1. Customer Overview Card

Elebee Semiconductor Equipment (China) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Ali Bei") was established in May 2002. It is a specialized company focusing on the design and processing of precision mechanical parts for semiconductor equipment and non-standard parts processing, providing precision components and inspection fixtures for semiconductor PECVD, ETCH, photoresist stripping machines, coating and developing machines, as well as solar equipment, medical equipment, optoelectronic communication equipment, etc. The company has rich experience in the processing of high-precision titanium alloy parts, shaft parts, and semiconductor equipment parts. The company is equipped with advanced 5-axis and 4-axis processing machines, a 5-meter gantry 5-sided processing machine, large vertical lathes and other precision equipment, as well as friction welding equipment. They are proficient in precision parts processing of CNC machining centers and can quickly respond to multiple small quantity requirements from customers, producing high-quality products at a low cost. The company’s self-developed core component for semiconductors - heating plate technology, is at an industry-leading level in China and even Asia, and has been recognized and ordered by leading companies such as Zhongwei Semiconductor.

• Personnel scale: 300 people

• Production value: 500 million

• Industry position: The self-developed core component of semiconductors - heating plate, has been recognized and ordered by leading enterprises such as Zhongwei Semiconductor. This technology is industry-leading in China and Asia.

• Main products: Semiconductor components (heating plates)

• Application industry: Semiconductor equipment

• Main markets: Domestic, Asia region

• Downstream customers: Zhongwei, Chip Source Micro, Tuojing Jian Ke, etc.

• Production process: CNC milling machines, CNC lathes, cleaning, inspection

2. Project Background Introduction

Elebee is engaged in the design and processing of precision mechanical parts and non-standard parts, providing core components and inspection fixtures for various industries including semiconductors, solar energy, medical, and optoelectronic communication, with its semiconductor core heating plate technology leading in Asia. With business expansion, management challenges have gradually emerged. On the production side, the lack of accurate scheduling has led to unclear production capacity, low manual scheduling efficiency, delayed delivery, and continuous customer complaints regarding quality control; in the warehousing phase, the need for barcode scanning is urgent, while traditional manual management has resulted in inaccurate inventory and difficulties in stocktaking. The downstream market competition is fiercely intensified, and customers have strict requirements for product quality and timely delivery. The precision requirements for semiconductor equipment reach the micron level, and any slight deficiency in the precision and stability of Elebee products can lead to market elimination. Meanwhile, the rapid iteration of industry technology and fast product updates may lead to serious losses if delivery is delayed, resulting in halted production lines for clients. Hence, the enterprise urgently needs digital transformation to optimize internal management, improve product quality and delivery capabilities, align with market demands, solidify industry position, and enhance competitiveness.

Specific core objectives include:

3. Current Situation Analysis

3.1 Workshop Business Process

Workshop Business Process Diagram

4. Project Blueprint

Elebee Project Process

5. Solution Details

5.1 Supply Chain Management

5.1.1 Procurement Management

Solution Introduction:

Purchase orders are transmitted from ERP to MES, the MES interface returns the shared link back to ERP, the procurement department prints the purchase contract for the supplier, who clicks the MES link to print the purchase order and material labels. The warehouse receives the materials, PDA scans the QR code of the purchase order printed by the supplier, receives and inspects the materials, and the procurement department scans the storage location code for storage.

Before (BEFORE)

• Pain Point 1: There is a lack of an integrated collaborative platform between Elebee’s procurement, warehouse, and suppliers, leading to isolated and scattered information. This results in delays in material supply and accuracy, interfering with production plans and significantly increasing risks of material mismatch and shortages, resulting in production stagnation and increased costs;

• Pain Point 2: The warehouse receives physical goods and logs them, handing over the log to a clerk for manual entry, which is slow and inaccurate.

After (AFTER)

• Value 1: Through the MES procurement order management platform, realize collaboration on procurement information between Ali Bei and suppliers. The MES platform shares the purchase order link with the suppliers, who print their own purchase orders and material labels to accompany the delivery. Ali Bei’s receiving personnel use mobile devices to scan for receiving, inspection, storage, and other related actions.

• Value 2: By implementing material label code management, realize QR code-based entry and exit for raw materials, improving the efficiency and accuracy of warehouse management.

• Value 3: Initiate location management for a refined approach in warehouse management. Improve picking efficiency through material location management.

Purchase Order

Delivery _ Purchase Order Sharing

Transformation Outcomes: Suppliers print MES purchase orders and material labels; Ali Bei’s warehouse performs real-time scanning of received materials, greatly improving efficiency and accuracy.

