycourtedgrowthsector. Inmanyareasofphotonicssuchaslaser technology, lighting ormicroscopy and imaging, German organizations are among theworldmarketleaders.Furthermore,forEuropeisthephotonicsectoramongthefivemostimportantkeytechnologies with the greatest growth potential (Bundesminesterium für Bildung und Forschung,2011).Thedemandinthenightvisiondevicemarkethasremainedrobustduetothemodernizationofmilitaryandlawenforcementagenciesacrosstheglobe.Inthemarketofnightvisiondevice,thecurrent trend is characterized by the transition towards lightweight, low-cost, and efficient andeffectivenightvisiondevices(MarketsandMarkets,2015).

The night vision devices are segmented by products which are night vision googles, night visioncameras,night vision scopesandother. The customer segmentsaredivided intomilitaryandcivil.Keymarketdriversarecontinuousinvestmentinmilitarysegment,lowercostofnightvisiondevicescomparedtothermal imagingdevicesandagrowingnumberofwildlifephotographers.Keytrendsaretheuseofgraphenefornightvisiondevices,adoptionofsnooperscopeinsmartphones(anightvisionscopethatmakessmartphonesfunctionlikeanightvisiondevices)andgrowingpopularityofnight vision systems in automotive sector. Key market challenges are the adoption of thermalimaging devices and government regulations on use of night vision devices. In 2015, the globalmarketfornightvisiondevicesaccounted$5.63billionandamarketgrowthrateof4.62%.Americais the leader of the global night vision devices market with a market share of 56%. Europe, theMiddleEastandAfricaaccounted29%ofthemarketsharewith$1.63billionin2015.Theinvestmentin themilitary sector inGermanywas $36.6 billion in 2015. The globalmarket size is expected toreach$7.26billionby2020(Technavio,2015).

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In recent years reserved military spending in Europe slowed sales in sub-areas of security anddefencetechnologiesduetheoutsourcingofproductionsites.Inthecomingyears,itisexpectedthattherewillnotbeanymoresignificantproductionrelocationsandthemilitaryspendingwillincrease(Löffler,2017).

The company under study has no thoughts about a possible decline of customers so far and thefutureof a growing customer ispromising.According to that, IEA can increase its competitivenessevenmore bymeans of improved processes. Therefore, it is indispensable to improve inefficientprocesswiththeintentiontosuccessfullyimplementfutureenhancementsandstructuralchanges.

3.3. RECENTDEVELOPMENTSANDFUTURETRENDSINMANUFACTURING

The increasing digitization and networking around the real and digital world creates massivechanges,both in thepersonalandbusinessenvironment.Thenext industrial revolution isenablingnewbusinessmodels,andhenceforcingorganizationonceagaintooptimizetheircoreandsupportprocesses(Strobel,2017).Thistrendcorrespondstotheprogressof industrialrevolutions, inwhichhigherefficiencyinproductionsystemsiscontinuouslyincreased.Manyfeatures,characterizingtherecentmodernmanufacturingsystemtechnology,suchaslean,virtual,andrapidresponsesystems,two features stand out and are sure to be carried over into a next generation ofmanufacturing,namely intelligentmanufacturing and integratedmanufacturing. Not only by themarket demand,but also by technological advances is the evolution of integrated and intelligent manufacturingtechnologydriven.AccordingtoChen(2017),hementioned10majortechnologiesaskeyelementsofthenewmanufacturingparadigm,that includefundamentalelementssuchasbigdataanalytics,cloudcomputing,applications,andmobiledevices.Theyarealsosupportingelementssuchasthree-dimensional(3D)printingoradditivemanufacturing,roboticautomation,advancedmaterials,virtualor augmented reality, the industrial internet, and cyber-physical systems (CPS) (Chen, 2017).Therefore, intelligentmanufacturing plays an important role in industry 4.0. Typical resources areconverted into intelligent objects so that they can recognize, act and behave within a smartenvironment (Zhong, Xu, Klotz, & Newman, 2017). In fact, digital transformation has variouspotentialsforindustrialscompanies,suchascustomdesignedgoodswhichcanbeproducedrapidlyand flexibly in small quantities. Not only big enterprises but also SMEs could benefit from thesepotentials by establishing new processes, products and businessmodels. Recent technologies andfuture trends to improve processes for the company under study are described in the followingsection(Müller&Hopf,2017).

3.3.1. Industry4.0andIoT(InternetofThings)

Thefirstindustrialrevolutionisledbackthroughtheintroductionofmechanicalproductionfacilitieswith the help ofwater and steampower. The second one follows the introduction of electrically-poweredmassproductionbasedonthedivisionof labor.TheuseofelectronicandITsystemsthatfurtherautomateproductionwascharacterizedthroughthethird industrialrevolution,followedbythe fourth one which is based on CPS (Bartevyan, 2015). CPS are systems of collaboratingcomputational entities which are in intense connection with the physical world and its on-goingprocesses,providingandusing,atthesametime,data-accessingandprocessingservicesavailableonthe internet (Monostori, 2014). Cloud computing, ubiquitous and internet of things (IoT) aretechnologyenablerwhichmustbeconnectedtoexistingITarchitecture.Afoundationforintegratingsmart products, production means and manufacturing systems into the IT architecture can be

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provided, if the transparency created through the enterprise architecturemanagement is used tomanage,monitoranddevelopitfurther(Strobel,2017).

Tocreatenetworksincorporatingtheentireproductionprocessthatconvertcompaniesintoasmartenvironment is possible by using IoT. CPPS encompass smartmachines,warehousing systems andproduction facilities that have been designed digitally and feature end-to-end information andcommunicationstechnology(ICT)-basedintegration,alongthevaluechain(Kagermann,Wahlster,&Helbig, 2013). The support of a CPPS enables communication between people, machines andproducts.TheelementsofaCPPSactinaway,thattheycanacquireandprocessdata,self-controltasks and interact with humans via interfaces. Through CPS, the development of new businessmodelsandservicesisexpected(Monostori,2014).NewmodelswillalsoenableSMEstouseserviceandsoftwaresystemsthatareunabletoaffordundercurrentlicensingandbusinessmodels.Industry4.0 does not only refer to the optimization of existing IT-based processes, but also to unlock thepotential forevenmoredifferentiated trackingofbothdetailedprocessesandoverall effectsonaglobalscale,whichwaspreviouslyimpossibletorecord(Kagermannetal.,2013).

3.3.2. EnterpriseResourcePlanning(ERP)andCloudComputing

Nowadays, most tasks in business organizations are supported by software systems, such as ERPsystems, supportingall kindsofbusinessprocessesandconsideringall resourcesnecessary for thesuccess of the enterprise (Kurbel, 2013). It helps the company to share and transfer informationacrossallfunctionsunitsinsideandoutsidethecompany.TheresultofusinganERPsystemcouldbeinformofhigherquality,reducedtime-to-market,improvedcommunication,supportingindecisionmaking,higherproductivity, shortened lead timesand loweredcost (AbdElmonem,Nasr,&Geith,2016). Especially in large companies, ERP systems are widely used. Recently, ERP systems areconsidered in SMEs to improve efficiency to stay competitive (Kilic, Zaim, & Delen, 2015). SMEscannotexclusivelyuseproductandphilosophiesof large softwarevendors,because theyhavenotenough resources to apply or implement products and process of large vendors (Žemlička& Král,2016).AnotheroptionusingERPsystems is theacquisitionofFreeandOpenSourceERP software(Stefanou,2014)oroveracloud(AbdElmonemetal.,2016).Cloudcomputingtakesplaceovertheinternetandprovidesscalability,reliabilityavailabilityandlowercosts.Thecloud-basedERPsystemisaccessedthroughtheuserbrowserovertheinternetwithoutinstallingandconfiguringthesystemon the user side. However, there are also challenges in cloud ERP systems such as security,performancerisksandbottlenecks.

According to Abd Elmonem et al. (2016), Cloud computing can be defined as a computingenvironment which provides availability, scalability, and flexibility of computer reassures at adeferentlevelofabstractionwithlowrunningcosts.CloudcomputingcanbeprovidedasSoftwareasaService(SaaS),PaaS(PlatformasaService),andIaaS(InfrastructureasaService)(Xu,2012).SaaS,refers to theendusersorbusinessand it concerns thedeliveryofa softwareapplicationover theinternettomultipleusers,cloudERPsbelongstothiscategory.ThemiddlewareisdeliveredthroughPaaSwhichcontainstools,servicesandplatformstargetedatthesoftwaredevelopers,toallowthemto build SaaS application. Computing power hardware and software towards administration aredeliveredthroughIaaS(AbdElmonemetal.,2016).

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3.3.3. RoboticProcessAutomation(RPA)

According to the Institute for Robotic Process Automation andArtificial Intelligence (IRPAAI, n.d.),RPA is the application of technologies that allow employees in an organization to configure acomputersoftware(robot)tocaptureandinterpretexistingapplicationforprocessingatransaction,manipulating data, triggering responses and communication with other digital systems. Thephenomenon is also called digital services, software robotics and service automation (Lacity,Willcocks,&Yan,2015).RPAtoolsaremadetoimitatethesamemanualpathstakenbyahuman,byusing a combination of user interface interaction or descriptor technologies (Gartner, 2016).“Robotics” are software tools, that have been developed to simplify the delivery of businessprocesses.Thesesoftwarerobotsofferimprovedbusinessefficiency,datasecurityandeffectiveness,enhancedproductivity,reducedcycletime,improvedaccuracyandcompliance(Diepeveen,Matcher,& Lewkowicz, 2016).According to Lacity andWillcockset. al. (2015), theyagreed that automationcan reduce costs, improve services quality, increases accuracy, correct first-time processing,improvements in regulatory complianceetc. TheRPA software is suited to replace humans (for socalledswivelchair)processes,wherehumanstakesinputformonesetofsystem(e.g.email),processthose inputsusing rules,andenter theoutput into systemsof record (e.g.ERPsystem) (Willcocks,Lacity,&Craig,2015b).

AccordingtoGartner(2016),themostsuitedprocessesforRPAhaveahightransactionthroughputofstructureddigitalizeddata,withrelativelyfixedprocessingpathsand/oruserinterfaces,whichdonot change frequently, and are rule-based activities. Furthermore, RPA tools achieve the bestfunctionality if theyhavedirectaccesstothedataandapplications.Therefore,processesaremoreappropriateforRPAwhentheyhavelittleornoneedforremoteaccesstools.NotsuitableformostofRPAtoolsareprocesseswithunstructureddata.Rule-basedprocessescanbealsosuitable,eveniftheyarenotperformedregularly. AccordingtoL.Willcocks,Lacity,&Craig(2015a),highlightedthatthe most suited processes for RPA are these where the degree of process standardization,transaction volumes, rules-based process and process maturity are all high. There are severalproviders forautomation software suchasBluePrism,AutomationAnywhere,Cleaton, IPsoft, andUiPath.TheRPAsoftwareiseasytoconfigure,bydragging,droppingandlinkingiconsthatrepresentsteps in a process. Business operations people do not need programming skills and they can betrainedtoindependentlyautomateprocesseswithinafewweeks.Furthermore,RPAisalightweightIT,asitdoesnotdisturbunderlyingcomputersystems(Willcocksetal.,2015b).

3.3.4. AutomaticIdentification(Auto-ID)systems

Automaticidentificationisatechniquethatservesthetechnicallysupportedidentification,collectionand transmission of data. In recent years, automatic identification and data acquisition (Auto-ID)systemsarewidelyusedinprocurementanddistributionlogistics,trade,businesswithmaterialflowandoperatingdataacquisitionsystems.Thesetechnologiesare implementedthroughout, includingtechnologies such as barcodes, smart labels, biometrics, mobile data acquisition, radio frequencyidentification (RFID), speech recognition, chip and magnetic card applications. The information isprovidedautomaticallytoobjects,suchaspeopleorgoodsandtheyenabletomeetthedemandsforfast,cost-effective,andintergradeddatacollection(Helmus,Meins-Becker,Laußat,&Kelm,2009).

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3.3.5. Wirelesscommunicationnetworks

Wireless communicating technology enables the communication of anything with anything else,between people and between artifacts. The proliferation of radio frequency (RF) andmicrowavestechniques has resulted in various low-cost broadband wireless solutions, ranging from the lastmeter connection of wireless personal area networks (WPANs), to medium range networking inwireless local area networks (WLANs) (30m to 100m), aswell as lastmile connection in cellularsystems,wirelesswideareanetworks(WWANs)ormetropolitanareanetworks(WMANs).Therefore,the access for the last meter in a WPAN is accomplished by the introduction of Infrared DataAssociation, RFID, Bluetooth, ZigBee and ultra-wideband (Ng, Sim, Tan, &Wong, 2006). In recentyears,twokeytechnologiesforubiquitouscomputingwhichareRFIDandwirelesssensornetworks(WSN), have attracted considerable attention because their use revolutionized diverse applicationareas(Mitrokotsa&Douligeris,2010).

Wirelesssensornetwork(WSN)

AWSN constitutes a subset ofwireless networking applications, focused on enabling connectivitywithouttheuseofwirestosensorsandactuators(Gutiérrez,Callaway,&Barrett,2004).WSNcanbedefined as a groupof smart devices, referred to as sensors,which are able to sense and transmitinformationabouttheenvironmentinwhichtheyaredeployed.Thesensorscollectinformationforusers,interestedinmonitoringandcontrollingagivenphenomenonandtransfersthemtocollectedpoint(sinknode)(Diallo,Rodrigues,&Sene,2012).ThereareseveralpotentialapplicationsforWSNsuchasindustrialcontrolandmonitoring,homeautomationandconsumerelectronics,securityandmilitary sensing, asset tracking and supply chain management, intelligent agriculture and healthmonitoring (Yang&Cao, 2008). Furthermore, there are several differentwireless communicationstechnologies such as light communications, which include technologies like the Infrared DataAssociation and inductive fields, that have been extensively used for RFID applications. Furthertechnologiesareultrasound,which issimilarlyto inductivefields,butrequirehighenergyfromthenetwork coordinator and radio frequency, which does not require an unobstructed line-of-sight(Gutiérrez et. al., 2004). Another technologies which are used in WSN are Bluetooth and ZigBee(Prasad,2015).

Radioidentification(RFID)

Inrecentyears,therehasbeenagrowinginterestintheuseofRFIDtodigitalizethemanufacturinginformationtoautomatethemanufacturingprocess.Theysupportinformationflowinprocess-linkedapplications, minimize the need for reworking, improve efficiency, reduce line stoppages, andreplenish just-in-time materials on the production line. Furthermore, RFID can also assist inautomatingassembly-lineprocesses,whichreducelaborandcost,aswellasminimizingerrors(Lee,Cheung,&Kwok,2009).ARFID isanautomatic identificationtechnologybasedonradiofrequencywaves to read encoded digital data (A Zebra Technologies White Paper, 2013). A RFID systemcontainsofdifferentcomponents, includinganRFIDtag,whichistheidentificationdeviceattachedtotheitemtobetrackedandanRFIDreaderandantenna,whicharedevicesthatcanrecognizethepresence of RFID tags and read the information stored on them.A RFIDmiddleware is needed toprocess the transmission of information between the reader and other applications. RFID can bedivided intothreemaintypeswhichareactivetags,semipassivetags,andpassivetags (Leeetal.,2009).

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Activetagsuseabatterytopowerthetagtransmitterandreceivertobroadcasttheirownsignalstoreaders within the life of batteries. Semi passive tags have built-in batteries to power the chipscircuitry, resist interference and circumvent a lack of power from the reader signal due to longdistance.Passivetagsderivetheirpowerfromthefieldgeneratedbythereader,buttheyhavenoactivetransmitter to transmit the informationstored.Thereader (interrogator)sendsandreceivesRF data to and from the tag via antennas and consist of a transmitter, a receiver, and amicroprocessor(Leeetal.,2009).

