Precision machining and industrial components
Implementation plan

Precision machining subcontractor · 1 site, 42 CNC machines · 140 employeesThis War Map shows how we turn an operational review into an implementation plan. The dates show a possible sequence; the scope and schedule of a real engagement are agreed with you.

Implementation plan

What to fix first, how long it takes, and who signs what. 8 initiatives across 4 departments. €530-760K illustrative annual gross value.

Priorities at a glance

  • 8 initiatives across 4 departments
  • €530K to €760K in illustrative annual gross value
  • Sample target: supplier price requests and NC tracker live in month 1
  • Target: new-part quotes sent within 3 days, priced by the methods team from a prepared file

Automation Opportunity Map

The goal is not to add AI on top of chaos. The goal is to turn repeated fires into infrastructure: context assembled automatically, decisions routed to the right level, exceptions escalated only when human judgment is actually needed. The figures below show direct value by initiative. Broader operational value is modeled separately.

Matching and updates use deterministic rules. An agent can classify a free-text request, gather records or draft a response. Software-enforced access, validation, duplicate handling and named human approvals govern consequential actions.

The two estimates (direct value by initiative; projected annual value by operational effect) are alternative, overlapping views. Do not add them. Ranges are teaching assumptions without source measurements: volumes, time, loaded cost and error cost require validation. Investment, operation and adoption ramp remain to be deducted.

Low complexity
Med complexity
High complexity
Direct initiative value: €510-750K/yr
Sales and estimating2 items
€160-230K
Quote preparation: drawing read, similar parts and actual hours found
€120-170KMed
Current state
Patrick estimates every new part. Each quote waits in his queue and starts with a search for similar parts from memory. 6.2 days average turnaround.
Target state
When an RFQ arrives, the drawing and model are read for material, size, tolerances and features. Similar past parts are found with their quoted and actual hours and their NC history. Patrick starts from a prepared file and sets the times; François approves prices above €20K.
€120-170K/yrWeeks 3-9Med
Supplier price requests: material and treatment prices requested and compared
€40-60KLow
Current state
Martine emails three suppliers per quote line and waits 2 to 3 days. Last month's prices are kept in a personal file.
Target state
Requests go out as soon as the RFQ is logged, recent prices are offered first when still valid, and replies are compared in one table. Martine chooses the supplier.
€40-60K/yrWeeks 2-4Low
Production planning2 items
€160-230K
Capacity view: schedule built from Silog with real machine load
€90-130KHigh
Current state
Silog load dates are ignored. Guillaume rebuilds an Excel board each morning after a walk round the shop.
Target state
Actual times and machine stops reach Silog during the shift. Each morning a proposed schedule is built from real load and material status; Guillaume adjusts it, and the result is the one schedule everyone reads. A second planner must run a full week from it before handover.
€90-130K/yrWeeks 4-11High
Delivery-date promise: date proposed from load and material status
€70-100KMed
Current state
Dates go to customers before material and machine time are confirmed. About 1 order in 4 is re-promised.
Target state
At order entry, a date is proposed from capacity, routing and material lead time. Delphine confirms or negotiates. Changes are flagged as soon as material slips, before the customer chases.
€70-100K/yrWeeks 10-13MedDepends on: Capacity view: schedule built from Silog with real machine load
Quality3 items
€150-230K
FAI pack: CMM results mapped to the FAI form
€60-90KMed
Current state
About 10 FAIs a month, 4.5 hours of transcription each. Ballooning is redone by hand for each revision.
Target state
Characteristics are extracted from the drawing and ballooned, CMM results are mapped to each one, and certificates are attached. Out-of-tolerance values are highlighted. Élodie reviews and signs every FAI.
€60-90K/yrWeeks 4-8Med
NC and 8D tracker: NCs logged at the machine, costs recorded
€40-60KLow
Current state
NCs reach the Excel log days later. Costs are recorded for fewer than 1 in 5, and 3 in 5 customer 8Ds are late.
Target state
Operators log an NC with photos at the machine. Scrap and rework time are taken from Silog, and 8D deadlines are tracked. Dispositions stay with quality and methods; deviations still go to the customer for approval.
€40-60K/yrWeeks 2-5Low
Revision check: current drawing revision confirmed at job start
€50-80KMed
Current state
Customer revisions arrive by email and reach the shop as a swapped paper drawing. Two jobs this year started on an old revision.
Target state
Each incoming revision is logged against the part number and compared with the program and the paper drawing in use. At job start, the setter sees whether all three match. A mismatch blocks the start until methods confirms.
€50-80K/yrWeeks 5-8Med
Customer service1 item
€40-60K
OEM portal updates: confirmations and date changes kept in step
€40-60KLow
Current state
Delphine and her team update four customer portals by hand, about 9 hours a week, often after the customer has chased.
Target state
Confirmed dates and changes from Silog are prepared as portal updates for each customer. Delphine approves before anything is sent.
€40-60K/yrWeeks 12-14LowDepends on: Delivery-date promise: date proposed from load and material status