5.2 Planning Management

1. Workshop Planning Management

Solution Introduction: Senior workshop planning is based on limited capacity, considering factors like equipment capacity, processing time, and interval time, and automatically calculating the start and completion times of work orders.

Before (BEFORE)

• Pain Point 1: The scheduling dictated by past experiences leads to imbalances in capacity: lacking system support, with missing data integration and analysis, relying solely on human experience for scheduling, makes it difficult to align with production and equipment patterns, resulting in large errors and strong subjectivity, thus failing to utilize capacity effectively.

• Pain Point 2: Ali Bei’s business of processing equipment parts is complicated, with diverse products and intricate processes; in terms of data management, there are no effective statistical tools and methods, and working hours are only roughly estimated based on clock-in and clock-out, failing to accurately distinguish times for equipment prepare, processing, debugging, and material transfer, making precise production scheduling difficult.

• Pain Point 3: Urgent and ordinary orders cannot be differentiated, making it difficult to guarantee the priority of urgent orders; expedited orders disrupt the production order and lead to delays; manually estimated tasks often rely on experience and are prone to errors, resulting in imbalanced production arrangements and uncontrollable delivery times.

After (AFTER)

• Value 1: Intelligent scheduling promotes efficient utilization of capacity: based on a limited equipment capacity model, order deadlines and their constraints, achieve automatic work order scheduling, enhance the feasibility of workshop planning, and maximize capacity utilization;

• Value 2: Visual scheduling assists in precise deadline judgments: planners can accurately assess whether orders can be delivered on time through the system; the production scheduling Gantt chart provides an intuitive display.

• Value 3: Flexible expedited mechanisms ensure processing of urgent orders: The system supports expedited production orders; when deadlines change, modify production order deadlines, and for urgent orders, utilize the expedited button for quick prioritization, simplifying the distinction of production urgency.

Workshop Planning Schedule

Transformation Outcomes: Planning accuracy increased to 90%, while equipment utilization increased to 80%

5.3 Production Management

5.3.1 Production Progress Management

Solution Introduction: Mainly use the professional version of production management to ensure transparency at the production site through information-based MES software bridging various operational environments. Through functions such as production orders, flow cards, timing, reporting, and quality inspections, record the flow of processes for products, ensuring the execution of established process paths, collecting and recording data throughout production, and making workshop production more transparent and efficient.

Before (BEFORE)

• Pain Point 1: Flow data is outdated: processes like material requisition, outsourcing preparations, reporting, and warehousing rely on manual records, with data updates being untimely and inaccurate, adversely affecting the formulation and execution of production plans and reducing operational efficiency and effectiveness of the enterprise.

• Pain Point 2: Inefficient labor hour statistics: Manual entries and summaries of labor hours are cumbersome and error-prone, resulting in poor data accuracy, providing insufficient basis for optimizing production plans, resource distribution, and cost accounting, hindering efficient enterprise operation.

• Pain Point 3: Unclear production progress: Depending on paper flow documents and manual records, management finds it hard to timely understand work order completion status, leading to delays in decision-making and potential miscoordination in production and material adjustments, affecting delivery efficiency and cost control.

After (AFTER)

• Value 1: Efficient data flow: Scanning at every stage of production enables real-time accurate data transfer; employees scan work order codes via handheld PDAs to locate production tasks, scan equipment codes to link devices, and scan employee codes to start timing. The MES system automatically records and summarizes production progress related to work orders, associating production orders with corresponding equipment, operators, and other details, standardizing the management of process flows to prevent process issues from occurring;

• Value 2: Accurate analysis of working hours: The system automatically calculates labor hours performance tables, analyzing and visualizing from multiple dimensions including personnel, teams, products, and equipment, assisting enterprises in optimizing production decisions, enhancing production efficiency and product quality, and strengthening market competitiveness.

• Value 3: Accurate production control: Employees perform operations by scanning QR codes with PDAs; the MES system automatically records production progress and associated information, ensuring standardization of process flows, enhancing precision and timeliness in production management. Scanning operations are utilized throughout material requisition, outsourcing preparations, reporting, and production warehousing, ensuring timely and accurate data.

Production Work Order (Work Order QR Code)

Timing Operation

Transformation Outcomes: Accuracy rates for material requisition, reporting, and labor hour data reach 99%; the labor hour performance table automatically generates savings of 8 hours weekly.

5.3.2 Flow Reception Management

Solution Introduction: Mainly addresses the accuracy and timeliness of material handovers between upstream and downstream processes during production. Upon reporting, the system automatically generates flow receiving documents, with downstream processes scanning to receive, creating records for later traceability of quantities, personnel involved, and timing.

