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Five Myths AboutAfter-ImagingWith OpenEdge 10.1A, Progress introduced the AIFile Management Utility to make life even easier.This tool will automatically rotate AI files eitherwhen they are full or at an interval that youspecify. You may still want the scripts, however,since it doesn’t have a lot of flexibility in areas likefile naming.by Scott Dulecki, BravePointAfter‐imaging (AI) is one of the most important elementsof administering production databases. It providesprotection beyond what the before‐imaging (BI) does. BIprotects against database integrity failure; AI protectsagainst data loss.4.After‐image files only have to be rotated once aday. I go to too many sites where the Old Westmodel of AI management is used – rotate AI filesonce a day, whether you need to or not.Unfortunately, if something out of the ordinaryhappens, your AI files can quickly get overloaded.Normally, I suggest people rotate AI files at leastonce an hour – more often if there’s a large orvery active process running. I liken rotating AIfiles to going to the bathroom. Those who’vetravelled with small children know the last thingyou say before you get in the car – did everyonego to the bathroom? Why start a road trip withanything less than an empty bladder, and whystart the day, shift, or hour with anything lessthan empty AI files? Use those scripts that Imentioned in Myth #3, and you’ll never have toworry about it.5.After‐Imaging requires a lot of disk space. Sure,AI records a lot of data. It’s supposed to as longas you’re creating a lot of data. I’ve seen peoplewith 50, 75, even 100 AI extents in their database.That’s wasteful, frankly rarely do you need morethan four, and with variable database extents andlarge files, you can cut that even lower. You canmove your data off someplace else anothersystem, tape, CD, DVD, or even a warm sparedatabase if you’d like.Some of you may already be familiar with Dulecki’s Law ofAfter‐Imaging:If the data in the database has value, use after‐imaging.Production databases should always have AI in place. Helpdatabase never. You can recreate one of those in fiveminutes. Ten on a bad system. Side databases need AIonly if they are actually production databases.Strangely enough, I go into far too many client sites whereafter‐imaging is not deployed. When I ask why, I get thesame answers all too often. Here are five of the commonmyths about after‐imaging that may help save yourdatabases.1.2.3.After‐imaging affects performance. First, let mesay that AI does indeed affect performance. Ithas to, by definition; the database is performingsome additional work, and there’s a cost to that.And back in the Progress version 6 and 7 days,that cost was noticeable. Now, however, the costis close to negligible typically around fivepercent on a well‐tuned system. What does thatmean? To an average person, their response timemight drop from .5 seconds to .525 seconds something they’d hardly notice.Before‐imaging means I don’t have to worryabout after‐imaging. Before‐imaging (BI)protects against calamity. After‐imaging protectsagainst humanity. Human mistakes – manuallydeleting records via the editor instead of usingproper deletion methods, accidentally rollingcosts for all parts instead of a subset – will befaithfully recorded in the BI file. With the AI file,you can replay everything until just beforehumanity struck.After‐Imaging is hard to manage. There are onlytwo basic elements of AI management: starting AIand rotating AI files. For older versions ofProgress, scripts are available to manage theprocess. Dan Foreman’s DBA Resource Kitcontains a number of these, and several otherlong‐experienced Progress consultants have theirown scripts available.MMUG News – Spring 2009See? After‐imaging isn’t that bad after all. If you’re notusing AI, I hope you found your reason listed above, thatyou found a reason to revisit using AI, and that you’reready to protect your data against the unexpected.If you still think you have a legitimate reason why you*shouldn’t* use AI, I’d love to hear it. There are some thatI’ve already referred to, but I’m on the lookout for more.Want help in getting AI going?Email me at sdulecki@bravepoint.com and I’ll send you afree copy of the After‐Imaging Checklist, one of 20 items inDan Foreman’s DBA Resource Kit.Scott M Dulecki manages products and sales for BravePoint, a QADServices and Channel Sales partner. He’s been working with MFG/PROsince version 7.3F and presents frequently at QAD and Progress UserGroups. Contact him at sdulecki@bravepoint.com or 616/957‐3184.5