Implementation Timeline

Weeks are relative to implementation start; months represent four four-week blocks. Dependent work can be prepared in parallel with test fixtures, but production release waits for sync acceptance. This is a scenario schedule.

  1. Supplier Price Requests

    Weeks 2 to 4

  2. NC and 8D Tracker

    Weeks 2 to 5

  3. Quote Preparation

    Weeks 3 to 9

  4. FAI Pack

    Weeks 4 to 8

  5. Capacity View

    Weeks 4 to 11

  6. Revision Check

    Weeks 5 to 8

  7. Delivery-date Promise

    Weeks 10 to 13

  8. OEM Portal Updates

    Weeks 12 to 14

  9. Quote-to-actual Margin Feedback

    Weeks 14 to 16

Month 1: Supplier price requests and the NC tracker go live. Quote preparation starts on aerospace RFQs, with Patrick checking every prepared file.

Month 2: Quote preparation covers all new-part RFQs. FAI pack and revision check in production, with quality signing every report. Actual times start flowing into Silog during the shift.

Month 3: The capacity view replaces the morning Excel rebuild. Target: compare quote turnaround and RFQ response rate with the June baseline.

Month 4: Delivery-date promise and portal updates in use. A second planner runs a full week. Target: confirm released capacity and on-time delivery against the scorecards without double counting.

Projected Annual Value

Margin on additional won work (scenario: half of late or declined RFQs answered on time)€180-260K
Less scrap and rework, and fewer parts quoted below cost€110-160K
Engineering and admin capacity released (64.9 h/week register)€100-140K
On-time delivery: fewer expedites, penalties and scorecard risk€90-130K
Estimating knowledge captured before a key retirement€50-70K
€530-760K
projected annual value

Direct initiative value is the sum of the eight initiatives; the projected figure adds effects that cross them, such as more quotes answered on time. Extra won work is counted at margin, not revenue, and assumes machine capacity is available. Released hours go back to estimating and engineering, with no headcount reduction assumed.

Phase 1
War Map
Sample deliverable
Phase 2-3
Implementation
12-16 weeks
Phase 3+
Ongoing
Usage-based

How much time could this free up?

Choose one non-overlapping task category and the people who actually perform it. These inputs are scenario assumptions; replace them with a measured baseline.

180
52,000
40
31
40

2,232

Task hours per week

€2,901,600

Annual cost allocated to this work

892.8

Potentially released hours per week

€1,160,640

Annual gross value of that capacity

Hours = people × weekly hours × task share. Allocated cost = people × annual loaded cost × task share. Potential capacity multiplies each by the releasable share.

This is not net ROI or a payroll saving. Necessary manual work remains. Adoption and quality must be measured; actual uptake may be lower. Implementation investment, model and hosting costs, maintenance and supervision are excluded. Cash savings require a separate spending decision; otherwise the benefit is capacity available for other work.

How We Work

1
War Map Review
We walk through this deliverable together. You challenge the numbers, confirm the priorities, and tell us what we missed. This is your map. We built it, but you own it.
2
Remediation
Before we build anything, we fix what needs fixing. Data quality, missing SOPs, system access. Your team gets briefed on the plan. No surprises.
3
Build + Deploy
We work directly with your operations team. Systems go live one at a time, in priority order. Release gates cover representative cases, permissions, failures and escalation; consequential actions retain the agreed human authorization. This illustrative schedule targets first production results in month 1.
4
Transfer
We train your team. We document everything. We make sure the people who run your operations can run these systems without us. The capability is yours permanently.
5
Exit
Handover is accepted when your team can operate and recover the agreed systems. Any continuing support is separately scoped, with a named owner and a documented exit.

War Map

A real engagement is scoped in the Strategy Session and may begin with a War Map or a bounded Feasibility Sprint.

Request a Strategy Session

Direct accountability. Scope agreed before work begins.