Before (BEFORE)

• Pain Point 1: Flow handover is unclear: Employees in upstream and downstream processes lack precise regulations and effective recording methods for material handovers.

• Pain Point 2: Lack of measures to prevent raw material loss: Given the expensive nature and long procurement cycle of raw materials, previous management models had no effective means of mitigating material loss risk during flow. Relying on manual supervision is insufficient for comprehensive monitoring, leading to material loss, which not only disrupts production but also increases costs and prolongs delivery periods, putting immense financial pressure on the enterprise and weakening market competitiveness.

• Pain Point 3: Incomplete traceability systems: Missing or scattered records for the receiver and the time of receiving the work-in-progress make it challenging to clarify accountability and accurately locate processes during quality issues, resulting in delayed resolutions and increased costs.

After (AFTER)

• Value 1: After reporting production, the MES system automatically generates receiving documents; downstream personnel scan to receive, logging quantities, receivers, and receiving times;

• Value 2: The system calculates the time differences between receiving and flow, assessing worker receiving efficiency to enhance timeliness in downstream material receptions;

• Value 3: Simplifying operations within the system leads to clear and transparent handover records, reducing disputes between upstream and downstream processes, and allowing for easy and precise traceability whenever needed.

Flow Reception Records

Flow Reception Operations

Transformation Outcomes: Prolonged material turn-around time is controlled within 2 hours, increasing production efficiency by 50%.

5.3.3 Outsourcing Management

Solution Introduction: Mainly through the association of production management and outsourcing processes, enabling outsourcing operations as part of the manufacturing workflow, automatically generating outsourcing demands, linking them to procurement departments for issuing purchase orders, managing material issuance and reception, thereby resolving the overall management issues for customers in outsourcing operations.

Before (BEFORE)

• Pain Point 1: Unable to control outsourcing quality: Frequently encountering non-compliant materials from outsourcing without established quality handling pathways;

• Pain Point 2: Outsourcing operations managed offline make month-end account reconciliation difficult;

• Pain Point 3: Outsourcing operations are disconnected from production tasks, affecting production schedules;

• Pain Point 4: The quantity dispatched and received for outsourcing are not effectively tracked or controlled;

• Pain Point 5: Difficulties in controlling outsourcing suppliers often lead to errors in deliveries.

After (AFTER)

• Value 1: Outsourcing demands are controlled through the system, linked to production plans. Based on process routes and production schedules, the system automatically calculates and generates outsourcing demands, resolving the previous disconnect between outsourcing and production activities;

• Value 2: The MES system supports the entire process of delivery, receiving, and inspection for outsourcing, allowing for timely tracking of outsourcing progress;

• Value 3: Outsourcing data is pushed to ERP through interfaces, automatically generating figures for dispatch and reception quantities and costs for easier reconciliation;

• Value 4: By managing outsourcing suppliers, the system maintains strong bindings regarding materials, processes, and suppliers, allowing dispatch only from qualified supplier databases.

Outsourcing List

Outsourcing Purchase Order List

Transformation Outcomes: The outsourcing qualification rate has increased by 30%, reducing reconciliation time with suppliers by 48 hours.

5.3.4 Labor Hour Management

Solution Introduction: Through recording employees’ working time at clock-ins and clock-outs, the system computes the processing time for work order processes, calculating output labor hours and KPI assessment indicators based on input hours and completion quantities.

Before (BEFORE)

• Pain Point 1: Manually tracking employees’ working hours each month for synthesis based on processing output;

• Pain Point 2: Inability to calculate precisely and excessive time consumption make assessments difficult;

• Pain Point 3: The inability to link employees’ work hours with work order products creates a disconnect, hampering calculations of processing durations and product costs.

After (AFTER)

• Value 1: Scanning work order codes, employee codes, and equipment codes at clock-ins accurately records employee hours, work order hours, and equipment hours;

• Value 2: The system automatically calculates output hours based on reporting production data in defined heuristics, generating labor hour performance tables reported across four dimensions: teams, personnel, equipment, and products;

• Value 3: Binding work hours to work orders sends data to the ERP system, making labor cost sharing for accounts more precise for financial calculations.

Labor Hour Summary Table

Transformation Outcomes: The timeliness of labor hour statistics has improved by 90%, saving 48 hours each month, while the accuracy of financial costing has increased by 30%

5.4 Quality Management

5.4.1 Incoming Material Inspection Management

Solution introduction: After suppliers deliver materials, the system supports one-click reporting for warehouse materials receipt and generates inspection documents automatically based on the incoming batch and sampling plan; after completing the inspection, inspectors can initiate relevant non-conformance handling processes based on actual inspection outcomes.