LimitationsofRFID

RFID technology is being adopted widely for various applications. However, the technology hascertainissuesthatarehinderingitsimplementationinmanyorganizations.Withtheimplementationof RFID, additional infrastructure such as hardware and software, services, costs, and storagefacilitiesare required.Furthermore, therearealsobarriers that range froma lackof industry-widestandards, adoptions of appropriate, understanding of total cost and necessary infrastructures toconsumer privacy violations concerns. The lack of industry standard results into heavy amount ofimplementationcost,asretailerorganizationsrequiretheirvendorstosupplyRFIDtaggedproducts.Inaddition,RFIDcreateshugevolumesofdata,10-100timesmorethancomparedtotheobtaineddata fromconventionalbarcodesystems,which isdifficult tomanage (Owunwanne&Goel,2010).According toOwunwanne andGoel (2010), they propose the implementation of RFID using cloudcomputingtomitigatethementionedchallenges,especiallyforSMEs.Accordingtothat,SMEswouldnotneed toestablishanew IT infrastructure to implementRFIDbecause theyareveryexpensive.Theproblemwiththehugeamountofdatacanbealsohandledusingcloud.OnthecouldtheRFIDdata issemantically filteredunderaspecificapplicationofneed,makesuseof its relativeplatformandinfrastructureoverthenetworkandthenstoredonaspecificserver.

Toapplyindustry4.0practically,entrepreneursshouldbeopen-minedandrecognizenewproducts,technologiesandconnectedservices.Furthermore,goalsandprocessesshouldbedefinedclearlysothatimprovementscanbeappliedstepbystep.Atthebeginning,systemsfordataacquisitioncouldbeintegratedintomanufacturing(e.g.barcodereaderorRFID). Inaddition,mobiledeviceswithanappropriate software can be used as an assistance system to provide role and task specificinformation, that can be useful for repair or learning processes (Müller & Hopf, 2017). Inmanufacturing, they are often still static business processes and they are implemented throughextremely inflexible software systems. However, business processes cannot simply be replacedovernight by service-oriented systems. Because of this it will be essential to integrate newtechnologies into older ones and old systems will need to be upgraded with real-time enabledsystems(Kagermannetal.,2013).

RFIDapplications

Applications forRFID range fromhighway toll collection,public transportation, controllingbuildingaccess, animal tracking, developing smart homeappliances, remote keyless entry for automobiles,locatingchildren(Mitrokotsa&Douligeris,2010),patientandpeopletrackingthroughtothesupplychain of retail and manufacturing (Owunwanne & Goel, 2010). Furthermore, there are alsoapplicationsscenariosusingRFIDandWSN indiverseareasofscienceandengineeringsuchas firedetection,monitoring shipping containers, the condition ofweapons in battlefields andmanagingcattle(Mitrokotsa&Douligeris,2010).

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DifferencebetweenRFIDandWSN

RFIDaremainlyusedtoidentifyobjectsortracktheirlocationwithoutprovidinginformationaboutthephysicalstateoftheobject(Mitrokotsa&Douligeris,2010),whereasWSNareusuallydeployedto observe objects in areas of interest or to sense environment (Ahmed, Siyal, Tayyab, & Nawaz,2015).

BarcodeandthedifferencebetweenRFID

Barcodescanbeusedinmanufacturingprocessateverystep,startingwiththeidentificationofthenumerouscomponentsandingredientsneededintheproductionprocesssuchasinventory,finishedgoods and shipping packages (Jones, n.d.). The barcode consists of a binary code by stringingtogether vertical, parallel bars of different widths and spaces. There are different labeling codesavailablesuchasone-dimensional (1D),2D,3Doreven4D.The2Dcodescanbe read from left toright and from top to bottom,which allows a higher storage capacity of data. The 3D barcode isincreasingtheinformationdensityperunitareacomparedtothe2Dcodebycodingtheinformationintopatternsconsistingofcoloreddots. Inthecaseofthe4Dbarcode,the3Dcodeisextendedbyanotherdimension,namelythetime,itrequiresascreenbecauseitcannotbeprintedanonobject.Theinformationfromabarcodeisreadinwithopticalbarcodereadersandthenfurtherprocessed(Helmusetal.,2009).Comparedtoabarcode,RFIDhasseveraladvantagessuchastagsthatcontainresponsivemicrochips,which can store aswell as transmit dynamic data, do not require a line ofsight,andpossesshighsecurity(Leeetal.,2009).

Unlike a barcode, RFID require higher investments. Therefore, process requirements or technicalargumentsmustaccountfortheeconomicfeasibilityofRFIDadoption.ThebasictechnicaladvantageofRFIDisthatthecodecarriermaystoremanypiecesofinformationonverylittlespacewhichcanbemodified, extended, or exchanged automatically.With the use of RFID there is no line of sightneededforprocessmonitoring,whichallowseasyautomaticreadingofthetags.Inaddition,processdatamanagementcanbeautomated,allowingprocessdatatocommunicateautomaticallybetweentheoperations, rather thanusingmanuallywrittenpapers.Comparedtoabarcode, it canbeusedtheoretically inthesamewayasRFIDtagswithoutusermemory,but ifprocessdataareno longermanuallywrittenonpaper,workersmust identify internal transferunitsby their labels.Therefore,barcodelabelswouldrequiretime-consumingmanualscanningwithalineofsight(Günther,Kletti,&Kubach,2008).

3.3.6. FogComputing

Cloud computing has served as an effective way to process and store data. However, there arechallenges such as the increasing demands of real time or latency sensitive applications and thelimitationsofnetworkbandwidth,whichstillcannotbesolvedbyusingcloudcomputingonly.Asacomplement to the cloud solution, a new computing paradigm known as fog computing has beenproposed(Hu,Dhelim,Ning,&Qiu,2017).Itisahighlyvirtualizedplatformthatprovidescomputing,storage,andnetworkingservicesbetweenenddevicesandcloudcomputing,whichisusuallylocatedattheedgeofnetworkwherethedata iskeptfortheendusers (Bonomi,Milito,Zhu,&Addepalli,2012).

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Therefore, itprovidesanewbreedofapplicationsandservicestoenduserswith lowlatency,highbandwidth,andlocation-awarenessandthusgetsthenameasfog,whichisanalogouslyacloudcloseto the ground. Due the fact that fog computing is usually cooperatedwith cloud computing, endusers, fog and cloud together forma three layer servicedeliverymodel (Yi,Hao,Qin,& Li, 2015).Applicationsthatsuitsbestforfogcomputingaretheseonewithlowlatencyrequirements(Aazam&Huh,2014),suchasapplicationforhealthcare,urgentservices,andCPS(Dastjerdi&Buyya,2016).Accordingto(Yannuzzi,Milito,Serral-Gracia,Montero,&Nemirovsky,2014),theyarguethatasmartcombination of fog and cloud computing is themost plausible bet for building an adaptable andscalableplatformforIoT.ThenewparadigmofusingfogcomputingasamiddlewarebetweencloudandIoTobjects,orevenpurefog-IoTarchitecturehavebeendiscussedinmanyworks(Aazam&Huh,2014;Bonomietal.,2012;Dastjerdi&Buyya,2016).

3.3.7. QualitymanagementISO9001

The ISO9001standardspecifiestherequirements forqualitymanagementsystem(QMS),withthelaststandardISO9001:2015launchedin2015.Ithelpscompaniestobemoreefficientandimprovecustomer satisfaction. A management system therefore offers the possibility of defining theprocessesofacompanytoachieveitsgoals.Thus,aqualitymanagementsystemprovidestheabilitytodefinehowa company canmeet theneedsof its customer andother stakeholders affectedbytheirwork.Thisstandardisbasedontheideaofcontinuous improvement.Companiesmustdefinetheir ownobjectives and continuously improve their processes to achieve them.Ones these goalshavebeenachieved, theymustbereassessedtoensurecontinuous improvement.TherearemanybenefitsthattheISO9001canbringtotheorganization,asitenablesamoreefficientwayofworkingas all processes will be aligned and understood by everyone in the organization (InternationalOrganizationforStandardization,2015a).

TherearesevenqualitymanagementprinciplesunderlyingtheISOsqualitymanagementstandards,which are: customer focus, leadership, engagement of people, improvement, evidence-baseddecision making and relationship management (International Organization for Standardization,2015b). Worldwide, there are more than 1.1 million organizations certified according therequirementsofISO9001(InternationalOrganizationforStandardization,2017).Besidesthebenefitsofaqualitymanagementsystem,therearealsosomeinternalbarriersspeciallyforSMEssuchaslackof financial resources, lack of management and/or staff knowledge, lack of employeeinvolvement/motivation, lack of management and/or staff time and cultural differences betweendisciplines. External barriers are for example lack of support schemes, lack of sector specificimplementation tools, uncertainty about the value of QMS in the market place and differentstakeholderdemands(Rajković,Aleksić,Milićević,&Čudić,2008).

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4. WORKPROJECT

4.1. EXAMINATIONOFTHECOMPANY

The high-tech company IEAMil-Optics is producing night vision products and acts as supplier formilitary and law-enforcement. The company has been in themarket for 17 years and employs 12people.NightTronic (NT)devicesaremounted in theirownproduction site, that consistsofmorethan3000 squaresmeters includingoffice, laboratory,exhibitionand storage rooms.A specialty isthedevelopmentofinterfacesystemssuchasgunsightmountings,lightmodulesforsafetyhelmetsandweapons,aswellasnightvisiondevicesthatarecompanyowned,orforeignopticalperiscopewhich are fitted. Thus, the company has many product variants and offers individual systemsolutions. IEA is also a representative for one of the largest night vision companies, L3-WarriorSystemsDivisionInsight,USA,whichproduceslightandlasermodules,nightvisiondevicesonimageintensifiertubesbaseandthermalimagingdevices.

Development and constructions, as well as testing and modification takes place in the company,whereas the prototypes are produced externally. After the final testing, the series production isreleased at the supplier, which gives the company a lower level of production. The company’sproduct concepts are linked to existing developments with modern production methods, newmaterials and others, to offer customers optimal problem solutions, as a functionally crucialcomponentofanoverall system.Customers includenationaland internationalauthorities,militaryandprivateindividuals.Intable4.1,themainproductswiththehighestturnoverarepresented.Thecompany owns products which can be classified in different categories, which can be furthersubdividedintosubcategories(components).Thesearedistributedeitherasasingleproductorasacomplete system solution (equipment). Products which are produced by the company itself arehighlightedingrey(ownproduction)inthetable.

Product

category

Sub-category Product Components Trade

Nightvisondevices

Imageintensifiertubes

ANPVS15-NightvisiongoggleL3(ITAR)

-Item -System-Item

ANPVS31-NightvisiongoggleL3(ITAR)

-Item -System-Item

FGE-FusiongoggleenhancedL3(ITAR)

-Item -System-Item

NT940-Nightvisiondevice(ownproduction)

-Housing-Tube-Item

-System-Item

NT920/PVS14-Nightvisiondevice(ownproduction)

-Housing-Tube-Item

-System-Item

NT940/PVS7-Nightvisiondevice(ownproduction)

-Housing-Tube-Item

-System-Item

Thermalimaging

MTM/WTM-Minithermalmonocular(Authority)

-Item -System-Item

PulsarHelionXP(Civilian) -Item -System

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-Item Cratos-Header/Aimingdevice -Item -System

-Item LWTS-Lightweaponthermal

sight-Item -System

-ItemOptics Weaponsights -Scopeetc.(Cassidian

Hensoldt)-Item -System

-Item Mountings -KH/Smount

-KH/Fmount-Base-Tiltplates-Item

-System-Item

Ballistic-calculator

BC01-Ballisticcalculator -Mount-Magnetringadapter-Item

-System-Item

Weapons Longrangeprecisionrifles

-DSR-Accuracy-Sako

-Rifles-Barrels-Bipods-Rails-Item

-System-Item

Table4.1-Productsofferedbythecompany

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

Forexample,theproduct-set(i.e.systemsolution)AN/PVS31consistsofthefollowingcomponents:device, cable, filter cover assembly, manual instruction, quick reference guide, batteries, case,eyecup, lens tissue and cord (neck). Furthermore, customers can alsobuyequipment such as lenshoods,bags, cases,headrestsandothers.Deviceswhichareproducedby thecompanyL3-WarriorSystemsDivisionInsight,aregovernedbytheInternationalTrafficinArmsRegulations(ITAR),whichisasetoftheUnitedStategovernmentregulationsthatcontrol theexportand importofdefense-relatedgoodsand serviceson theUnited StateMunitions List (USLegal, n.d.). Process flowswhichcontainITARproductsdeviatefromtheprocessesthatdonotcontainITARproductsduethespecificregulations.

Figure4.1showstheorganizationalstructure,whichalsorepresentsthefunctionalorganization.Thefieldsofactivityofthedepartmentsaredescribedbelow.

Figure4.1-Organizationalstructureofthecompany

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

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-Management:responsibleforthecoordinationofallemployeesinP&L,M&D,andD&P,andprojecttransactions.

-ProcurementandLogistics(P&L):responsibleforpurchasing,goodsreceiving(qualitycontrol)andgoodsoutput,finishinggoods,warehouseandshipment.

-MarketingandDistribution(M&D):responsibleforsalesandserviceactivitiesofvariousproducts.Acquisitionofnewcustomersandmarket research.Employeesare specialized indifferentproducttypes. Furthermore, clearance, import and export licenses as well as trade fair organization arefurthertasks.

- Development and Production (D&P): responsible for development and construction of interfacesystems (gunsightmountings, lightmodules for safetyhelmetsandweapons,nightvisiondevices),foreign part assembly, weapons editing, final assembly and maintenance of night vision devices,mountingofsemi-products,prototypetestingandmodificationofdifferentdevices.

-Accounting(A):responsibleforaccountspayableandreceivable,accounting.Financialaccountingandbalancesheetaccountingistakenoverbyanaccountancyfirm.

- General Administration (g.A.): responsible for personal administration, general organization,insurances,buildingtechnology,outdoorfacilitiesandcleaning.

Thetoplevelshowsthemanagement,whichistakenoverbythemanagingdirector,followedbythedepartments and the associated employees. The management of the employees is done by acooperativemanagementstyleandplanning isbasedonthecountercurrentprocess.Sub-plansarederived from the master plan of the management. These sub-plans are broken down to therespectiveemployees, forwhich theyareeach independently responsible.Theemployeesarealsoresponsiblefortheyownworkprocesses,becauseofthis,onlyspecialtasksneedtobecoordinatedwith the management. The versatile fields of activities of the employee’s function is cross-divisionally,whichiswhytaskswithinafieldofactivityaremanagedbyatleasttwoemployees.Thisisdoneinwhichoneemployeeactsasanexecutiveandoneasacontroller,andinthecaseofastafffailurearepresentativeisalwaysavailable.Thisispartlydonebutnotconsistent.Teammeetingsarenot being held regularly. Thus, there is some inefficiency in the inter-divisional information chain,thatcreatesfunctionalbarriers.Targetsandstrategiesarenotdocumentedandonlypartiallyknown,and therefore not transparent and comprehensible to all employees. The company operates theirdailyworkonlywiththehelpofeasyexcelsheets.ThereisnoERPsystemavailable.

Inaddition,employeeswhoareaffectedbychangesincertainprocessesareonlypartiallyinformed.Fields of activity are insufficiently described in the job description, as well as the respectiveresponsibilities and representatives. The tasks are regulated in theworker’s employee agreementonly,which isverysuperficiallydefined.Fixedworkprocessesandprocess instructionsarepartiallydocumentedandimplementedbutarenotstandardized.Oneofthebiggestproblemisthatthereisno completely transparent understanding of the related processes and their operations in thecompany. The company is not yet certified to a quality management standard. Processes aredesignedcustomeroriented.Employeescanmostlycoordinatetheirworkprocesses independentlyandtheimplementationoftheworkingprocedureisonlypartlycontrolled.

