Eastern Cape software drives up efficiencies in auto industry

Average monthly savings of R20 000 Ed Richardson AN INTERNET-based software programme developed in the Eastern Cape is helping to improve efficiencies in the motor industry. According to Anton Jurgens of Datascope, the software is being used by suppliers to four of the seven motor manufacturers in South Africa. “The product is the first of its kind in SA and has been patented world wide,” he says. Called Clockworks, the software tracks the progress of vehicles on the production line and orders components from either the supplier or the warehouse in time for delivery straight to the line as they are needed . Orders are printed out directly at the supplier’s premises. The developing team includes Jurgens, who is a specialist in manufacturing logistics, programmer Colin Visser and graphic designer Patrick Morrow. Datascope has formed an alliance with a Gauteng company, Collaborative Xchange. Delta Motor Corp and Nissan SA are running Proof of Concept projects on Clockworks for possible rollout into large portions of their SA supplier bases, he says. According to Jurgens, South African suppliers save “typically” an average of R20 000 per month by installing the software. It offers savings in both efficiency and manpower, according to Morrow. “It is difficult to keep track of components as they flow through the supply chain. Clockworks increases the visibility of the supply chain so you can see just where each component is at any given time,” he says. The software is powerful enough to monitor movements throughout the local and global supply chains. “It can do multi-tier environments, as well as warehousing,” he says.