IBM Proprinter Case Study - Concurrent Engineering

Concurrent Engineering

Concurrent engineering utilizes multifunctional teams and parallel development to reduce the time to market for a product. Rather than developing the product linearly (one step at a time), various tasks were performed simultaneously. Marketers, designers, and manufacturers worked together to form multifunctional teams. Together, they were able to anticipate problems and bottlenecks and work them out before delays occurred in the project.

The tooling cycle is generally the most time consuming development process. IBM utilized CAD links directly to vendors to save time. Once the multifunctional team had drawn a part, machining could begin. This helped reduce the tooling cycle from 42 weeks to 15 weeks. Overall, the development cycle for the Proprinter was reduced from 4 to 2 1/2 years. Not only did the team members work well together; but also, became more knowledgeable about other disciplines. This added insight helped make team members even better at their jobs.

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Last Updated: October 26, 1998, NEEDS Staff
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