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Due this structure, there is a poor communication between some departments and sometimesprocessesarecarriedoutincorrectly.Supplierscanusuallybechosenbytheemployeesthemselvesandthereisnosupplierassessmentavailable.Customersatisfactionisnotmeasuredandrecordedaswellasthecomplaintsarenotrecordedandevaluated.Duethisfact,nosufficientconclusionscanbedetermined. The improvementprocess is onlypartially implementedand insufficientdocumented.However,improvementswillbeimplementedasquickaspossiblebutmostlywithoutdocumentationandadministrativeexpenses.AsthecompanyhandlestherepairandserviceofL3-Warrioorproductsfor Europe, documentation of these processes is required which must comply with the ITARregulations. Theseprocedural instructionswerepreviouslyonlydocumented in text formasbulletpointsinseveralPowerPointdocuments.

4.2. EXISTINGPROCESSES

In thisphase,existingprocesseswhicharedocumentedby thegeneraladministrationare studied.The processes that occursmost frequently were recorded in text form as bullet points in severalWord or PowerPoint documents (see appendix: A., 1.-9.). These are available in the company’scomputers drive and every employee has access. After analyzing the various instructionswith thecorrespondingprocesssteps,itisfoundthatthesecanbedividedbythecompany’sfunction,whichispresentedintable4.2.

Logistics Distribution Production

-Goodsreceipt(general)-Goodsreceipt(ITAR)-Goodsoutput(genera)l-Goodsoutput(ITAR)

-Orderfulfilment-Loaneddevices(e.g.NT940)

-NTdevicesassembling-RepairL3devices-RepairsNTdevices

Table4.2-Proceduralinstructionofthecompanyoverview

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

32

Table4.3presentsthedescriptionoftheinstructions.

Document Description

Goodsreceipt(general) Procedureforprocessingtheincominggoodsofparcels.Onevariantiswithdeliverynoteandoneiswithoutone(seeappendix:A.1.)

Goodsreceipt(ITAR) ProcedureforprocessingtheincominggoodsofallITARdevices(seeappendix:A.2.).

Goodsoutput(general) Procedureforprocessingtheoutgoinggoodsincludingcheckingandpacking.Onevariantiswithopticaldevicesandtheotheroneiswithnightvisiondevices(seeappendix:A.3.).

Goodsoutput(ITAR) ProcedureforprocessingtheoutgoinggoodsofITARdevicesincludingcheckingandpacking.Onevariantiswithopticaldevicesandtheotheroneiswithnightvisiondevices(seeappendix:A.4.).

NTdevicesassembling Procedureforassemblyofnightvisiondeviceswithtube,box,assemblage,etc.(seeappendix:A.5.).

RepairL3devices ProcedureforprocessingrepairsofL3devices.Onevariantisthatthedevicescanberepairedimmediatelyandtheotherdevicescannotberepairedimmediately(seeappendix:A.6.).

Orderfulfilment TheprocedurefortheorderplacementdescribestheinstructionfortheEDVtechnicalcreationofanorderafterreceiptoftheorderbythecustomer(seeappendix:A.7.).

RepairsNTdevices Procedureforprocessingrepairsofnightvisiondevices.Onevariantisthatthedevicescanberepairedimmediatelyandtheotherdevicescannotberepairedimmediately(seeappendix:A.8.).

Loanedgoodsforthecustomer ProcedurefortheloanedgoodstotheendcustomerofNTdevicese.g.NT940(seeappendix:A.9.).

Table4.3-Proceduralinstructionsofthecompanydetailed

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

33

5. PROJECTDEVELOPMENT

5.1. PROCESSARCHITECTURE

To define the primary processes and its related processes, it is necessary to interview differentemployees thatare involved in theseprocesses.Ageneraloverviewof thecompany’sprocesses ispresentedintheFigure5.1.Inthisworkproject,theanalysisisfocusedonthevalue-addedprocesses(primary processes) for the company, according the value chain model from Porter (1985). Thefollowingfigure5.1presentstheprocessarchitectureofthecompanywhichisbasedonthemodelofPortersvaluechain.

Figure5.1-OverallProcessesofthecompany

Source:Preparedbytheauthorandbasedon(Porter,1985)

34

Table5.1presentsamoredetailedprocessarchitecturethathasbeendefinedwiththeexampleofaself-producedproductandonewhichissolddirectly.Thedimensionbusinessfunctionpresentsthemainfunctionof thecompanyandtheassociatedprocessessteps. Inthecasetypedimension, thetwoproductsarepresentedwhichisfurthersubdividedincivilclientsandauthorities.

NightVisonDevices

CaseTypes

BusinessFunctions

Product NT940 AN/PVS31 Civil Authority Civil Authority

Procurement Purchasing x x x Approvalclearance (x) (x) x Approvallicenses (x) (x) xLogistic Receivegoods x x x Approvalclearance (x) (x) x Incominggoodscontrol x x x Storegoods x x (x) Goodsoutput x x x Approvalclearance (x) (x) (x) Goodsoutputcontrol x x x Goodscomplement (x) (x) (x)Production Assemblingofgoods x x Performqualitytesting x x x Categorizing x x Approvalforsales x x Repairs (x) (x) (x)Sales Generatelead x x x

Orderfulfilment (x) (x) (x) Approvallicenses (x) (x) x Presentation/Demo (x) (x) (x) Sellgoods x x x Logistic Goodsoutput x x x Approvalclearance (x) (x) x Goodscomplement (x) (x) x Goodsoutputcontrol x x x Delivering x x x Accounting Receivepayment x x x

Table5.1-Casetypesandbusinessfunctionofimageintensifiertubes

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

5.1.1. IdentificationofProcesses

Atanylevel,processescanbedefined,fromenterprise-wideprocessestoprocessesrunbyasingleperson (Sharma, 2015). Some of the processes presented in the previous chapter are onlydocumented in severalWord or PowerPoint documents.Until now, there is no graphical notationavailableandthe instructionswhichareavailablearepartlyoutdated.Thus,there isnotransversalviewofactivitiesavailable.Forthisreason,itisnecessarytorevisetheexistingdocumentsaswellasrecordingtheundocumentedprocessesandtranslatethemintoanew,moreexpressiveandup-to-datelanguage,namelyundertheusesofBPMN2.0.

35

Furthermore,amoretransparentviewofdifferentdepartments isgivenbypoolsand lanes. In thefollowing sections,newprocessdiagramswhichare identifiedduring theprojectdevelopmentarepresented.Table5.2presents theprimaryprocessesofoneself-producedproduct,oneL3productwhichissolddirectlyundertheITARregulationsandseveralservicesofthecompany.Productscanbesoldeitherasasingle,withequipmentoracompletesystemsolution.

Number Name Type

NT940

1.1 Goodsreceipt(general)

Generalgoodsreceiving,includeallgoodsexceptthoseofL3devices.

Process

1.2 Assemblingofgoods(NT940)

AssemblingandproductionofNT940devices.

Process

1.2.1 Tubeandhousingassembling Subprocess

1.2.2 Goodsreceipt(general) Subprocess

1.2.3 Goodsoutput(general) Subprocess

1.3 Orderfulfilment

Includesthereceiptoftheorderformthecustomertotheinvoicing.

Process

1.3.1 Goodsreceipt(general) Subprocess

1.4 Goodscomplement

Includestheassemblyofproductswithcomplementaryequipment.

Process

1.4.1 Orderfulfilment Subprocess

1.4.2 Goodsreceipt(general) Subprocess

1.4.3 Assemblingofgoods(NT940) Subprocess

1.5 Goodsoutput(general)

Generalgoodsreceiving,includeallgoodsexceptthoseofL3devices.

Process

AN/PVS312.1 Goodsreceipt(ITAR)

GoodsreceivingofAN/PVS31orotherL3devicesfromL3-WarriorSystemsoranyauthoritycustomer(loaneddevices).

Process

2.2 LoanedPVS31

LoanedprocessforallL3orotherdevicesfromUSA.

Process

2.2.1 Orderfulfilment Supprocess

36

2.2.2 Goodsreceipt(ITAR) Supprocess

2.2.3 Goodsoutput(ITAR) Supprocess

2.2.4 RepairL3devices Supprocess

2.3 PVS31complement

Includestheassemblyofproductswithcomplementaryequipment.

Process

2.3.1 Goodsreceipt(ITAR) Supprocess

2.3.2 Goodsreceipt(general) Supprocess

2.4 Goodsoutput(ITAR)

GoodsoutputofAN/PVS31orotherL3devicesforloan.

Process

General(services)

3.1 RepairsL3devices

RepairprocessofallL3devicesforEuropeancustomers.

Process

3.1.1 Goodsreceipt(general) Subprocess

3.1.2 Evaluation Subprocess

3.1.3 Quoteandmaterialprocurement Subprocess

3.1.4 Goodsreceipt(L3spareparts)

GoodsreceivingofanyL3sparepartsforrepair.

Subprocess

3.1.5 Repairpass Subprocess

3.1.6 Orderfulfilment Subprocess

3.1.7 Goodsoutput(general) Subprocess

3.2 RepairNTdevices

RepairprocessofallNTdevices.

Process

3.2.1 Goodsreceipt(general) Subprocess

3.2.2 Orderfulfilment Subprocess

3.2.3 Goodsoutput(general) Subprocess

3.3 Loaneddevices

LoanedprocessforallNTdevices.

Process

3.3.1 Orderfulfilment Subprocess

3.3.2 Goodsoutput(general) Subprocess

3.3.3 Goodsreceipt(general) Subprocess

3.3.4 RepairNTdevices Subprocess

Table5.2-Identifiedprocessesofthecompany

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

37

5.2. SPECIFICATIONOFENTITIES

Therearemultipleorganizationalentities inabusinessprocesswhichcaninteractwitheachother.Swimlanes areused to graphically assignprocessesorpartsofprocesses toorganizational entitiesinvolved in business processes. Pools represent specific process participants, which are oftencompanies, business entity roles, such as suppliers or customers. Lanes represent organizationalentitieswithinparticipants. Themainpurposeofdataobjectartifacts is thedocumentationof theprocess which are simply represented by a name (Weske, 2007). Data objects can represent forexamplepaperdocuments,electronicdocumentsandinformationonanytypeofmedium.Aemptycylinder representadata store,aplacecontainingdataobjects thatneed topersistedbeyond thedurationofaprocessinstance,suchasdatabaseforelectronicartifactsorafilingcabinetforphysicalones (Dumas et al., 2012). In this work project, there are several entities, which can be actors,systemsanddocumentation.Theactivities inaprocessareperformedbyactorswhoarepeopleorgroupsofpeople.Systemsarethesoftware inwhichactors interacttoperformtheir functionse.g.passing documents, data, or information, and communication of various stakeholders. Thedocumentation includes a series of digital and non-digital documents, corresponding to the formsandrequirementsusedbyactorstoshareinformationbetweenthem.Inthisworkproject,actorsarerepresentedby lanesorpoolsand systemsanddocumentationare representedby theartifactsofthedataobjecttype(systems=database;documentation=sheet).

5.2.1. Actors

Table5.3presentstheactorsandthetaskswiththerelatedprocessesinwhichitarises.

Actor DescriptionProcesswhereit

arises

Supplier Theseareallthosewhodelivercomponentsforthevariousproducts.

1.2,1.3,1.4,2.3,3.1,3.1.3,3.1.5,3.2

Customer Theseareallthosewhobuyproductsorservicesorborrowdevices.

1.1,1.3,1.4,1.5,2.2,2.4,3.1,3.2,3.3

Consigner Thesecanbecustomersandsuppliers. 1.1,2.1

Parcelservice Thesecanbevariousparcelservicesspecializedinthetransportofgoods.Parcelservicesareusedbythecompanytotransportthegoodstocustomersorsuppliersandfromcustomersorsupplierstothecompany.

1.1,1.5,2.1,2.4,3.1.4

Custom Goodsimportedorexportedfromthirdcountriesmustbetreatedascustoms.

1.3,2.1,3.1.4

Parcelpostinsurance

Parcelaregenerallytobeinsuredbyageneraltransportinsurancefromavalueof500euros.

1.5,2.4

L3-WarriorSystemsDivisionInsight

Thesearethecompanythatdelivervariousdevices. 2.3,3.1,3.1.3,3.1.4

Generalcompany Thesecanbeanyemployeeoftheentirecompany. 1.1,2.1

38

employees

Manager Person who is responsible for the coordination of allemployees in P&L, M&D, and D&P, and projecttransactions.

1.3,1.5,2.2,2.3,2.4

Productmanager Personresponsibleforsigningofoutgoinggoods,sales(civil/authority)ofallopticaldevices,maintenanceofallopticaldevices(L3),advertisingjournal.

1.1,1.2,1.3,1.4,1.5,2.1,2.2,2.3,3.1,3.1.2,3.1.3,3.1.4,3.1.5,3.2,3.3

Salesclerk Personresponsibleforsigningofoutgoinggoods(weapons),salesofweaponsandopticaldevices(civil),externalproductionparts,assemblyprocessingandweaponsediting.

1.2,1.3,1.4,1.5,3.3

Administrativestaff Personresponsibleforsigningofoutgoinggoods(general)andgoodsreceiving,orderfulfilmentsupport,licenses,clearance,shipping,personneladministration,generalorganizationandexhibition.

1.3,1.4,1.5,2.1,2.2,2.3,2.4,3.1,3.2,3.3

Workshopmanager Personresponsibleforsigningofoutgoinggoodsandgoodsreceiving,finalassembly,maintenanceandloanofNTdevicesaswellastherepairofL3devices.

1.1,1.2,1.3,1.4,1.5,2.1,2.2.,2.3,2.4,3.1,3.1.2,3.1.4,3.1.5,3.2

Part-timeassistance1

Personresponsibleforpreparing,performingandsigningofalloutgoinggoodsandallgoodsreceiving,warehouse,assemblysemi-finishedproducts,facilityengineering,andoutdoorfacilities.

1.1,1.2,1.3,1.4,1.5,2.1,2.2,2.3,2.4,3.1,3.1.4,3.1.5,3.2,3.3

Table5.3-Actorsofthecompany

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

5.2.2. Systems

Table 5.4 presents the systems and the respective processes in which they occur. Due to someconfidentialandsensitivedata,onlyafewdocumentshavebeenaddedtotheappendix.

Type System DescriptionProcesswhere

itarises

Printed Goodsreceiptlist Itisaprintedlistthatisusedtodocumentallincomingproductswhichcontainaserialnumber.

1.1,2.1,3.1.4

Deliverynotefolder

Inthisfolder,deliverynotesarearchivedinpaperform.

1.1,2.1,3.1.4

Parcelservicelist Thelistcontainsthedifferentparcelserviceswiththepricesandthedeliveryconditions.

1.3

Goodsoutgoinglist

Itisaprintedlistthatisusedtodocumentalloutgoingproductswhichcontainaserialnumber.

1.5,2.4,3.2,3.3

Reclamationfolder

Incasesofdamageddeliverygoods,thesearephotographedandarchivedinthereclamationfolderinpaperform.

1.1,2.2,3.1.4

39

Invoicecopyfolder

Acopyofallinvoicesisarchivedintheinvoicecopyfolderinpaperform.Alldocumentsoftheorderareattachedtotheinvoicecopy.

1.5

ITARDemofolder Collectionofalldocumentsinpaperformofthedemodevices.

2.1,2.2,2.4

MicrosoftExcel

Invoicelist Overviewofallshort-termreceivables.Thislistcontainsinformationsuchasinvoicenumber,customer,good,invoiceamount.AnexemplaryexcerptfromthislistcanbefoundinAnnexB.1.

1.3

RepairoverviewITAR

TherepairoverviewITARlistcontainsinformationofalltheincomingL3deviceswhichneedstoberepairedsuchasRMA(Returnmaterialauthorization)/ITARnumber(iscreated),customer,warranty,description,date.PartialrequestatL3withdate,evaluationdate,quotedate.AnexemplaryexcerptfromthislistcanbefoundinAnnexB.2.

