It takes a supply chain to design, manufacture, deliver and service a product. So it is only natural the customers and suppliers are part of many, many workflows that make up New Product Introduction (NPI) and Sustaining Engineering. Based on our experience working with customers in Automotive, High-tech and other industries it is better to view of suppliers and customers as natural participants and contributors of NPI and Sustaining Engineering processes of your organization.
Depending on your company’s supply chain strategy customers and suppliers may be part of many or all of the workflows below as part of the NPI below
It is one of the reasons customers and suppliers are participants of business processes in Cogence and ZFlow. In the screens below the workflows in which suppliers and customers can participate or initiate are listed.
Workflows for Supplier Roles
Workflows for Customer Roles
Examples of Customers and Suppliers in NPI and Sustaining Engineering Workflows
Customer Approval as part of ECR Approval
Customer Notifications as part of ECO workflow
