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Highly Regulated Supplier Standardizes Global Process with iGrafx 

A specialist in the sale of automotive components, engineering services, design, testing, research, and development sought to restructure business processes.

Since its ISO 9001 certification in 1998, DENSO Automotive GmbH from Eching has been one of the main players in the German automotive supply industry. A subsidiary of DENSO Corp. Japan, the organization experienced success with the rearrangement of the process landscape using iGrafx technologies.  

With over 160,000 employees and nearly $45 billion in yearly revenue, DENSO is a specialist in the sale of automotive components, engineering services, design, testing, research, and development associated with: 

  • Heating 
  • Ventilation 
  • Air Conditioning
  • Information and Driver Assistance Solutions 
  • Entertainment Electronics 
  • Navigation 
  • Diesel Injection Technologies 

DENSO follows the lead of the major automotive companies and maintains close ties with manufacturers such as Toyota, Audi, BMW, Daimler, Fiat, Ford, and Volkswagen. With a commitment to quality, manufacturer requirements are necessarily rigorous. As a result, suppliers and their business processes must be continuously adapted to ensure prompt product development, production, and a problem-free supply chain. 

 ISO 9001 Certification: Putting Process Management to the Test 

These same types of standards apply to quality management. In this case it was the ISO 9001 standard in conjunction with TS 16949 which guided the automotive industry and drove DENSO to make changes to its IT. 

“When we applied for ISO 9001 certification, and then expanded it with the TS 16949 standard a few years later, the topic of process modeling was mentioned very early,” said Albert Fendl, Senior Manager of Business Process Management, part of DENSO Quality Management.  

The ISO 9001 and TS 16949 standards are requirements which contribute to system and process quality, increase customer satisfaction, and prevent errors and risks in the development and production process and supply chain. iGrafx advisors worked closely with DENSO on projects to improve quality management, with the goal to reduce product downtime while accelerating project execution. 

“The very active support and individual advice sealed the deal. These allow the software to be used even more productively,” said Fendl. 

Transforming Process into Advantage 

DENSO now uses process models created in iGrafx to run in other systems under controlled conditions. This makes use of the iGrafx compatibility with workflow automation software. Fendl describes a typical example of this type of business process automation. 

During the 36 months of development of a new air conditioning compressor, managers were able to process individual milestones in a controlled manner and to closely document individual tests, objectives, and reports and modify them if necessary. 

“We can see in real time whether processes are complete and deadlines are met, escalation levels, and superiors are up to date,” said Fendl. “iGrafx is a very stable tool and has operated without interruption from the start. We have already achieved our return on investment in the second year.” 

To learn more about DENSO, access the full DENSO Case Study today. 

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