3.1,3.1.5

DevicePVSfolderNo.xxx

Thefoldercontainsthefollowingtemplatedocuments(excel):

-RepairandParts

-RMAgeneralinformation

-Unithistorysheet

AnexemplaryexcerptfromthisfoldercanbefoundinAnnexB.3.

3.1

OverviewspareandpartslistPVSNo.xxx

Thereisalistforeachtypeofdevice,inwhichthecurrentinventorywithallpartsofthereplacementandtherespectivepricesisdocumented.Thelistcontainsallsparepartsneededforrepairandavailableinthewarehouse.AnexemplaryexcerptfromthislistcanbefoundinAnnexB.4.

3.1.3,3.1.4

ITARdemomateriallist

Overviewofalldemodevicesandtheircurrentlocation(customer,warehouse,manufacturer).AnexemplaryexcerptfromthislistcanbefoundinAnnexB.5.

2.1,2.2,2.4

NTlist IntheNTlist,alldeliveredtubesaredocumentedaswellasthetubeswhichareusedtoproduceNTdevicesandthefinishedNTdeviceswiththeserialnumberandthecorrespondingtubenumber.AnexemplaryexcerptfromthislistcanbefoundinAnnexB.6.

1.2,1.4,3.3

RepairNTlist RepairNTlist,includealldevicestoberepairedwiththeRMA/c(commercial)number.AnexemplaryexcerptfromthislistcanbefoundinAnnexB.7.

3.2

Goodsoutputlist(willcollect)

Inthelist,alldevicesthatcontainaserialnumberandarepersonallycollectedbythecustomeraredocumented.

3.1

Pricelist(general) Thepricelistincludesseveralproductsinwhich 1.3

40

therespectivepricesforprivatepersonsordistributorsarelisted.AnexemplaryexcerptfromthisdocumentcanbefoundinAnnexB.8a)andb).

E-mailOutlook

Communication Thesoftwareisusedforsendingandreceivingemails,aswellasforthemanagementofappointmentsandcontacts,tasksandnotes(personalinformationmanager).

1.3,2.2,3.3

Table5.4-Systemsofthecompany

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

5.2.3. Documentation

Table5.5presents all thedocumentationused for the aboveprocesses, alongwith the associatedprocesses inwhichtheyoccur.Duetosomeconfidentialandsensitivedata,onlya fewdocumentshavebeenaddedtotheappendix.

Type Documentation DescriptionProcesswhereit

arises

Printed Repairaccompanyingcard

ItisacardinwhichtheRMAnumberiswrittendownandattachedtotheassociateddevice.Todistinguishtherepairorder,thecardforITARdevicesisredandtheoneforcommercialdevicesisgreen.

3.1,3.2

Replacementdeliverynote

Upondeliveryofgoodswithoutadeliverynote,areplacementdeliverynotewillbeusedtodocumentthereceiptofthegoods.AnexemplaryexcerptfromthisdocumentcanbefoundinAnnexC.3.

1.1,2.2,3.1.4

Digital/printed

Valideligibility ItisthedocumentwhichisnecessaryforthecustomertopurchaseorloananNTdevice.

2.2,3.3

Purchaseorder Fororders,thereisnotemplate,thesearemainlycarriedoutindividuallybyemailorbyphone.

1.2,1.4,2.2,2.3,3.1.4

Order Itisthecustomer’sorcompaniesorderdocument,whichiseithersentbye-mailorhand-writteninpaperform.

1.3,2.2

Datasheet Eachtubecontainsanassociateddatasheetinwhichtherespectivetubenumberisdocumented.ThedatasheetisprovidedonasuppliedCDandthefileisstoredandarchivedonthecorporatedrive.Theprinteddocumentisachievedinthe“Invoicecopyfolder”withtherespectiveinvoice.AnexemplaryexcerptfromthisdocumentcanbefoundinAnnexC.1.

1.2,1.4,2.2,2.3,3.2,3.3

Repairorder Itistherepairorderdocumentforinvoicing. 3.2Deliverynote Thisdocumentcanbeeitheradeliverynotefrom

customersorsuppliersoritcanbeanaccompanyingdocumentfromthecompanyforgoodssuchasfortestdelivery,sightshipment,additionaldelivery,replacementandrepairs.An

1.1,1.2,1.3,1.4,1.5,2.2,2.4,3.13.1.4,3.2,3.3

41

exemplaryexcerptfromthisdocumentofthecompanyIEAcanbefoundinAnnexC.2.

MicrosoftWord/printed

Invoice Newinvoicesaretakenfromthepreviousinvoices,modifiedandsavedundertheconsecutiveinvoicenumber.AnexemplaryexcerptfromthisdocumentcanbefoundinAnnexC.4.

1.3,1.4,1.5,2.3,2.4,3.1

Pre-invoice Thedocumentisusedfororderscontainingtechnicaldeviceswithserialnumbers.Theinvoicepre-documentdoesnotcontaintheserialnumberofthedevices,thisisenteredonlyafterselectionofthedeviceandthencreateasaninvoice.

1.3,1.4,1.5,2.3,2.4

Quote Itistheofferfortherepairservice. 3.1,3.1.3MicrosoftExcel

Unithistorysheet Theunithistorysheetincludesinformationofthedevicesuchasserialnumber,type,RMAnumber,unithistory,employeeanddate.AnexemplaryexcerptfromthisdocumentcanbefoundinAnnexC.5.

3.1

RMAgeneralinformation

TheRMAgeneralinformationlistcontainsseveralsheetsasfollowing:-Overview:informationsuchascustomer,device,serial-/model-/andRMAnumbers.-Quote:pre-quote.-Inventorysheet:informationofdevicetype,RMAnumber,customerandchecklistfordeviceandcomponents.-Visualinspection:informationofdevicetype,RMAnumber,customerandwithdefaultstepstocheckthedevice/components.-Operationalcheckout:informationofdevicetype,RMAnumber,customerandgeneralinstructionforteststeps.-GroupAdatasheet1/2:informationofdevicetype,RMAnumber,customerandinstructionforspecialteststeps.AnexemplaryexcerptfromthisdocumentcanbefoundinAnnexC.6a),b),c)andd).

3.1,3.1.2,3.1.3,3.1.5

Repairandparts Therepairandpartslistcontainsalldefectpartsthatneedtobereplacedforrepair.Italsocontainsinformationoftheworkinghours.AnexemplaryexcerptfromthisdocumentcanbefoundinAnnexC.7.

3.1,3.1.2,3.1.3,3.1.5

Projectmanagementfolderno.xxx

ThePMfoldercontainsseveraldocumentssuchasinvoice,quote,order/invoicesforsuppliers,(timetable),qualityassurancefolder.Thedocumentsdifferfromordertoorder.

2.3

Other Photos Fordocumentationofgoodsingoodsreceiptsandoutputs.

2.1,2.4

Table5.5-Documentsofthecompany

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

42

6. PROCESSMODELING

Therearemanyreasonsformodelingprocessessuchassimplyunderstandtheprocessandtosharetheunderstandingwithpeoplewhoare involvedwiththeprocess.Furthermore, itshelpstobetterunderstandtheprocessandtoidentifyandpreventissues.Therefore,processmodelingisinevitabletowardsathoroughunderstanding,whichistheprerequisitetoconductprocessanalysis,redesignorautomation (Dumas et al., 2012). The following chapter presents the primary processes of thecompanywithoneself-produceddeviceandonewhichissolddirectlyaswellasseveralservices.Thestudiedprocesscanbedividedintothefollowing3groups(detailedprocessesseetable5.3):

-NT940

-AN/PVS31

-General(services)

6.1. PROCESS“NT940”

Theprocess“NT940”alongthevaluechainfromgoodsreceipt,goodsassembling,orderfulfilment,goods complement, and goods output is one of the main frequency processes of the company.Goods receipt (general) concernsall components that consistof anNT940devicewith thedeviceitselfaswellasothercomplementarygoods.AllL3devicesfromUSA,whicharesubjecttotheITARregulationsareexecutedinaseparateprocess.

43

6.1.1. Process“Goodsreceipt(general)”

Theprocess“Goodsreceipt(general)”containsthegeneralreceivingofparcelsfromsuppliersorcustomerswhichispresentedbythepool“Consigner”.Parcelscanbeacceptedbyanyemployeewhichispresentedbythelane“Generalcompanyemployees”.Iftheparcelcontainsaseal,oneofthe“Generalcompanyemployees”mustgotothecustomforclearance.

Figure6.1-Process“Goodsreceipt(general)”

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

44

6.1.2. Process“Assemblingofgoods(NT940)”

The process “Assembling of goods (NT 940)” is performed by the employee’sworkshopmanager, productmanager or sales clerk. Furthermore, this process contains the following sub-processwhich have already been listed orpresentedinthefollowingchapter:“Goodsreceipt(general)(see6.1.1)and“Goodsoutput”(see6.1.5).Thesub-process“Tubeandhousingassembling”ispresentedinthenextprocess.

Figure6.2-Process„Assemblingofgoods(NT940)“

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

45

6.1.3. Sub-Process“Tubeandhousingassembling”

Thesub-process“Tubeandhousingassembling”isperformedbytheemployee’sworkshopmanager,productmanagerorsalesclerk.

Figure6.3-Sup-process“Tubeandhousingassembling”

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

46

6.1.4. Process“Orderfulfilment”

Intheprocess“Orderfulfilment”anoffercanonlybeacceptedbythemanager,salesclerk,productmanagerorworkshopmanager.Theinvoicingisdonebythemanageroradministrativestaff.Thefurtherprocedureforcustomsclearanceforcertaingoodsisnotdescribed.Afterinvoicing,theinvoiceissetupinthegoodsoutput.There,thecompilationoftheorderedgoodstakesplace,forwhichtherespectiveemployee(product-specialized)isresponsible.Inthiscase,theprocess“NT940”,NT940device/s,is/areassembledinthefollowingprocess“Goodscomplement”.Afurthersub-processwhichhasalreadybeenlistedis“Goodsreceipt(general)(see6.1.1).

Figure6.4-Process„Orderfulfilment“

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

47

6.1.5. Process“Goodscomplement”

Theprocess“Goodscomplement”isperformedaccordingthecustomer’sorder.Theresponsibleemployee,canbetheworkshopmanager,productmanagerorsalesclerk.Theyprocesstheorderfromthedocuments“Pre-invoice”or“Deliverynote”.Thedocuments“Pre-invoice”or“Deliverynote”isdonebytheadministrativestaffinthesup-process“Orderfulfilment”(see6.1.3).Ifthedesireddeviceisnotavailable,thedevicemustbeassembledaccordingthecustomerrequirements.Thisisdoneinthesub-process“Assemblingofgoods(NT940)”(see6.1.2).Afurthersub-processwhichhasalreadybeenlistedis“Goodsreceipt(general)(see6.1.1).

Figure6.5-Process“Goodscomplement”

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

48

6.1.6. Process“Goodsoutput(general)”

Theprocess“Goodsoutput(general)”containsthegeneraloutputofgoodswhichismostlydonebytheemployeepart-timeassistance1.Ifthereisadefectofanygoods,theemployeemustinforma“Responsibleemployee”whichcanbethemanager,salesclerk,productmanager,workshopmanageroradministrativestaff(limited).

Figure6.6-Process“Goodsoutput(general)”

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

49

6.2. PROCESS“AN/PVS31”

Asmentionedinthepreviouschapter,allL3devicesaregovernedbytheITARregulations.Someofthese processes require additional steps. The process of the device “AN/PVS31” along the valuechain from goods receipt, loaned devices, goods complement, and goods output is anothermainprocess of the company. For thiswork project, itwas decided tomodel the processes for loaneddevices under ITAR regulations. For the loaned devices, there are separate processes for goodsreceiptandoutputwhichare“Goods receipt (ITAR)”and“Goodsoutput (ITAR)”.Regardlessof thelandedgoods,authoritiesbuyoneormoresuchdeviceswithorwithoutacompletesetsolutionorequipment. In this case the goods receipt and output are the “general” ones. In the followingchapter,theprocessesarepresented.

50

6.2.1. Process“Goodsreceipt(ITAR)”

Theprocess“Goodsreceipt(ITAR)”containsthereceivingofparcelsfromthesupplierL3-WarriorSystems,othercompaniesfromtheUSAorauthoritycustomersfor loanedL3devices,whichispresentedbythepool“Consigner”.

Parcelscanbeacceptedbyanyemployeewhichispresentedbythelane“Generalcompanyemployees”.

Figure6.7-Process“Goodsreceipt(ITAR)”

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

51

6.2.2. Process“LoanedPVS31”

Theprocess“LoanedPVS31”isperformedbytheproductmanager,workshopmanager,mangeroradministrativestaff.Ifthedesireddeviceisnotavailable,thedevicemustbeorderedfromthecompanyL3Warrior-Systems.Further

sub-processwhichhavealreadybeenlistedare“Orderfulfilment(NT940)”(see6.1.3),“Goodsreceipt(ITAR)(see6.2.1).Thesup-processes“Goodsoutput(ITAR)”(see6.2.1)and“RepairL3devices”(see6.3.1)willbepresentedinthe

followingchapter.Incasethatthecustomerintendstobuythedevice,theorderconfirmationispassedtothemanageroradministrativestaffforinvoicing.Thecomplementofthedevicestakesplaceafterinvoicing,whichispresentin

6.2.3.

Figure6.8-Process„LoanedPVS31“

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

52

6.2.3. Process“PVS31complement”

Theprocess“PVS31complement”isperformedbythemanager,productmanagerorworkshopmanager.Furthersub-processwhichhavealreadybeenlistedare“Goodsreceipt(ITAR)(see6.2.1)and“Goodsreceipt(general)”(see6.1.1).

Figure6.9-Process“PVS31Complement”

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

53

6.2.4. Process“Goodsoutput(ITAR)”

Theprocess“Goodsoutput(ITAR)”containstheoutputofparcelstothesupplierL3-WarriorSystems,othercompaniesfromtheUSAorauthoritycustomersforloanedL3devices,whichisdonebythemanager,administrativestaff,

workshopmanager,productmanagerandpart-timeassistance1.

Figure6.10-Process„Goodsoutput(ITAR)“

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

54

6.3. PROCESS“GENERAL(SERVICES)”

Inthisworkproject,aninvestigationoftheofferedservicesofthecompanyisconductedaswell.Thecompanyoffersavarietyofservices,suchasrepairsofdifferenttypesofdevicesaswellasseminars.Itwasdecidedtomodeltheprocessesthataremostfrequentlyusedfromcustomersandwhicharethemostvalue-addedforthecompany.

For all L3 devices in Europe, IEA takes over the services and maintenance as the representativecompany for L3-Warrior Systems. For this purpose, the employees of the companywere speciallytrained by L3-Warrior Systems. The rooms have been specially provided according to the ITARrequirements. Sub-processes which occur repeatedly such as “Goods receipt (general) or orderfulfilment”arenotlistedagain.Thesup-processesof“RepairNTdevices”and“Loaneddevices”arehandledinthesameway.

55

6.3.1. Process“RepairL3devices”

Theprocess“RepairL3devices”isperformedaccordingthecustomer’sorder.Theyaretwomainresponsibleemployees,whicharetheproductmanagerandtheworkshopmanager.ThisprocessrequiresalotofdocumentationduetothecooperationwiththecompanyL3-WarriorSystemsandtheITARregulations.Thesup-process“Evaluation”ispresentedin6.3.2,“Quoteandmaterialprocurement”in6.3.3,“Goodsreceipt(Spareparts)”in6.3.4and“Repairpass”in6.3.5.Furthermore,thisprocesscontainsthefollowingsub-processwhichhavealreadybeenlisted:“Goodsreceipt(general)(see6.1.1),“Orderfulfilment”(see6.1.3)and“Goodsoutput(general)”(see6.1.5).

