Boosting Quotation Efficiency: Speedy Drawing Retrieval and Mobile Accessibility

The challenge: significant time searching for drawings, with limited remote access

Founded in 1966, Izumi Techno Co., Ltd. is a specialist manufacturer of anodizing treatments that enhance the durability of aluminum. Serving clients across sectors such as precision machinery, semiconductor devices, automobiles, and medical equipment, they have consistently received high praise. As a technology-driven company, they’ve accumulated a track record of achievements. Their proprietary surface treatments and functional anodizing technologies are now recognized as industry-leading. They have been designated as an accredited factory by many manufacturers, making them indispensable in the anodizing treatment field.

 

At Izumi Techno, the Sales Management department handles quotation tasks. Sales management is divided between those who visit customers directly for face-to-face interaction and those who create quotations based on the information provided by the external representatives. On average, they create about 100 quotations a day, handled by several staff members. During the quotation process, they search for similar drawings from the past and use those prices as references. These drawings were digitized and categorized in different folders. When searching, they would open folders and look inside. However, there were no indications of similar cases when placing orders. They either had to rely on the staff’s memory or narrow down the search by drawing name or timeframe, and then manually look through all the options. At the very least, this process took about 10 minutes, making it highly inefficient.

 

Also, external staff may need to check the drawings outside of the company, such as during meetings with clients or when contacting internal staff to confirm detailed information. Since the drawing data is stored on the company’s internal server, it must be accessed from outside under secure conditions. The time required to search for a drawing, in addition to the time to authenticate the company’s internal security to gain access, made the process even more inefficient.

 

Izumi Techno was using various IT tools to improve work efficiency. Although they had their own system, there were challenges related to drawing management, and they were always looking for tools that could address these issues.

Seeing the demo was a game changer! The implementation went smoothly, resulting in significant workflow improvements and reduced overtime.

Izumi Techno deals with hundreds of clients and handles a massive amount of drawings. Introducing a new system to efficiently handle drawing data was urgently needed for operational efficiency, and information was being collected from various sources. However, they struggled to find the right solution and were almost resigned to building everything in-house.

 

During this time, Mr. Oguchi, the head of the Business Management Headquarters, encountered a demo of the cloud-based drawing data utilization tool, “CADDi Drawer”, at an exhibition. After seeing its functionality and receiving an explanation, he intuitively felt that this could solve their issues.

 

Mr. Oguchi remarked, “I felt that finding and analyzing the drawings was easy. It’s highly versatile. The ability to find similar drawings was very beneficial. With some systems, you need to perform multiple tasks just to link one piece of information. With ‘CADDi Drawer’, the linkage is very smooth. Honestly, it was my first experience deciding to implement a system without so much hesitation.”

 

Mr. Oguchi quickly decided to adopt the tool and started using it for sales management. He expressed the benefits post-implementation as: “Previously, it took 5-10 minutes just to access the internal server where the drawings were stored, and another 5-10 minutes to search for a drawing. Now it takes only 1-2 minutes. The time required for quotations has been reduced by finding similar drawings. As a result, overtime hours have decreased. A significant change is that the drawings can easily be viewed outside the company thanks to the cloud. We had some challenges at the beginning, but whenever there was an issue, it was promptly addressed. We use it without any stress and it works seamlessly. Their sincere response to our requests has also been a great help.”

 

Through the introduction of “CADDi Drawer”, the workflow of sales management has been transformed, yielding significant benefits.

 

In the future, Izumi Techno plans to refine how they use “CADDi Drawer” and expand its use to their partners. They are currently considering how to improve efficiency in departments still using analog processes. For instance, by using it in the manufacturing department, they hope to reduce defects. Since they can check past defect data, they can prevent similar defects in future manufacturing processes. In addition, “CADDi Drawer” allows for easy searching of similar drawings, which means they can check for defects in similar drawings and ensure new ones do not have the same issues.

 

Regarding Izumi Techno’s future vision, rather than exploring new ways to use “CADDi Drawer”, they prioritize refining its current usage to fit their internal operations. They have a unique position in the supply chain, performing niche surface treatments and dealing with hundreds of clients. Eventually, they envision companies that interact with Izumi Techno also adopting “CADDi Drawer”, streamlining the exchange of drawing data, which currently takes place via email.

 

Izumi Techno aims to use “CADDi Drawer” to further enhance their operational efficiency, swiftly meeting the diverse needs of their clients. They aspire to be the “only one” and “number one” company in the surface treatment sector. In this journey, the use of “CADDi Drawer” will not only improve their own operations but will transform the nature of business with their partners. Beyond mere efficiency, they aim for a genuine business transformation, truly embodying the Digital Transformation (DX) vision.