In Asia, cable assembly is booming, especially in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, and Vietnam. By far the biggest customer for harnesses is the automotive industry. But what about digitalization in these countries? It can be found only in the first tier and in companies with more than 20 locations worldwide. Below this level, everything is still done manually, even though these suppliers urgently need such structures to address the complexity and ensure competitiveness.

There are several reasons for this. To keep costs low, many cable assemblers work with outdated or inexpensive machines or machines from different suppliers that are not compatible with each other. Connectivity with manufacturing execution systems (MES) often presents a huge challenge.

Reducing labor costs is increasingly important 

There are also many incentives for smaller providers to push ahead with digitalization. In addition to traceability and greater efficiency, with the associated cost benefits, the main incentive is to reduce labor costs. In these countries, too, human capital is shrinking, and personnel costs are rising as a result. In addition, digitalization improves quality, since it minimizes the operator's influence on the process.

OEMs call for easier traceability

The pressure from OEMs on cable assemblers is already great and is growing all the time. If an error is made in the field, tracing it back takes a great deal of time. Searching through manual records (papers or logbooks) is time-consuming and very frustrating for all involved. Matters are made even worse if there are incorrect entries or data and papers are missing. In such cases, tracing is practically impossible.

The automatic acquisition of production data is becoming a must

OEMs are also increasingly insisting on automatic recording of production data. If operators first record the data on paper and their supervisors then feed it into the computer later, the probability of error rises to 100%. The same applies to the automatic collection of crimp quality data. In manual operation, the operator randomly checks a sample from the batch and notes the data on paper.

Each digitalization step also reduces the number of workers and thus the proportion of manual input by operators, which drastically reduces the frequency of errors.

Komax solutions precisely meet the needs of these markets

Precisely due to the pressure from OEMs and economic factors, demand for digitalization solutions will rise sharply in the coming years, and we are already well prepared for this.

Komax TopConvert with WPCS/MIKO interfaces converts the Excel data into the desired machine language and eliminates the manual transfer of orders to the cutting and crimping machines.

Our Komax Cloud MES communicates with enterprise resource planning (ERP) and can handle all production tasks digitally. It automatically plans, manages, monitors, and analyzes all resources and production processes.

For companies that do not have their own MES, Komax Connect can be especially beneficial. This cloud system processes the production data from the machines in real time and displays it with clear graphics. This means that users always know the productivity status of their machines.

In short, digitalization requires investment, but the benefits become apparent after a short time: it results in measurably higher productivity and greater competitiveness.

Komax points the way to digitalization

It is best if the path to digitalization in wire harnessing starts with a Komax representative. This allows cable assemblers to benefit from our vast experience in developing customized solutions. Together, we will work to find the optimal way to start. Our customers will find Komax to be a partner who provides comprehensive solutions to make their business even more successful. 

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The author looks forward to answering all your questions and suggestions.

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