Figure6.11-Process„RepairL3devices“

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

56

6.3.2. Sub-Process“Evaluation”

Thesub-process“Evaluation”isperformedbytheproductmanagerorworkshopmanager.Thissup-

process requires also a lot of documentation. For a better overview of the structure of the excel

spreadsheet,anotehasbeenincludedinthediagram.

Figure6.12-Sub-process„Evaluation“

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

57

6.3.3. Sub-Process“Quoteandmaterialprocurement”

The sub-process “Quote andmaterial procurement” is performed according the customer’s order.

There are two main responsible employees, which are the product manager and the workshop

manager.

Figure6.13-Sub-process„Quoteandmaterialprocurement“

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

58

6.3.4. Sub-Process“Goodsreceipt(L3spareparts)”

Thesub-process“Goodsreceipt(L3spareparts)”containsthereceivingofanysparepartsfromL3Warrior-Systems.Theparcelscanbeacceptedbyanyemployeewhichispresentedbythelane“Generalcompanyemployees”.The

processissubjecttothespecialconditionsundertheITARregulations,butitdiffersfromtheprocessof“Goodsreceipt(ITAR)”.Duethisfact,itwasdecidedtomodelthisprocessseparately.

Figure6.14-Sub-process„Goodsreceipt(L3spareparts)“

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

59

6.3.5. Sub-Process“Repairpass”

The sub-process “Repair pass” is performed according the customer’s order. There are twomain

responsible employees, which are the product manager and the workshop manager. This sub-

process contains also a further sub-process which has already been listed, the “Goods receipt

(general)(see6.1.1).

Figure6.15-Sub-process„Repairpass“

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

60

6.3.6. Process“RepairNTdevices”

Theprocess“RepairNTdevices”isperformedaccordingthecustomer’sorder.Therearetwomainresponsibleemployees,whicharetheproductmanagerandtheworkshopmanager.Thisprocesscontainsthefollowingsub-process

whichhavealreadybeenlisted:“Goodsreceipt(general)(see6.1.1),“Orderfulfilment”(see6.1.3)and“Goodsoutput(general)”(see6.1.5).Thequalitytechnicianiseithertheworkshopmanagerortheproductmanager.Dependingon

whichofthetwocarriedouttherepairprocess,theotherthenmustperformthefinaloperationalcheckout,toensurethecorrectrepairofthedevices.

Figure6.16-Process„RepairNTdevices“

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

61

6.3.7. Process“Loaneddevices”

Theprocess“Loaneddevices”isperformedaccordingthecustomer’sorder.Theyresponsibleemployeesarethemanager,productmanagerandsalesclerk.Thisprocesscontainsthefollowingsub-processwhichhavealreadybeen

listed:“Goodsreceipt(general)(see6.1.1),“Orderfulfilment”(see6.1.3)and“Goodsoutput(general)”(see6.1.5).

Figure6.17-Process„Loaneddevices“

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

62

7. CRITICALREVIEWOFPROCESSESANDIMPROVEMENTS

The first step in implementinganewprocessorupdatinganexistingprocess is togaina commonunderstandingof thecurrent stateof theprocessand its consistencywithbusinessgoals (ABPMP,2009).Creatingthiscommonunderstandingisprocessanalysis.Furthermore,itisacommitmentthatallowscompaniestocontinuously improvetheirprocessesbymonitoringprocessperformanceandtherebyimprovingtheperformanceofthecompany(ABPMP,2013).

The company under study performs their daily work with the help of easy spreadsheet systems(Excel)forvariousprocessessuchastheinventoriesofcertaingoods,overviewofinvoicesaswellasmonitoringofseveralserviceperformances.Thesystemsusedinthecompanyarenolongerup-to-dateandinsufficientforthenumberofprocesses.Oneofthebiggestproblemofthecompanyisthemanualnatureofprocesses(minimalITuse),someofwhichwerenotreviewedinthelastyearsduethe non-existent process diagrams. There are different types of documentation for the variousprocessesandthereisnouniformdatamanagementinthecompany.Insomeprocesses,thereisnodataentryand forotherprocesses there is adouble collectioneffort.Oneof the company’smainproblemsisthelackoftransparencyanduniformityofprocessflowsforemployees.Also,themanualnatureof theprocessesmakes itdifficult for theemployees to track thestatusof theprocessatagiventimeandsloweddowntheresponsetobothinternalandexternalstakeholders.

Furthermore, when creating reports, these must always be created manually, which are time-consuming and often can cause many errors when creating excel reports. Data must always berecorded manually and there is always the risk of transmission errors and inconsistencies.Furthermore, there is a high administrative overhead in the company, since resources cannot beusedoptimallyduetheonlypartiallyexistinginventorymanagement.Thereisanon-optimaldeliveryqualityofthecompany,becauseduetheonlypartiallymanagedwarehousestocksoftenlateordersaremadetosuppliers.General insist inefficienciesespecially intheareasofmaterialmanagement,production,andassessmentofdemand.

To improve many of the above-mentioned problems, the company primarily requires a centralsystemsuchasanERP,whichenablesabetterplanningandcontrollabilityofallprocesses.Whetherthe use of RFID or barcode is worthwhile for the company depends on the processes and thepotential foroptimization.Bothtechnologiesoffermanyadvantagesfordifferentapplications.Dueto thehighacquisition costofRFID, anexactprocess analysis shouldbe carriedout in advance toensureeconomicuse. In the followingchaptera criticalanalysisand review is carriedoutoneachpreviouslymodeledprocess,aswellasopportunitiesforprocessimprovementareidentified.

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7.1. PROCESS“NT940”

Numberandprocessname Criticalanalysis

Improvementproposals

NT940

1.1Goodsreceipt(general)

1.All goods in thegoods receiptarenotelectronically recorded and there is noinventory control, although all devicesthat contain a serial number aredocumented in paper form in the goodsreceipt list. Only certain devices such asNT devices or thermal imaging devicesarerecordedindifferentexcellists.

2.As specificdevicesaredocumented inthegoodsreceiptlistandinvariousexcellists, employees must look for themindividually when tracing businesstransactions. These search terms cancausehighprocessingexpense.

3.Fororders fromsuppliers, theorder ispartially processed by phone or e-mail.Ordersarenotelectronicallyrecordedordocumented and thus cannot bemonitoredandcontrolled.

1. All goods and semi-finishedproducts should be electronicallyrecordedinacentralstocksystemtoprovideacurrentinventorylevelandtomanagedetailedwarehousedata.Furthermore,itshouldbepossibletomonitor cost and price changes, aswellasafunctiontotrackandrecordstockmovements.

2. It shouldbepossible to track andrecord stock movements auto-matically to obtain real-time accessand accurate information oninventory levels and productionorders from the desktop or evenmobile devices, whether in theoffice, at the warehouse, or at aremotelocation.

3.Thepurchaseplanningneedstobesupported, as well as vendorselection and purchase ordermanagement.Thereisadetailedanda centralized vendor data (includingall possible vendors) repositorynecessary, to make the bestdecisions, identify opportunities andsave costs, as well as to managesupplier relationships. Therebyorders should be createdelectronically and connected to thecentralstock.Itshouldbepossibletoset reminders to inform theemployees when orders areexpectedtobereceived.Thatallowsbettermonitoring and adherence todeliverytimes.

64

Numberandprocessname Criticalanalysis

Improvementproposals

1.1Goodsreceipt(general)

4. Employees do not check the goodsreceipteveryday.Someofthegoodsaresometimes left in the warehouse forseveral dayswithout being processed bythe employees. Thus, the processingtimesaresometimesconsiderablylonger.The division of tasks is not well definedandnottransparentforeveryemployee.

4. It is necessary to implement aprocess to monitor incoming goodson daily basis, assigned to aresponsible employee. Furthermore,this process should be connected tothestocksystem.

1.2Assemblingofgoods

1. When assembling NT devices, not allsemi-finished products are alwaysavailable in the warehouse. There is noinventory management for all productsand employees always must look in thewarehouse.Thisisduethelackofpropermaintenance of inventories. A furtherproblemis,thatmostlyallemployeesareresponsible for the warehouse and thecomponents are not always orderedpromptlywhen they reach theminimumofstocklevel.Someoftheemployeesdonothaveanoverview,astheunitnumberofthecomponentsarenotrecordedinanelectronicmanner.Delays indeliverycanbepoorlymonitoredandifdeliverytimesareexceeded,theyareoftenforgotten.

2.Thecompany logo, thewarnings signsand the serial numbers are attached tothedeviceswithastickerbyhand.

1. In general, all components shouldbe automatically recorded into acentral stock. This keeps inventoriesup-to-date,acceleratestheprocessesandavoidsdeliveryproblems,aswellas productions problems due tomissing parts. Errors when enteringthe goods are also avoided by theautomatic entry, see alsoimprovementproposal1.1.(3).

2. For add the logo andother labelstothedevices,a lasercouldbeusedtoapply them.This can increase thereadability of the labels after a fewyearsofuseanditcouldbedetectedelectronically in the central stock.There should be also the option togenerate an automatic serialnumber. Due the laser, the deviceswould have a higher quality look. Inaddition, transmission problems ofserial numbers in the electronicdocumentscouldbeavoided,suchase.g. key in errors as well as theprocesscouldbeaccelerated.

65

Numberandprocessname Criticalanalysis

Improvementproposals

1.2Assemblingofgoods

3. There is no supplier catalogwhere allsuppliers of the company are listed. Theemployees must choose suppliersindividually.

3. The same improvement proposalasinpoint1.1.(3).

1.3Orderfulfilment

1.Customersusuallyorderbye-mailorinperson. When ordering by phone,customers are asked to write an e-mail.There is currently no way to orderproductsviaanonlinesystem.

2.Ordersplacedbycustomersviae-mailmust be printed out and will beforwarded to the responsible employeewhoisaccountableforthecreationoftheinvoice. In addition,ordersbye-mail aresometimes not processed immediatelyandinsomecases,theyareforgotten.

1. There should be the option toprocess the order for customers viaan online shop. In this way, manyproducts can be processedautomatically in the online shop,without the hassle of manualintervention. Process steps such asprinting emails, manual creation ofinvoicesorcheckingstockavailabilitycanbeautomated.Thiswouldmeanthat the ordered goods would havetobeprepared, packed and shippedby an employee only. In addition,orderingviatheonlineshopiseasierfor many customers, as well as forthe company, especially whenordering equipment or evencompletedevicesets.Thiswouldalsoincrease sales and speed up theordering process without forgettingorders.

2. Order whichwas given via e-mailshould be automatically forwardedtoacentralsystem.Thereshouldbethe option that the system checksthe availability of the order and therelevant information should beadopted from the e-mail order forinvoicing. In this way orders by e-mailwillnotbeforgottenanymore.

66

Numberandprocessname Criticalanalysis

Improvementproposals

1.3Orderfulfilment

3.Therearebigproblemswiththearticledescriptions, as customer often usedifferent names when accepting orders,what is misleading for some employees.Although there is a default of uniformdescription in the inventory, in practicedifferent descriptions are used. In suchcases,timeiswastedlookingfortherightiteminthewarehouseanditneedstobecommunicated with other employees toensure the correct order. Even on theinvoice partly different descriptionsappear,whichcanbealsomisleading forthecustomer.

4.When invoicing, the prices are lookedupinaseparatedocument.

5. The complete order process of acustomerwithinvoiceandifavailabletheorder by e-mail will be archived in theinvoicecopy folder.Therefore, there isavery high number of archivingdocuments. Only the invoices and someinvoicedetailsarerecordedelectronicallyin the invoice list. To track the orderprocessing processes of individualcustomers, the invoice copy foldermustalwaysbeconsulted.

6.All incomingandoutgoinginvoicesaresubmittedmonthlytotheaccountingfirmand are not yet recorded electronically.The accounting firm must insert eachinvoice manually in their software toperform the required work. Incominginvoices are not recorded electronicallyandarchivedinfoldersinformofpaper.

3. A uniform description for allproductsmustbemadeavailableforallemployees.

4. The products should beelectronically managed with theirrespective prices, which should betransferred automatically to theinvoicedocument.

5. An electronic documentationsystem should be made available inwhich all copies of an order aredocumented. Thiswould eliminate alargeportionofarchivingdocumentsand more storage space would beavailable.Thus,timecanbesavedaswell as storage costs could bereduced.

6. There should be the option totransmit the data electronically totheaccountingfirm.Thiswouldsavetime and costs. For this it would benecessary to scan all incominginvoices,tohavethemelectronically.Furthermore, the transmission ofdata could be also doneautomaticallyeachmonth.

67

Numberandprocessname Criticalanalysis

Improvementproposals

1.4Goodscomplement

1. Several orders cannot be sentimmediatelybecausetheassemblingofaset of devices due the missingcomponents in the warehouse is notpossible(seepoint1.2(1)).

2. When employees assembling devicesand equipment, they often must searchfor the components, since stock keepingis not always maintained and as well asthe problem with different articledescriptions(seepoint1.3(3)).

3. Invoices must always be printed inadvance to assemble the goods for thecustomers. For orders of devicescontaining serial numbers, the numbersmust be written by hand aftercompilation the order in the invoice.Thentheserialnumbermustbe insertedintheinvoicedocumentandthenprintedoutagain.

4.When customersmake a larger orderfordevicesandequipment,thereisoftena problem with time management, asmilestonesarenotmade transparent forthe responsibleemployeesand tasksarenothandledwell.Theinformationflowissometimes inefficient, as employees arenotproperlyinformed.Thisoftenleadstodeliveryproblemsbecauseordersarenottimely instructed. In addition, there aredelaysinorderprocessingandsometimesadoubleworkloadforcertainprocesses.

1. The same improvement proposalasinpoint1.2(1).

2. The same improvement proposalasinpoint1.3(3).

3. There should be the option toselect a device with the respectiveserial number automatically, whichinserts the number in the invoicewithout the hassle and manualintervention.

4. There should be amodule,whichallows to plan for expenditures andresources, to centrally control andmonitor quotations, for preparationand order processing. Thus, ordersfor suppliers can be bettermonitored and placed at the righttime (see point 1.1 (3), 1.2 (1)).Furthermore,aresponsiblepersonisneeded to handle large projects, tocoordinate and control all partialtasks for the involved employees.This allows for a consistentinformation flow between allinvolvedemployees.

68

Numberandprocessname Criticalanalysis

Improvementproposals

1.4Goodscomplement

5. The devices are assembled accordingto the customer’s order. The employeesassemble the devices, and if necessaryadditional equipment based on theinvoice. Often the manual instruction isforgotten because it is not listed on theinvoice.

5. For this, a checklist should beprovided to the employees, toconsider all necessary parts in theassemblingofanyorder.

1.5Goodsoutput(general)

1. If customers pick up devices by theirown and the devices contain a serialnumber, the entry in the goods outputlist (will collect) is usually forgotten.Furthermore, thebook-off in thevariousinventory lists is often forgotten aswell,and it canonlybecheckedbasedon theoutput invoices, where the device islocated.

2.Incasesifthepart-timeassistance1isalso responsible for assembling someequipment for an order, the employeemust search components, since stockkeeping is not always maintained andcomponents are often stowed away onothershelvesaswellastheproblemwithdifferent article descriptions (see point1.3(3),1.4(2)).

3. Orders, inwhich the goods should beassembled are partly unprocessed fordaysinthewarehouse.

1. The sold devices should beautomatically listed in a centralinventory with the respectivecustomer.

2. An optimal inventory should bekept electronically, with informationabout the locationandwithuniformarticle designations. This would giveall employees a better overview ofthe existing products in thewarehouse(seepoint1.3(3),1.4(2)).

3. The same improvement proposalasinpoint1.1(5)

Table7.1-Criticalreviewandimprovementproposalsoftthecompany“NT940”

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

69

7.2. PROCESS“AN/PVS31”

Numberandprocessname Criticalanalysis

Improvementproposals

AN/PVS31

2.1Goodsreceipt(ITAR)

1. The same critical analysis as in point1.1(2).

2. The same critical analysis as in point1.1(3).

3. The same critical analysis as in point1.1(4).

4.For thedeliveryof loandevices, thesemust always be photographed to ensurethecompletenessoftheloandevicesandits equipment for the next loan. Thepictures are compared at the goodsoutputwith thepictures from the goodsreceipt and thus checked whether thedeliveryiscomplete.

