客戶案例
Speeding new product development when the clock is ticking
IWC Schaffhausen
Teamcenter Express is a watchmaker’s key to taking advantage of a booming market
Unmistakable originals
Wristwatches from IWC Schaffhausen do more than tell the time. These handcrafted and technically sophisticated luxury timepieces are a man’s best jewelry piece and can become sought-after collector’s items. The company’s most famous product lines are the “Da Vinci” family, the Pilot’s Watches, the Portuguese Watches or the Aquatimer diver’s watches as well as exquisite pocket watches. Founded in 1868, IWC Schaffhausen was purchased by Richemont S.A. in 2000. IWC Schaffhausen currently holds its largest market shares in the Far East, Italy, Switzerland and Germany. The company has over 600 employees, approximately 1100 points of sale and currently 11 boutiques worldwide.
The market for luxury watches is booming. But like other Swiss manufacturers, IWC Schaffhausen faced a number of lean years starting in the 1970s when cheap electronic watches hit the market. “Watches with mechanical movements, which are what we make, became almost obsolete because they were seen as less accurate and not state-of-the-art anymore,” explains Beda Weibel, project manager for watch movements at IWC. That changed in the late 1980s with the revival of the mechanical watch as a luxury product and a status symbol. High-end watches are now in such demand that the market growth in this niche has been holding steady at 10 to 15 percent a year.
IWC’s challenge since the market rebounded has been to increase the pace of new product development to meet the demand, while delivering only the highest quality products, as is the company’s tradition.
The vision of integrated PLM
Since 1998, IWC Schaffhausen has been using the Solid Edge® CAD program to design its watches. In 2001, the company added product data management (PDM) functionality, which was never widely adopted because it served primarily as a repository of CAD data. Realizing the value of this data, particularly how it could be leveraged across more of the watch development process, in 2005 the company launched an internal program called Kristall (English: crystal). “The vision of Kristall is to have an integrated product lifecycle management (PLM) system across the entire company, including departments such as design, product management, marketing, development, quality and the supply chain,” says Weibel.
In choosing the PLM system, the most important requirement was tight integration between the PDM/PLM software and the company’s CAD program. The Teamcenter® Express solution from Siemens PLM Software provided this important functionality. Teamcenter Express is the collaborative product data management (cPDM) component of the UGS Velocity Series™ portfolio, which includes Solid Edge. “There is deep integration between Solid Edge and Teamcenter Express,” explains Weibel. “The interface to Teamcenter Express is embedded in Solid Edge so that we no longer have CAD and data management as separate tools. They are a single entity.”
BCT Technology AG (Willstätt, Germany), a Siemens Solution Partner PLM implemented Teamcenter Express at IWC. “They are not only very knowledgeable about PLM,” says Weibel. “They are professional and respond quickly to our needs. It is very comfortable working with BCT Technology.” IWC management fully supports the Kristall program, and to ensure success, the company formed an advisory committee consisting of its own management as well as representatives from Intelliact AG (Zurich, Switzerland) management consulting firm, Siemens PLM Software and BCT Technology. This was actually one of the key issues for successful implementation of a PLM philosophy in the company.
Accurate, easy-to-access product data
IWC Schaffhausen has rolled out Teamcenter Express in the design department where it manages product data and the product structure as well as certain workflows such as the drawing release process. It has also been integrated with the company’s enterprise resource planning system, B2.
Even though the software has yet to be rolled out to the entire organization, it has begun to fulfill the vision of having everyone work from a single, shared source of product data and follow consistent work processes. “Data quality with our old system was not very good,” explains Weibel. “A huge benefit of the new approach is the guarantee that the information in our system is logically correct. Once Teamcenter Express is fully implemented, it is going to allow us to have correct information throughout the supply chain and the product lifecycle.” Another benefit is the 3D-Viewer of Teamcenter Express lets those without CAD software view and markup 3D digital models.
With Teamcenter Express, it is now much easier to find existing product data. “A complex search happens very quickly, so people really use this functionality,” Weibel adds. “This means they are less likely to recreate existing information.” Another important benefit of Teamcenter Express comes from how it allows IWC to leverage existing watch design expertise in the development of new products. For example, previously defined values are linked to items in the product structure so that many of the decisions designers must make are already made for them. This kind of knowledge database helps the company ensure quality as it adds to its design staff during this time of growth.
For IWC Schaffhausen, Teamcenter Express is providing the technology the company needs to work faster without sacrificing its heritage: quality. Weibel summarizes, “To be a modern and profitable company on the edge of development for the next five to 10 years, you need state-of-the-art tools such as Teamcenter Express.”
相關連結:
挑戰:
- Speed new product development to capitalize on a booming market
- Continue the tradition of providing only the highest quality products
成功關鍵:
- Integrated CAD and PDM
- A single source of product data
- Workflow management
- Clear product structure
- Full support of IWC management
- Project team including all decision makers
成果:
- Ease of finding information increases re-use
- Correct information throughout the supply chain and the product lifecycle
- Ability to leverage existing design expertise
- Faster product development without sacrificing quality
行業:
- 消費產品和零售業 | 服裝、鞋類和飾品
- 消費產品和零售業 | 零售業
客戶主要業務:
IWC Schaffhausen has been producing highly technical men’s watches with intelligent designs in a timelessly classical style since 1868.
商業方案:
- 標準化與重複使用
- 新產品開發
- 生產效率
- 價值鏈同步化
解決方案/服務:
- Solid Edge
- Teamcenter Express
- Velocity Series
客戶所在地:
Schaffhausen
Switzerland
"Once Teamcenter Express is fully implemented, it is going to allow us to have correct information throughout the supply chain and the product lifecycle. "
Weibel Beda
Project Manager
International Watch Co., Ltd.
"To be a modern and profitable company on the edge of development for the next five to 10 years, you need state-of-the-art tools such as Teamcenter Express."
Weibel Beda
Project Manager
International Watch Co., Ltd.