Ricoh 2012 Annual Report Download - page 58

Ricoh Group Sustainability Report 201257
Supply Chain Management
Improvement in development efficiency
through “creation without making new parts
and without making many prototypes”
As customer needs expand and change, we are increasingly required to
achieve high-mix low-volume production and to shorten the development
cycle. The Ricoh Group is now undertaking radical reform of its
development and design processes based on the concept of “creation
without making new parts and without making many prototypes” from
five individual standpoints as follows: “testing without prototypes,”
“making fewer parts and fewer prototypes,” “if ‘something’ needs to
be produced, that ‘something’ must be highly robust,” “improvement of
manufacturers” and “creation and effective use of design assets.”
The concept of the “creation without making new parts and without
making many prototypes” basically aims to use existing parts of stable
quality as much as possible instead of making new parts and many
prototypes. Our efforts in line with this concept have already allowed us to
shorten development period, reduce cost and reduce environmental impact.
Particularly regarding “testing without prototypes,” we use 3DCAD/
CAE and other simulation tools as often as possible. It is possible to
achieve greater accuracy and more detailed verification in a virtual
environment than with actual prototypes, thus enabling us to achieve a
level of quality that satisfies customers at the design stage. Our increase
in the use of simulation tools has helped us shorten the time required for
developing new products by 30% and halved the number of prototypes
employed compared to just a few years ago.
“Platform- & Module-type Development”
With “Platform- & Module-type Development,” we limit our product
planning to already existing series models, but grow a development
concept that is not only for existing models but also takes into account
successor models. Efforts are focused on developing and designing
modules with flexible specifications.
In developing a successor model for a series model, in principle, we
use the platform and module that were developed for the predecessor
model without adding any additional changes, or replace the minimum
possible number of modules to improve the specifications. This enables
us to improve quality while increasing the efficiency of development,
and eventually allows us to allocate more development resources to
acquire highly competitive technology. In addition, this development
approach allows us to
repeatedly use collected
reusable parts that will
be equipped with new
functions for products
to be developed in the
generations to come.
The “ Σ E System” to reduce the number of
product parts to ≤10%
The “ Σ E System” was established from 1996 through 2006 with the
aim of achieving efficient selection of electronic parts, reduction in
procurement costs and reduction in inventories. This system has helped
to reduce the number of parts from as many as 35,000 to just 3,000.
Under the “
Σ E System,” the parts are registered in the certified electronic
parts database and their QCDE (quality, cost, delivery, ecology) is always
guaranteed by an organization specialized in parts certification. With this
system, we have successfully improved the efficiency of parts selection
upstream of the design
process. In addition, the
system has allowed us
to ensure design quality
and to reduce parts
procurement costs and
factory inventories.
Efforts to create without making new parts and without making many prototypes
www.ricoh.com/csr/report/pdf2008/9-12.pdf
www.ricoh.com/environment/product/resource/feature2011/index.html
In response to diversifying customer needs and in order to increase the efficiency of development and reduce cost, we are undertaking radical reform
of design processes, in which the entire supply chain related to development, design, production, and procurement is taken into consideration.
Designing
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