1. The same improvement proposalasinpoint1.1(2).

2. The same improvement proposalasinpoint1.1(3).

3. The same improvement proposalasinpoint1.1(4).

4. For this purpose, each part of adelivery could be provided with anumber so that all delivered partsare recorded in a central system atthe goods output and can then becompared and checked with eachother at the goods receipt.Furthermore, a checklist could becreated for each device type, whichcontainsallparts.

2.2LoanedPVS31

1. A simple delivery note is sent alongwiththeloanofdevices.Thiscontainonlythe device and possibly equipment.Additional informationonhowtohandlethedevice(as it isnot inthepropertyofthecustomer)toavoiddamagedoesnotexist.Thecustomerreceivesonlytheusermanual with the test devices.Furthermore, the devices may not begiventothirdpartiesasthesedevicesarecoveredbytheITARregulations.

1.A additional information sheetontheuseofloaneddevicesandhowtohandle them is necessary.Furthermore, clear guidelines mustbedefinedintheeventofdamage.

70

Numberandprocessname Criticalanalysis

Improvementproposals

2.3PVS31complement

1. The same critical analysis as in point1.4(1).

2. The same critical analysis as in point1.4(2).

3. The same critical analysis as in point1.4(3).

4.There isnooverviewof the saleofalldevices. The devices sold for largeprojects is not recorded in an inventorymanagement list. To track businesstransactions,therespectiveinvoicesmustbe consulted since they contain all thedeviceswiththeserialnumbers(seealsocriticalanalysis1.4(4)).

1. The same improvement proposalasinpoint1.4(1).

2. The same improvement proposalasinpoint1.4(2).

3. The same improvement proposalasinpoint1.4(3).

4. The same improvement proposalasinpoint1.4(4).

2.4Goodsoutput(ITAR)

1. The same critical analysis as in point2.1(4).

1. The same improvement proposalasinpoint2.1(4).

Table7.2-Criticalreviewandimprovementproposalsoftthecompany“AN/PVS31”

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

71

7.3. PROCESS“GENERAL(SERVICES)”

Numberandprocessname Criticalanalysis

Improvementproposals

General(services)

3.1.RepairsL3devices

3.1.2Evaluation

3.1.3Quoteandmaterialprocurement

3.1.4Goodsreceipt(L3spareparts)

3.1.5Repairpass

1. There are many different exceldocuments available which are requiredfortherepairprocess.Dataentryispartlydonetwiceinthevariouslists.

2.Oneofthemainproblemsintherepairprocessisthehighprocessingtimewhichcan be up to 220 days. Often thecustomer sends a device to be repairedwithout equipment parts. At the goodsreceipt, it is checked which parts weresupplied,butifthecustomerhasnotsentequipment this will be added to thequote for missing parts. For this, theemployeemustcheckthestockinventorywhetherthepartsare instockand ifnotwhen they can be delivered. Theinformationisthenrecordedinthequoteandhandedovertothecustomer. Inthecase that the customer does not wantany equipment, since he did not send itor no longer needed, the effort wouldhavebeeninvainbytheemployee.

1. An overview of all repair ordersshouldbeprovidedelectronicallyinacentral system. The goods receiptand output of repair andreplacement parts can beaccelerated and simplified. It wouldnot take many different exceldocuments, and mistakes in dataentrywouldbeavoided. Itwouldbealso possible to automatically applythe same data to different tableswithouthavingtoenterthemtwice.

2.Toavoidunnecessaryworkstepoftheemployees,itwouldbenecessaryto send a document in advance tothe customer, that all relevantinformation for the repair can bemade available. Furthermore, thecustomer can specify on thisdocument which device it is andwhich equipment parts are send orneededinthefuture.

72

Numberandprocessname Criticalanalysis

Improvementproposals

3.1.RepairsL3devices

3.1.2Evaluation

3.1.3Quoteandmaterialprocurement

3.1.4Goodsreceipt(L3spareparts)

3.1.5Repairpass

3. The RMA number will only be issuedwhenthegoodsarereceivedforrepair.Aplanningofpossibleorderforsparepartsorequipmentcanonlybemadeafterthegoods have been received. In addition,the RMA number is handwritten on therepair accompanying card and attachedtothedevice.

4.Thereisnoinventorymanagementforequipmentparts.Insomecases,repaireddevisecouldnotbesenttothecustomerbecause of the missing equipment partsasinpoint1.1.(1),1.2(1),1.2.(3).

5. After the quote is created, it will beforwarded to another employee forinvoicing. For this, the data must bemanually transferred from the quote totheinvoicedocument.

3.Hereitwouldbeadvantageousforbetter planning and monitoring ofthe spare parts, if the customer isassigned the RMA number for hisdefective device when registering.With a central system, an RMAnumber could be immediatelyassigned to the informationdocument for repairs. Furthermore,the information document can thenbe sent via e-mail automatically tothe respective customer, so that hewouldonlyhavetofillinorcompletetherequired informationandsend itto the company together with thedevice.

4. The same improvement proposalas in point 1.1 (1), 1.2 (1), 1.2. (3).

5.Theinvoicecouldbeautomaticallycreatedfromthequote.Forthis,thedatafromthequote isautomaticallytransferredtotheinvoicedocument.

73

Numberandprocessname Criticalanalysis

Improvementproposals

3.2RepairNTdevices

1. Ifcustomerhasadefectivedevicee.g.NT 940 and does not report to theproductmanager or workshopmanager,inefficiencies occurs because missinginformation about the devices to berepairedarenotnotedinadvance.

2.Thereisalsotheprobleminthisrepairprocesswhichisthehighprocessingtime,sometimesupto150days(seepoint3.1.(2)).

3. The same critical analysis as in point3.1.(3).

4. The same critical analysis as in point3.1.(4).

5. There are some problems with thedelivery times of the suppliers of spareparts or equipment parts. The deliverytimes are not controlled and there is nouniform overview of all suppliers (seepoint1.1(3),1.2.(1),1.2.(3)).

6. After finishing the repair of thedevices, the repair order is written byhandonapaperwhichishandedovertothe administrative staff for invoicing.There is no special repair invoicedocument available. The data entry isdonetwice(see3.1(5)).

1. An additional document forregistration of defective deviceswouldbenecessary. Iftheworkshopmanager or representative are notavailable, all employees cancomplete the recording of therelevant data for the registration ofthe defective devices with thedocument.

2. The same improvement proposalasinpoint3.1.(2).

3. The same improvement proposalasinpoint3.1.(3).

4. The same improvement proposalasinpoint3.1.(4).

5. The same improvement proposalas in point 1.1 (3), 1.2. (1), 1.2. (3).

6. The same improvement proposalasinpoint3.1(5).

74

Numberandprocessname Criticalanalysis Improvementproposals

3.3Loaneddevices

1.Oneofthebiggestproblems isthattheloaned devices (e.g. NT940) are forgottenbytheemployees.ThesewillonlybelistedinthegeneralNTlistandareminderdateissetinthee-mail.Formonitoring,theNTlistisnotsufficientbecauseoftennotevena date on loaned devices is registered.Nevertheless, the devices are often sentbackmuchtoolate.

2.Therearenospecial testdevices in thecompany available. Devices that areloaned to customers are often send backlate, since the employees do not have agood overview of the test period.Accordingly,thedevices losetheirvalue iftheyareusedoverthedurationofthetestperiodandmanydevicescannotbesoldiftheyareintheloan.

3. A simple delivery note with the usermanual is sent along with the loan ofdevices. This contain only the device andpossibly equipment. Additional informa-tiononhow tohandle thedevice (as it isnot in the property of the customer) toavoid damage does not exist. Therefore,partly defective devices come back. Incasesifthedevicescomebackdefective,itis discussed individually whether thecustomermustbuythedefectivedeviceorshouldpay for the repair. Thiswillnotbeclarifiedinadvancewiththecustomer.

1. All loaned devices should berecorded and reported to theresponsible employee automaticallyif the loan period is exceeded.Furthermore, a reminder e-mail canbeautomaticallycreatedandsendtothe customer as soon as the loanperiod is exceeded. It could bechecked automatically whether thedevicehasarrivedafterthecustomerhas been informed and after afurther period has elapsed. If thedevice has not arrived after theexpiry of the second deadline, theemployee can be notifiedautomatically,sothathecanaskthecustomerhimself.

2. There is a need for bettermonitoring,aswellastheovershoottimes should be reduced, which inturnwouldallowmoredevicestobesold. Furthermore, the companyshould offer special devices only fortest use to reduce the often-lostvalueofmanydevices.

3.Aadditional information sheetontheuseofloaneddevicesandhowtohandlethemwouldreducetherepairrateof loaneddevices.Furthermore,clear guidelines must be defined intheeventofdamage.

Table7.3-Criticalreviewandimprovementproposalsoftthecompany“Services(general)”

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

75

7.4. DISCUSSIONOFIMPROVEMENTS

Table7.4presentsthetechnologiesfortheproposedimprovementoptions.

Processnumber Technology Description

1.1(1),1.1(2),1.1(3),1.2(1),1.2(2),1.2(3),1.3(1),1.3(2),1.3(3),1.3(4),1.3(5),1.3(6),1.4(1),1.4(2),1.4(3),1.4(4),1.5(1),1.5(2),2.1(1),2.1(2),2.1(4),2.3(1),2.3(2),2.3(3),2.3(4),2.4(1),3.1(1),3.1(3),3.1(4),3.1(5),3.2(3),3.2(4),3.2(5),3.2(6),3.3(1),3.3(2)

ERP -Employeescanfindspecificbusinesstransactionsquickly.

-Itallowsacompleteoverviewofallorderswhichcanbeassignedtotheemployees.

-Automaticserialnumbergenerationofdifferentproducts.

- Through the introductionof anonline shopand the integrationwith the ERP system, many products can be processedautomaticallyintheonlineshop.

- For all employees, a uniform article description would beprovided for invoicing and the warehouse, as well as for thecustomer.

- All available products would be deposited with the respectiveprices and when an invoice is created, these are automaticallytransferred.

- Itprovidesadocumentsysteminwhichall theprocessesoftheordersfromtheordertotheoutgoinggoodsaredocumented.

- All data could be transmitted electronically to the accountingfirm.

- It selects a device from stock when creating the invoice andinsertthecorrespondingserialnumberintotheinvoice.

-Itprovideanoverviewofallordersandthenecessaryequipmentwiththerespectivesuppliers.

- A sold device is automatically posted in the inventorywith therespectivecustomer.

- An optimal inventory can be kept, with information about thelocation.

-Itprovidesacompleteoverviewofallrepairorders.

- The RMA number could be immediately assigned to theinformationdocumentforrepairs.

-Itcouldrecordallloaneddevicesandreportittotheresponsibleemployeeautomaticallyiftheloanperiodisexceeded.

76

1.1(1),1.2(1),1.2(2),1.4(1),1.4(2),1.4(4),1.5(2),2.1(4),2.3(1),2.3(2),2.4(1),3.1(3),3.1(4),3.2(4),3.2(5)

BarcodeorRFID

-AbarcodeorRFIDsystemcouldbeusedtodetectautomaticallyallgoodsinanERPsystem.

-Theserialnumbercanbeengravedwithabarcodeonthedevicebyalaser.Thisallowsthebarcodetobeelectronicallyrecordedinthecentralwarehouse.

-SmartphonescanbeequippedwithanappsothattheycanscantheQR code and show the employeewhich products are on theshelf. This can significantly accelerate the search for thecomponents.

- AnyRMAnumber couldbe attached to the accompanying cardwithabarcodeorRFID.

1.2(1),1.3(2),1.3(6),1.4(1),1.4(4),2.3(1),3.1(1),3.1(3),3.1(4),3.1(5),3.2(3),3.2(5),3.2(6),3.3(1)

RPA -RPAcanbeusedtoorderautomaticallyassoonastheminimumstockisreached.Forthispurpose,therespectivesuppliermustbedepositedforthecomponentsandgoods.

-Aremindere-mailcanbeautomaticallycreatedandsentassoonasthedeliverytimesisexceeded.

-Itcanbeusedtocheckwhetherthegoodshavearrivedafterthesupplierhasbeeninformedandafterafurtherperiodhaselapsed.If the goods have not arrived after the expiry of the seconddeadline, the employee can be notified automatically by RPA, sothathecanaskthecustomerhimself.

- Orders which were given by e-mails could be automaticallyforwarded to the ERP system. There, the ERP system checks theavailabilityoftheorderandtheRPAsoftwareadoptstherelevantinformationfromthee-mailorderforinvoicing.Forthispurpose,aspecificstructureshouldbepresentinthee-mailsothatRPAcanprocesstheorder.Theinformationwhichstructureshouldbeusedfor ordering by email should be provided for example on thehomepage of the company. In case that RPA cannot process anorderduemissinginformation,amessagewouldappearsothatanemployeechecksitand,ifnecessaryhandlesitbyhimself.

-Scanssuchasincominginvoicescanbeautomaticallytransferredto the ERP system. Furthermore, it can compile monthly allincoming and outgoing invoices and automatically forwarded totheaccountingfirm.

- Itcanbeusedtoautomaticallyapplythesamedatatodifferenttableswithouthavingtoenterthemtwice.

-Any informationdocumentcanbesentviae-mailautomatically

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to the respective customer, so that the customer only has tocomplete the required information and send it back to thecompany.

- The invoice could be automatically created from the quote, byusinganERPsystemandRPA.

-Aremindere-mailcanbeautomaticallycreatedandsentassoonas the loanperiod is exceeded. Furthermore, it couldbeused tocheckwhetherthedevicehasarrivedafterthecustomerhasbeeninformedandafterafurtherperiodhaselapsed.Ifthedevicehasnotarrivedaftertheexpiryoftheseconddeadline,theemployeecan be notified automatically by RPA, so that he can ask thecustomerhimself.

Table7.4-Technologiesforproposedimprovements

Source:Preparedbytheauthor

Furthermore, the requirements for anERP systemareproposed for the companyunder study.AnERP systemmust be able tomap the requirements andneedsof the company through functionalmodules. Accordingly, thismust support all corporate division and their data collected, presentedclearlyandconsistently.Thus,datacanbeeasilyrecreatedorchanged.Oneofthemost importantrequirements of a modern ERP system is the modular construction. This allows the company toflexibleextendorreducethefunctionalscope,asneeded.

Thefollowingmodulesshouldbethereforetakenintoconsideration:

-Merchandisemanagement(Inventorymanagement,ordertracking,mobileinventorycontrol,sales,salescontrolling,andpurchasing)

-Customerrelationshipmanagement(CRM)(Campaignmanagement,sales forecasts,managementinformationsystem,andintegrateddocumentmanagement)

- Financial and accounting (Payments transactions, dunning, liquid planning, budget planning, andDATEV-export)

-Integratedmanagementsystem(Processdocumentationandriskmanagement)

-Projectorganization(Multi-projectmanagementandgraphicalresourceplanning)

-E-business(Online-shop)

-Servicemanagement(Serviceandrepairordersande-mailintegration)

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8. CONCLUSION

8.1. ANALYSISOFTHERESULTS

This work project starts with the intention of modeling several value-adding processes of thecompany.It isahigh-techcompanyandoneoftheleadingcompaniesintheoptoelectronicsector.Some of the modeled processes were already documented in several documents, but it wasnecessarytoconductanewstudytocompletetheprocesses.Theobjectiveofthisworkproject,wasto model the value-adding processes of the company, and through its analysis, proposeimprovements. Literature researchwasaprerequisite formodelingandanalyzing theprocesses tounderstandboththeBPMapproachandthecurrenttechnologiestoapplythebestpractices.Afterthe study and analysis, it was possible to create process models. The modeling of the currentprocesseswasdonewithBPMN2.0withtheBizagiProcessModelertool.Themodelingphasewasofparticularimportance,whichwaspossiblewiththehelpofthecompany’semployees.Thiswasalsointerestingfortheemployees,asthediagramspresentedadifferentviewoftheprocessesbasedonthedescriptivepresentationofthediagrams.