Before (BEFORE)

• Pain Point 1: Incoming inspection relies on manual sampling records, which are inefficient and prone to missing inspections and errors;

• Pain Point 2: Planners print purchase arrival slips for incoming inspectors, who perform inspections offline and fill out paper documents, subsequently passing these to clerks to enter into the U8 system, leading to redundant manual costs and integration difficulties with subsequent shipping reports;

• Pain Point 3: If incoming materials have issues, it becomes challenging to quickly trace the root of the problems, which may lead to production delays and increased costs.

After (AFTER)

• Value 1: Unified basic data management for inspections supports flexible definitions of inspection plans and standards based on materials;

• Value 2: Utilizing standardized inspection processes and methods through the system ensures consistency, accuracy, and traceability throughout the inspection process;

• Value 3: The unified quality and production process management platform through the MES system enhances product traceability and improves traceability efficiency.

Incoming Inspection Document

Transformation Outcomes:

1. The incoming inspection process is transparently managed, with execution efficiency improving by over 50%;

2. A standardized handling and tracing process for non-conforming products has been established, reducing non-conformance review handling time by 80%.

5.4.2 Process Inspection Management

Solution Introduction: This mainly addresses inspection operations throughout the production process, including self-inspections, specialized inspections, first and last-piece inspections, and production巡检, providing comprehensive solutions to production quality issues and forming inspection records for full traceability of production quality problems.

Before (BEFORE)

• Pain Point 1: Difficulty in obtaining real-time inspection information, waiting for notifications from production workers, which leads to occurrences of missed inspections.

• Pain Point 2: Using paper documents to record inspection results leads to low execution efficiency, making it difficult to record all required data for 100% inspections of materials.

• Pain Point 3: Non-conforming materials can only be identified offline, making it difficult to control the usage of materials in production.

• Pain Point 4: When needing to isolate materials, pinpointing their locations becomes challenging, leading to ineffective isolation.

After (AFTER)

• Value 1: The system immediately notifies personnel when inspection tasks are generated, allowing for timely inspections.

• Value 2: Online recording of inspection results automatically stores inspection data to provide a foundation for quality improvement analysis;

• Value 3: When entering inspection data and outcomes into the MES system, bind equipment serial numbers for easier traceability of measuring instruments;

• Value 4: Online management of non-conforming materials allows for locking them; once locked, no reporting operations can be performed through the system, preventing the outflow of non-conforming products. Recording the handling process of non-conforming products simplifies quality tracing;

• Value 5: During lockdowns, materials can be located through the system, promptly freezing reports for those materials, allowing quick isolation.

Production Inspection List

Inspection Records

Transformation Outcomes: On-time delivery rates have improved by 10%, and through online management of non-conforming products, marking, isolating, and addressing these issues can now occur more quickly, reducing production delays and enhancing on-time delivery rates.

5.4.3 Shipping Report Management

Solution Introduction: After sales dispatch, the system automatically generates shipping reports, which include processing drawings, records of production process inspections, and incoming material inspection reports.

Before (BEFORE)

• Pain Point 1: Manual scanning of paper quality control documents results in a heavy workload.

• Pain Point 2: Paper quality control documents are prone to loss, leading to incomplete shipping reports.

After (AFTER)

• Value 1: The system automatically generates consolidated quality inspection records and exports them as PDF files, saving time while enhancing accuracy;

• Value 2: The system retains data, eliminating loss, and facilitating later quality traceability, standardizing quality management systems.

Inbound and Outbound Historical Details

Transformation Outcomes: A set of automated processes for generating shipping reports has been established, improving accuracy and timeliness.

5.5 Equipment Management

5.5.1 Equipment Record Management

Solution introduction: A systemized maintenance approach retains electronic ledgers for equipment, with real-time recording and storage of processing information, greatly enhancing monitoring of production status and increasing equipment utilization.

Before (BEFORE)

• Pain Point 1: Disorganized basic information management for equipment and untimely updates of asset status, impacting resource allocation in production scheduling and the accuracy of equipment management information.

• Pain Point 2: Cluttered data from equipment collection, production, and anomalies makes unified management difficult, complicating diagnostics and resolution of malfunctions.

• Pain Point 3: A lack of immediate and accurate operational data often results in delayed operational decisions, adversely affecting responses to market and production changes.

After (AFTER)

• Value 1: Systematically managing equipment information ensures real-time updates of asset information, improving asset utilization and transparency of management.