Helpingtoanalyzethestrengthsandthepotentialforimprovementsalsomadeemployeesawareoftheimportanceofaclearpresentationoftheprocesses.Theprocessesbecomemoretransparentforallinvolved.Processmodelingisausefultoolforthecompany,itallowsaclearunderstandingoftheprocesses that are performed daily by the employees. In this way, it was possible to reach theproposedobjectivesandproposeseveralpossibleimprovementsintheprocesses.Themodelingandanalysisofprocessesare twoof themain importantaspects foranyprocess improvementactivity.During themodeling, it comeout that thereweremany different documentations for the variousprocessesneeded.Duethefact,thatalsosomeimportantprocessesarenotrecordedelectronicallythere is a huge amountof printed archiveddocuments. There is no inventorymanagementwhichcausesinefficienciesanddecreasedlaborproductivity.Therefore,oneofthemainsuggestionwastointroduce an ERP system, which allows a centralized and consistent data, as well as encouragingcollaborative,interdepartmentalefforts.Furthermore,itgreatlyreducestheneedtomanuallyenterinformationandallowstoproactivelymanageoperations,preventsdisruptionsanddelays,breaksupinformation logjams and helps users make decisions more quickly. In this way, it improves theefficiency and productivity, used to make realistic estimates and more effective forecasts. Inaddition, helping user navigate complex processes, preventing data re-entry, and improvingfunctionssuchasproduction,ordercompletionanddelivery.

8.2. LIMITATIONS

Themainareasofdifficultywereidentifiedas,thattherewasnographicaldocumentationavailable,it was an ongoing task to capture information for modeling processes from the employees. Inaddition,theprojectalsorequiresthetimeeffortbythevariousemployeesinvolvedineachmodeledprocess,whichwasnoteasybecausetheemployeesintheirworkarebusyandcouldnotalwaysbeavailable. In overall, it can be said that with the literature review and the critical inquires of theemployeesregardingtheprocesses,deficitsandpossibilitiesforimprovementcouldbeanalyzed.Toincreaseproductivityandefficiencyinthefuture, it is indispensableforthecompanytointegrateacentralizessystemthatwillconsiderablyimprovetheinteractionofallprocesses.

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8.3. FUTUREWORK

Finally,inallprojectstherearealwayswaystoimprovethem,asthisworkprojectshowsthatmuchcanbedonetoachievebetterresults.Thecompanyunderstudycanonlyimproveiftheydon’ttakeBPM as one-off project, but as a continuous activity that is a part of their business strategy. Ifactivities and their relationships are identified and represented, stakeholders are able tocommunicatetheseprocessesinanefficientandeffectivemannerandpotentialsforimprovingthemcanbedeveloped(Weske,2007).

For the future work, the modeling of the “TO-BE” models are necessary after the modeling andanalysisofthemostimportantvalue-addingprocessesofthecompany,whichwasdoneinthisworkproject. The “TO-BE” models must be adapted and created, considering all the suggestions forimprovement as well as the needs of the company. Thereafter, the implementation of the newdiagramsshouldbecarriedouttobeabletoshowtheperformancedifferencebyfurthermodelingandanalyzing theprocesses.Thus, theBPM lifecycle is reintroduced,with the intensionalwaysonthewaytodiscoveringnewneedsandfindinginnovations.

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ANNEX

A.1.Goodsreceipt(general)

The employee commissioned for the goods receipt basically carries out the following activities at thepackingstation:

-CheckifgoodsareforIEA(address)-Checktheouterpackagingforvisibledamage-Checkifpackageiscontainingasealofcustoms-ifyesdefinitelynotopenit-Carefullyopentheboxwiththeknifesothatthegoodsarenotdamaged-Disposeofpackagingandpackagingmaterialsproperly(wasteseparationorreuse)-Checkthepackagingforvisibledamage-checktheconditionofthegoodsforvisibledefects-Checkifdeliverynoteisavailableontheparcel,therefortheyaretwovariantsAandB

VariantA:Deliverynoteisnotincludedinthepackage:

-Takeareplacementdeliverynotefromthegrayboxonthepackagingtable-Thefollowingfieldsareaddedtothereplacementdeliverynote:Messagefor__,fromcompany,Mr/Ms,Street/Nr.,ZIP/City,Email,Telephone,Mobile,Fax,Goods:pcs,goods,N/S,subject,Goodsreceiptstampwithabbreviation

VariantB.Deliverynoteisincludedinthepackage:

-Checkifthedescriptionofthegoodsagreeswiththedeliverynote-Checkifquantityagreeswithdeliverynote-Checkiftheserialnumberofthegoodsmatchesthedataonthedeliverynote-Documentationof theserialnumberof thegoodson thedeliverynote, if there isno informationavailable-Ifserialnumberispresentonthegoods,thenenterinwhitefolder(onthepackagingtable):dateofreceipt,zipcode,descriptionofgoods,serialnumberandsender-Stampdeliverynotewithgoodsreceiptstampandsignoffwithnameshortcut- Copy thedeliverynote/replacementdeliverynote andplace it in the "Copydeliverynote" folderafterthegoodsreceiptdate.(Deliveryrailarecollectedinthefolder"deliverynotesforoneyear")-Storegoodsinbluedisplaybox-Placedeliverynoteinthebluedisplaybox-Ifaninvoiceisincluded,alsoputinthebluedisplaybox-Storegoodsattheincominggoodsstore

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2.Goodsreceipt(ITAR)

Workflowforgoodsreceipt/goodsissueofITARgoodsDemomaterialTheemployeesresponsiblefortheworkprocessbasicallycarryoutthefollowingactivities:1.IncominginspectionforparcelsofITARgoodsdemomaterialTheemployeeresponsiblefortheincominggoodsgenerallycarriesoutthefollowingactivitiesatthepackingstation(part-timeassistance/workshopmanager/administrativestaff)

-CheckifgoodsareforIEA(address)-Checktheouterpackagingforvisibledamage-Checkifpackageisprovidedwithsealofcustoms-ifyesopeninanycase-Carefullyopentheboxwiththeknifesothatthegoodsarenotdamaged-Disposeofpackagingandpackagingmaterialsproperly(wasteseparationorreuse)-checkthepackagingforvisibledamage(part-timeassistance/workshopmanager/administrativestaff)- Check if the battery compartment is facing upwards if the battery compartment is not visible,carefullyclosethepackagingagainandimmediatelyinformthelasersafetyofficer-Checkifdeliverynoteispresentontheparcel,therearetwovariantsAandBforthis-checktheconditionofthegoodsforvisibledefectscheckthatthedescriptionofthegoodsagreeswiththedeliverynote-Checkifquantityagreeswithdeliverynote-Checkwhethertheserialnumberofthegoodsmatchesthedataonthedeliverynote-Documentationof theserialnumberof thegoodson thedeliverynote, if there isno informationavailable- Ifserialnumber isavailableonthegoods,thenentertheminthefolder (onthepackagingtable):dateofreceipt,zipcode,descriptionofgoods,serialnumberandsender-Stampdeliverynotewithgoodsreceiptstampandsignoffwithnameshortcut-Copythedeliverynote/replacementdeliverynoteandplaceit inthe"Copydeliverynote"folderafter thegoodsreceiptdate. (Deliveryrailarecollected in the folder"deliverynotes foroneyear")- Take a picture of the product (equipment and accessories) - Print pictures and put them to thedocuments-Documentstotheadministrativestaff-ITARgoodsupdatedemomaterial-Placegoodsinthevaultafterdocumentation(picture)

VariantA:Deliverynoteisnotincludedinthepackage:-Takeareplacementdeliverynotefromthegrayboxonthepackagingtable-Thefollowingfieldsareaddedtothereplacementdeliverynote:Messagefor__,fromcompany,Mr/Ms,Street/Nr.,ZIP/City,Email,Telephone,Mobile,Fax,Goods:pcs,goods,N/S,subject-Ifserialnumberispresentonthegoods,thenenterinfolder"SerialnumbersWE"(onthepackagingtable):dateofreceipt,zipcode,descriptionofgoods,serialnumberandsender-Stampdeliverynotewithgoodsreceiptstampandsignoffwithnameshortcut

VariantB.Deliverynoteisincludedinthepackage:

-Checkwhetherthedescriptionofthegoodsagreeswiththedeliverynote-Checkifquantityagreeswithdeliverynote-Checkiftheserialnumberofthegoodsmatchesthedataonthedeliverynote-Documentationof theserialnumberof thegoodson thedeliverynote, if there isno informationavailable-Ifserialnumberispresentonthegoods,thenenterinfolder"SerialnumbersWE"(onthepackagingtable):dateofreceipt,zipcode,descriptionofgoods,serialnumberandsender-Stampdeliverynotewithgoodsreceiptstampandsignoffwithnameshortcut

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3.Goodsoutput(general)

A.GoodsoutputatparceldeliveryThe employee commissioned for goods output basically carries out the following inspection activities afterprovisionofthegoods:

-Checkifthegoodscorrespondtothedescriptioninthedeliverynote/invoice-Checkifthequantityofthegoodsagreeswiththedeliverynote(checkthepositionontheorder)-Checktheconditionofthegoodsforvisibledefects-Checkiftheserialnumberofthegoodsmatchesthedataonthedeliverynote-Documentationof theserialnumberof thegoodson thedeliverynote, if there isno informationavailableDocumentationofallserialnumbersinthebluefolderonthepackagingtable)

BasiccontrolongoodsissueBasically,nogoodsleavethehousewithoutasecondemployeecheckingthefollowingcriteriaagain:

-Controlistobecarriedoutby2employees-Matchedgoodswithdescriptioninthedeliverynote-Coordinatedquantitywithdeliverynote-Matchserialnumberofthegoodswithdataonthedeliverynoteifavailable

Packing- Layout thegoodswith theorderandphotograph them (printout theL3productdocumentationandattachittotheprocess)- 2 invoices (invoice original and a copy) / (exception of delivery note only one copy) stampwithgoodsoutputstampandsignedbytwoemployees(2billsor1deliverynoteremainsinthehouse)-Aninvoice/deliverynoteinredmailer(DPDshipping)andsticktothepackage-WhenshippingwithFedex,useFedexshippingbag;whenshippingwithUPS,useUPSshippingbag-Packthegoods-Foropticsandfragilegoodsaffixtape"Cautionglass"-Weighthepackage,notetheweightontheinvoice/deliverynote(below)-Placeinvoices/deliverynotesinstoragecompartmentGO

B.Goodsoutputbyemployee(bysupply)

-Displaygoodswithorder- If serial number is presenton the goods andno serial number is enteredon the invoice/deliverynote:Noteserialnumberoninvoice/deliverynote-Ifserialnumberisoninvoice/deliverynote:chopoffserialnumber-Encloseaninvoice/deliverynoteinanIEAenvelopeandtothegoods- 2 bills (invoice original and a copy) / (exception for delivery note only one copy) stampwithGOstampandsignedbytwoemployees(2billsor1deliverynoteremainsinthehouse)-Layoutthegoodswiththeorderandtakepictures-Entertheserialnumberinthelist“Goodsoutputbycustomer”- For invoices order slide to accounting (exception: weapons, ITAR products to Management/Administrativeclerk)-Deliverynotesinbox"Deliverynotes"(intheofficeManagement)-Whendeliveringthegoods,haveadeliverynote/invoiceacknowledgedbythecustomer

C.Outgoinggoodsatpickup

- If serial number is presenton the goods andno serial number is enteredon the invoice/deliverynote:Noteserialnumberoninvoice/deliverynote-Ifserialnumberisoninvoice/deliverynote:chopoffserialnumber-2invoices(invoiceoriginalandonecopy)/(Exceptionforcopiesonlyonecopy)remainsinthehouse.Signaninvoice/deliverynoteasareceiptfromcustomer-Passgoodstocustomers-Handoveraninvoice/deliverynotetothecustomer-Customeracknowledgesreceiptofthegoodsonourinvoicecopy

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-Whenpayingincash,theemployeeconfirmsreceiptofthepurchasepriceonthecustomerinvoice-EntergoodswithserialnumberinthelistGoodsissuebycustomer- For invoices order slide to accounting (exception: weapons, ITAR products toManagement/Administrativeclerk)-Deliverynotesinbox"Deliverynotes"

D.Outgoinggoodstransport(byemployeesforexampletradefair,presentation,demonstration...)

-Enterthename,address,dateandreasoninthegoodstransportlist-Enterthenumberofgoods,descriptionofgoods,serialnumber,accessoriesandvalueofgoodsinthelistgoodstransport-Layoutgoodswithlistofgoodstransportandtakephotos-Packthegoodssafely

ControlatgoodsissueGoodstransport

-Controlistobecarriedoutby2employees-Coordinatepreparedamountwiththegoodstransportationdocument-Matchedgoodswithdesignationonthegoodstransportlist-Matchserialnumberofthegoodswithdataonthedeliverynote-Matchingaccessorieswithlistgoodstransport-Agreementofgoodsvaluewithlistofgoodstransport-StampwithGOstampandsignbytwoemployees-Copythegoodsissuelist(copywithcopystamp)-Alististobecarriedalongwiththegoods-Alistappearsinbox"Deliverynotes"

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4.GoodsoutputITAR

Note:DeliverynotesarecreatedexclusivelybyworkshopmanageroradministrativestaffTheemployeecommissionedforthegoodsissue(commissioned)basicallycarriesoutthefollowinginspectionactivitiesafterprovisionofthegoods(part-timeassistance/workshopmanager/administrativestaff)

- Check whether the battery compartment is facing upwards in the case of a laser, if the batterycompartment isnotvisible,carefullymovethegoodsbackand immediately informthe lasersafetyofficer-Checkwhetherthegoodscorrespondtothedescriptioninthedeliverynote/invoice-Checkifthequantityofthegoodsagreeswiththedeliverynote(checkthepositionontheorder)-Checktheconditionofthegoodsforvisibledefects-Checkwhethertheserialnumberofthegoodsmatchesthedataonthedeliverynote-Documentationof theserialnumberof thegoodson thedeliverynote, if there isno informationavailable-Documentationofallserialnumbersinthe"Outgoinggoodsfolder"onthepackagingtableBasically,nogoodsleavethehouse,withoutthefollowingtestcriteriabeingcheckedagainbya2ndemployee(part-timeassistance/headofworkshop/administrativestaff)-Controlistobecarriedoutby2employees- Check whether the battery compartment is facing upwards in the case of a laser, if the batterycompartment isnotvisible,carefullymovethegoodsbackand immediately informthe lasersafetyofficer-Matchedgoodswithdescriptioninthedeliverynote-Coordinatedquantitywithdeliverynote-Matchserialnumberofthegoodswithdataonthedeliverynoteifavailable

Packing:-Layoutthegoodswiththeorderandtakepictures

-Printoutthephotoandplaceitonthedeliverynote- Stamp a delivery notewith goods output stamp and have it signed by the second employee - adeliverynoteremainsinthehouse-Stickadeliverynoteinredmailer(forELBshipping)andtothepackage-WhenshippingwithFedex,Fedexshippingbaguseustosticktothepackage-WhenshippingwithUPS,useUPSshippingbagandsticktothepackage-Packthegoods-Foropticsandfragilegoodsaffixasticker"Cautionglass"-Weighthepackage,notetheweightonthedeliverynote(below)-Deliverynotesgototheadministrativestaff

B.Goodsissuebyemployee(bysupply)Theemployeecommissionedforthegoodsissue(commissioned)basicallycarriesoutthefollowinginspectionactivitiesafterprovisionofthegoods(part-timeassistance/headofworkshop/administrativestaff)

- Check whether the battery compartment is facing upwards in the case of a laser, if the batterycompartment isnotvisible,carefullymovethegoodsbackand immediately informthe lasersafetyofficer-Designgoodswithorder-Chopoffserialnumberondeliverynote-EncloseadeliverynoteinIEAenvelope&tothegoods-StampdeliverynotewithWAstampandhaveitsignedbytwoMA,adeliverynoteremainsinthehouse-Layoutthegoodswithajobandtakepictures-Printoutthephotoandplaceitonthedeliverynote-EntertheserialnumberinthelistGoodsissuebycustomer-Havethedeliverynoteacknowledgedbythecustomer-Deliverynote/documentstotheadministrativestaff

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C.OutgoinggoodsatpickupTheemployeecommissionedforthegoodsissue(commissioned)basicallycarriesoutthefollowinginspectionactivitiesafterprovisionofthegoods(part-timeassistance/headofworkshop/administrativestaff)

- Check whether the battery compartment is facing upwards in the case of a laser, if the batterycompartment isnotvisible,carefullymovethegoodsbackand immediately informthe lasersafetyofficer-Chopoffserialnumberondeliverynote-Layoutthegoodswithajobandtakepictures-Printoutthephotoandplaceitonthedeliverynote-Adeliverynoteremainsinthehousetohaveadeliverynotesignedbycustomersasaconfirmationofreceipt-Transfergoodstocustomers-Handoveraninvoice/deliverynotetothecustomer-Customeracknowledgesreceiptofthegoodsonthedeliverynote-EntergoodswithserialnumberinthelistGoodsissuebycustomer-Deliverynote/documentstotheadministrativestaff

D.Outgoinggoodstransport(byemployeesforexampletradefair,presentation,demonstration...)Theemployeecommissionedforthegoodsissue(commissioned)basicallycarriesoutthefollowinginspectionactivitiesafterprovisionofthegoods(part-timeassistance/headofworkshop/administrativestaff)

-Enterthename,address,dateandreasoninthegoodstransportlist- Check whether the battery compartment is facing upwards in the case of a laser, if the batterycompartment isnotvisible,carefullymovethegoodsbackand immediately informthe lasersafetyofficer-Enterthenumberofgoods,descriptionofgoods,serialnumber,accessoriesandvalueofgoodsinthelistgoodstransport-Layoutgoodswithlistgoodstransport-Photographinggoods-Printoutthephotoandplaceitonthedeliverynote-PackthegoodssafelyListofgoodstransport/documentstotheadministrativestaff

BasiccontrolatgoodsissuegoodstransportTheemployeecommissionedforthegoodsissue(commissioned)basicallycarriesoutthefollowinginspectionactivitiesafterprovisionofthegoods(part-timeassistance/headofworkshop/administrativestaff)

-Controlistobecarriedoutby2employees- Check whether the battery compartment is facing upwards in the case of a laser, if the batterycompartment isnotvisible,carefullymovethegoodsbackand immediately informthe lasersafetyofficer-Coordinatetargetedamountwiththegoodstransportationdocument-Matchedgoodswithdesignationonthegoodstransportlist-Matchserialnumberofthegoodswithdataonthedeliverynote-Matchingaccessorieswithlistgoodstransport-Agreementofgoodsvaluewithlistofgoodstransport-StampwithWAstampandsignbytwoMAs-copythegoodsissuelist(copywithcopystamp)-Alististobecarriedalongwiththegoods-Alistgoestotheadministrativestaff

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5.NTdevicesassembling

CompletionofNightvisiondevices1.)Selectionofatubedatasheetaccordingtocustomerrequirements2.)Providetheappropriatetubebasedonthedatasheet3.)Selectionofahousingaccordingtothecustomerrequirements4.)Applyratingplates&lensprotectionstickers5.)Mountingthetube

•Screwonandcleanhousing• Remove the tube and clean both lenses carefully and thoroughly. Pay attention to the smallestblackdotsandstreaks.•Greasethetubeatthefront.•Insertthetubeintohousing.Payattentiontoexactfitting.Notegrooveguide.•Inserttheplasticclampingringbehindthetube.(Mustbeinsertedwithouteffort)•Greasethetubeontherear.•Screwoneyepieceandlens.(Attentionthreadsaresensitivetotipping)•Putonthelenscapandinsertthebatteries.•Switchonthedeviceforthefunctiontest.•Lookatawhitewallwiththedeviceswitchedonandcheckforanyinterferingparticlesinthefieldofvision.Ifdefective,disassemblethedeviceandrepeatthelastsixsteps•Documentation,onpicturetubetestsheetarerecorded:-Type/IEASer./Housingno.-Recordacircleanddrawinpointsontheimagearea-Coloredmarkingondevicebystickergreen/yellow/blueGreen=XX1441AH,XX1451VYellow=XX1441CBBlue=XW1441A,XW1451VCaptionwithluminancesensivity/resolution/signalnoise•Assemblingtheaccessories(LightKit/HeavyKit)-LightKit:casewith2lenses,cleaningcloth,line-HeavyKit:bagwith2lenses,cleaningcloth,cordheadset,adapter,strap

6.)Enterthedevicedata(type&IEASer.No.)inthelisttubeandchangethecolorcodeifnecessary(green=present/black=absent/yellow=rented)

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6.RepairL3devices

Customeracceptsquotation:-EnterdateinrepairoverviewITAR-Abandonpartsfromstock(asspecified)andplacetodevice.- If parts are not in stock order at L3 (by productmanager), specify RMAnumberonorder.Orderunder TAA.Partsmust alreadybemarket in red in theexcel folder "Repair Parts "! Inventorymaychange,soupdate.-EnterinRepairingoverviewITARunderShort-Partsifpartismissing

Ifalldevice-specific(notkitcontent/inventorysheet)partsexist,performrepairasspecified:OperatorPerformworkstagesaccordingquotationwith:

-Operationalcheckout-Purge(Markwithapenthenormbox"N2")-GroupADataSheet2(Res.AndCol.)Processdigitallyfilloutandprintout.-FinalClean(Markwithapenthenormbox(FC))-Comparevisualinspection/supplementparts,checkoff/replaced

Completesentencecontentswithmissingpartsordamagedparts. Insuitcase(Storesontheshelf"emptycontainercustomer")

-Tallyinrepairoverview/receiveddate.Ifallpartsarethere,preparethedeviceforfinalinspectionattheteststation.-Ifpartsaremissingforsentencecontent,keepredmarkingintheoverview.Consultwithcustomerifhewantstoreturnthedevice"incompletely".-Ifthecustomerwantsthedevice"incompletely",markredpartsintherepairoverview.EnterdateinrepairoverviewITARbyoperator.

Operationcheckoutinspectordeviceincludes:Inspectorneedstocheck:

-Operationalcheckoutaftermaintenancemanual- Group A Datasheet 2 verification. Comparison no. 1 to 2, if necessary follow-up check for largedeviations.Thenenterdigitallyunderdatasheet2(Inspector/Date).-Purgewhetherheldonnormbox.-FinalcleanifFConnormboxisheld.-EnterinrepairoverviewITAROperationalCheckoutInspector

CompleteInspection(withsentencecontent)includes:Inspectormustchecktestplace"incoming/outgoinggoods":Operatormustprepare:

-VisualInspectioninpaperform-witholdparts-Quotationadjustfordeviations-InventorySheet(misspelledsentenceadded?),ifok,thenregisterinrep.overviewITAR"CompleteInspectionInspector"-Dissolvenormboxandfinishset-Inspectorisonly2ndemployeeofthebriefingaccordingtoExcelbookinOperationalCheckoutthisdevicetypehas- Invoice can be created by the administrative clerk orworkshopmanager according to quotation(possiblyminusmissingpartsthatareforwarded,markedinred)!-Operationwithalldocumentationbackatadministrativeclerk."InvoicecreationgoodsoutputL3".Administrativestaff:IfinvoicecreatedinrepairsummaryenterinITAR.- Finished invoice comes from administrative staff back in tray. "Invoice goods output L3". Atadministrativestaffoffice.-Formforinvoicehasyettobemade.

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Fillinincaseofthefirsttime(alreadystoredinfolderPVS-31withseries):Ser.no.,grade.-Ateveryreturnmaterialautomation(RMA),RMAno.,Unithistory,Prod,MA,Date

Goodsoutput:

-Finishedequipmentsetstoredontheshelf-Whenthedeviceispickedup,havethecustomersigntheinvoiceorforparcelshipment,goodswillbeplacedandsignedbyworkshopL3ingoodsissue.-InrepairsummaryenterITARas"shipped".

7.Orderfulfilment

Thefollowingproceduredescribestheprocedure for theEDVtechnicalcreationofanorderafterreceiptoforderbythecustomer.

1.Reroute thecollectedcorrespondencewith thecustomer fromayellowslide (OFFER) toagreenfolder(JOB).2.Openthefollowinglists:Seller.RE..xls,sellers.invoice.table.xls,ordertemplate.doc3.Enterthecorrespondingbillingaddressintheordertemplate.4.CreateanewinvoicelineintheSKÜARlistaccordingtothefollowingcriteria.-ColumnDocumentType:Numberisasfollows:R=FIX/5050.=consecutivenumber/0110.=dateinmonthandyear/i=inland(e=EUandd=thirdcountry)-Datecolumn:Enterdateofcreation-Customercolumn:Enterthenameofthecustomer-Articlecolumn:Enterashortdescriptionofthearticle-Columnnet:Enterthenetpriceincl.Shippingcosts-ColumnVAT:Computesautomaticallyifthelinehasbeencopied-Columngross:Computesautomaticallyiflinewascopied-ColumnComments:Addifavailable-ColumnsAfter:Servetheroughoverviewofstillopendebtors5. Select the current, consecutive invoice number from the SKÜAR list and enter it in the ordertemplate6.Enterthedeliverymethodanddeliveryaddressaccordingtotheagreementswiththecustomer7. Create an invoice in the Invoice List according to the offer and calculate it with the applicableprices.8.CopytheinvoicefromtheInvoicetablelisttotheordertemplate.(Seeexampletablebelow)9.Definethetermsofpaymentinwriting(ifrequiredbyagreement).10.Thestandardinstructions(seeredmarkedsample)remainthesame,unlessotherwiseagreed.Thegoodsremainourpropertyuntilfullpayment.ForthisorderappliesforbothsidesexclusivelyGermanlawaccordingtoHGBorBGBaswellasjurisdictionBöblingenasagreed.Wethankyouforyourorderandwishyoumuchsuccesswithourproducts.11.Instructionsforreturnandinvoicedatearealsostandard(seeredmarkedpattern)•Returnsonlytoourhouseaddress,carriagepaidandinsured!•Invoicedateisdeliverydateunlessotherwisestated.12.Optionalforitem11:ForexportprobabilityofgoodssubjecttoexportlicensefollowingAddnote:•IncaseofexportfromtheEU,observetheexportlicenserequirement(BAFA).13.InvoiceSaveinlistRE.LSundertheCODandinvoicenumber14.Print the invoice3 times (4 timesbillingaddressanddeliveryaddressdifferent) andplace it inGreenFolderforcorrespondence.EditorderafterVA_orderprocessing

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8.RepairNTdevices

ThestaffresponsiblefortherepairscarryoutthefollowingactivitiesTheemployeeresponsiblefortheinitialtestmustperformthefollowingtasks:

-Checkifdisplayboxeswithrepairsontheshelf"goodsreceipt"areavailable-Theinitialinspectionmustbecarriedoutdailywithin24hoursafterreceiptofthegoods-Iftheinitialtestcannotbeprocessedbytheresponsibleemployee,hisrepresentativeisresponsibleforthis,theresponsibleemployeemustinformhisrepresentativeinbefore-Thefollowingdataisenteredmanuallyinthepaperrepairlist(folderisintheshelfrepairs):Serialno.,Customer,inputdata,modeldesignation,serialnumber,findings,previousrepairperiod-TheidenticaldataenteredmanuallyintherepairlistmustbeenteredintherepairlistinthePCIEA-NightVision-RepairList2016-Blankrepairaccompanyingcardisremovedfromtherepairsfolder-Thefollowingdataisenteredintherepairaccompanyingcard:- Serial number, customer, date of receipt,model name, serial number, findings, estimated repairtime--Lfd.Nr.onvisualboxwithredroundsticker-VisualboxisplacedintheshelfRepairsintheworkshopDessertafterthelfd.Nosorted

Repair:therearetwovariants:A.DevicecanberepairedimmediatelyB.Devicecannotberepairedimmediately(forexample,partsmustbeordered...)A.Devicecanberepairedimmediately

-Deviceisbeingrepaired-Thefollowingfieldsarefilledintherepairaccompanyingcard:-Repaircompletedon,actualrepairtime,loantube,doneon,engineer,controlof2ndMA,costs-Thefollowingdataareenteredinthepaperrepairlistbyhand(repaircompletedon,actualrepairtime,leadtube,doneon,engineer,controlof2ndMA,costs)-TheidenticaldataenteredmanuallyintherepairlistmustbeenteredintherepairlistinthePC-IEA-NightVision-RepairList2016(Repaircompletedon,actualrepairtime,loantube,doneon,engineer,controlof2ndMA,costs)-Displayboxwiththerepairaccompanyingcardisparkedinthe"interimstoragegoodsissue"-Passtheprotectivecoverwithrepairaccompanyingcardtotheadministrativestaff

B.Devicecannotberepairedimmediately-Thedeviceisstoredontheshelf"repairsinprogress"-Afterallpartsareavailableforrepair:-Deviceisbeingrepaired-Thefollowingdataareenteredinthepaperrepairlistbyhand(repaircompletedon,actualrepairtime,leadtube,doneon,engineer,controlof2ndemployee,costs)- The identicaldataenteredmanually in the repair listmustbeentered in the repair list in thePC(repaircompletedon,actualrepairtime,leadtube,completedon,engineer,controlof2ndMA,cost)-Displayboxwiththedeviceisparkedinthe"interimstoragegoodsissue"-Passtheprotectivecoverwithrepairaccompanyingcardtoadministrativestaff

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9.Loaneddevices

Expiryofloanedgoodstoendcustomers-Customerordersnightvisiondevicefortest-Customermustproveavalidpurchaseauthorizationassecurity- Sales clerk, workshopmanager, productmanager, manager, administrative staff creates deliverynote-Tubeistakenfromthetubelistbytheclerk-Goodswillbesent-Ordergoestotheadministrativestaff-Shippingnoteiscreated-Aftershippingtheloandevices,theadministrativestaffnotesonthedeliverynoteintheupperrightcorner,thatshehasenteredthecustomerinthelistofenduserloanitems"Loaned"-Thedeliverynoteisforwardedtotheresponsibleclerkformonitoring-ThemonitoringisdonebyOutlookbytheresponsibleclerk-Loanperiodmustbekept-Ifthecustomerhasnotreturnedthedevicewithinthedeadline,theclerkwillcallthecustomertoaskifeverythingisOKwiththedeviceis.-Afterreturningthedevice,theclerkcarriesthetubeoutofthetubelistandstoresthegoodsafterreceivingthegoodsagain-Whenbuyingthedeliverynotemustbebacktotheadministrativestaff, thepurchase isaddedtothelistofloanedgoodsandnotedonthedeliverynote-Oncethenotehasbeenmade,theprocessisdone

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B.1.Invoicelist

2.RepairoverviewITAR

98

3.DevicePVSfolderNo.xxx

4.OverviewspareandpartslistPVSNo.xxx

99

5.Goodsdemomateriallist(ITAR)

6.NTlist

100

7.RepairNTlist

101

8.Pricelist(general)a)

102

8.Pricelist(general)b)

103

C.1.Datasheetexample

104

2.Deliverynote(IEA)example

105

3.Replacementdeliverynote

106

4.Invoiceexample

107

5.Unithistorysheet

6.RMAgeneralinformation

a)Inventorysheet

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b)Visualinspection

c)Operationalcheckout

109

d)GroupAdatasheet

7.Repairandparts