• Value 2: All equipment data is uniformly recorded and managed, ensuring data integrity and traceability for easier fault diagnosis and performance analysis.

• Value 3: Providing comprehensive and real-time data on equipment status and performance makes operational decisions more flexible and timely, allowing for swift adaptation to market demands and production adjustments.

Equipment Record Table

Equipment Record Table Details

5.5.2 Preventive Maintenance Management

Solution Introduction: By managing and controlling equipment maintenance operations, prolonging equipment lifespan, and reducing maintenance costs, ultimately improving production efficiency and product quality. This solution effectively prevents potential problems through regular checks and maintenance functions, reducing downtime and optimizing asset management, benefiting enterprises by facilitating more robust and cost-effective production operations.

Before (BEFORE)

• Pain Point 1: Lacking comprehensive equipment data, incomplete and delayed record updates hamper tracing efforts, leading to increased maintenance cycles and costs, with insufficient historical data for effective tracing when quality issues arise.

• Pain Point 2: Formulation of maintenance plans mostly relies on experience, lacking data support and scientific analysis. Inspection methods are outdated, typically relying on manual checks after-the-fact, resulting in delayed problem identification.

• Pain Point 3: Equipment checks depend on manual experience and paper records, lacking clear standards and orderly processes.

After (AFTER)

• Value 1: The MES system automates equipment checks with automatic task generation and regular pushes for time-bound checks that prevent missed inspections, mitigating quality issues stemming from delayed detections;

• Value 2: Customizable maintenance cycles per equipment type allow the MES system to automatically generate maintenance tasks based on these cycles, improving the accuracy and timely execution of maintenance plans.

• Value 3: Daily and periodic checks enable timely identification of equipment abnormalities or potential failures, facilitating necessary repairs or replacements to avert production interruptions due to abrupt equipment failures.

Equipment Check List

5.6 KPI Reports and Dashboards

Report/Dashboard Introduction

The labor hour performance table calculates management hours across personnel, teams, equipment, and products, allowing the workshop head and production director to query and analyze employee, team, equipment, and product labor hours, analyzing variances between output hours and input hours.

Labor Hour Performance Table

Report/Dashboard Introduction

The production status dashboard displays current task reports, product quantities, quantities pending receipt, overdue quantities, production data within seven days, today’s pending production tasks, and production anomalies;

Team leaders and managers can clearly see the production status for their work centers, facilitating production scheduling and adjustments for any production anomalies.

Production Status Dashboard

Report/Dashboard Introduction

The finished goods inventory dashboard allows warehouse managers to easily view pending tasks and achievement rates over the past seven days, analyzing inventory proportions to effectively schedule work and manage inventory turnover, reducing idle stock.

Finished Goods Inventory Dashboard

Raw Materials Storage Dashboard

Report/Dashboard Introduction

The workshop task status dashboard enables the workshop head and team leaders to monitor the equipment production status (current production tasks, pending production tasks, production operators) in real-time, facilitating timely adjustments and coordination of production tasks to enhance equipment utilization.

Workshop Task Status Dashboard

6. Summary of Transformation Value

Elebee's factory has achieved impressive results in terms of digital transformation, summarized as follows:

1. Completion of Information Management Platform Construction

Before going live: Elebee used the U8 system for sales, procurement, production, and financial management; warehouse personnel relied on a self-developed system for low inbound and outbound management, solely depending on manual entries post facto;

After going live: Elebee has achieved full lifecycle management from order placement to finished product dispatch, with device data collection and sharing various business data in real-time, completing the core business data collection for operational processes, laying a solid foundation for future data mining and statistical analysis.

2. Achieved Full Process Traceability of Product Quality

A complete quality management system has been set up for Elebee, using lot numbers for full process traceability from incoming materials, storage, material requisition, production warehousing, to sales dispatch.

3. Timely, Smooth, and Accurate Operations Across Business Modules

By developing the MES procurement document sharing link, it automatically fills this into printed templates shared with suppliers, enabling them to print material labels and purchasing documents; Elebee’s warehouse staff can simply scan to receive materials, while inspectors can rapidly access inspection tasks with scans; production operations have adopted an "all-in-one" system for material requisition, timing, reporting, inspection, and warehousing; demonstrating the ease of MES operations.

4. Complete Functionality in Collecting Production Hours, Making Financial Cost Accounting More Precise

Based on Elebee's actual operational scenarios, a timing function has been developed to record employees' work hours through scanning work order codes, employee codes, and device codes during and at the end of their shifts. Data collected by the MES flows to the ERP system, enabling financial calculations to be based on actual hours worked.