Customer Case Study:QAD JIT SequencingThe CompanyFounded in 1885, Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) has itscorporate headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Thecompany’s sales for 2003 totaled 22.6 billion, and fiscal2003 marked its 57th consecutive year of sales increases,13th consecutive year of earnings increases, and 28thsuccessive year of dividend increases.Johnson Controls consists of three divisions and is theworld’s largest supplier of integrated seating and interiorsystems for the automotive industry. The company’sAutomotive Group has over 275 locations in 35 countriesworldwide, with American headquarters in Plymouth,Michigan and European headquarters in Burscheid,Germany. The Automotive Group supplies seats, interiorsand battery products to original equipment manufacturers(OEMs). It also provides batteries to the automotiveaftermarket. The division manufactures all elements ofcomplete automotive interiors, including overheadsystems, floor consoles, door systems, instrument panelsand seat systems.Since 2002, Johnson Controls has been recognized as themost admired automotive supplier by Fortune’s annualsurvey of America’s most admired companies. Every yearsince 1998, it has been listed on Industry Week’s annuallist of 100 Best‐Managed Companies. Information Weekand Cap Gemini Ernst & Young also rank Johnson Controlsas one of the top 100 companies for use of informationtechnology to serve customers.The ChallengeAs automotive consumers seek greater customization intheir vehicles, the ramifications for OEMs and their sup‐pliers are far‐reaching. “Fueled by the dramatic increase infeatures and options, the number of vehicle configurationsis exploding,” says Guus Dekkers, Vice PresidentInformation Technology Europe & International, JohnsonControls. “This makes it increasingly difficult for automo‐tive manufacturers and suppliers to control the flood ofmaterial and to maintain low levels of inventory.”Further complicating this situation is the challenge ofbalancing supply and demand. The further down thesupply chain a company is situated, the greater the diffi‐culty in reacting to continuous changes in demand by theOEM and keeping supply and demand in synch. Histori‐cally, automotive manufacturers and suppliers have triedto balance supply and demand through buffer stocks andhave and whether the sequence of vehicles has changedfor some unforeseen reason (e.g., a faulty assembly thathad to be removed from the line for rework).The SolutionJCI has been a QAD customer since 1991, and today QADMFG/PRO is one of JCI’s corporate enterprise resourceplanning (ERP) standards.“We selected the QAD MFG/PROsolution for its deep automotive industryfunctionality and for its low total cost ofownership. QAD has proven to be aflexible solution for the automotiveindustry and their software tools allowfor fast implementation.”Guus Dekkers, Vice President Information TechnologyEurope & International, Johnson Controls“We selected the QAD MFG/PRO solution for its deepautomotive industry functionality and for its low total costof ownership,” says Guus Dekkers. “QAD has proven to be aflexible solution for the automotive industry and theirsoftware tools allow for fast implementation.” While JCIoperated legacy systems and other software packages forbusiness applications for many years, it is currentlyincreasing its focus to standardize on “out‐of‐the‐box”solutions to reduce support costs, increase upgradeflexibility and improve integration across its globalenterprise.To address the challenge of just‐in‐time (JIT) sequencing, JCIdecided to work with QAD as a means of leveraging itsautomotive experience in the just‐in‐time arena with QAD’squarter of a century experience in developing cost‐effectivesolutions. The result of that collaboration is the new QADJIT Sequencing module.The bolt‐on solutions JCI evaluated in the past for JITsequencing and supply chain management could not deliverthe seamless integration between planning and executionJCI was looking for. For this reason, QAD JIT Sequencing wasdeveloped to integrate seamlessly with QAD MFG/PROwhile allowing maximum flexibility to adapt quickly to theever changing requirements in the automotive industry. Theapplication helps automotive suppliers produce and delivervehicle components in exact sequence with vehicles movingdown the OEM’s assembly line. It does this while maintain‐ing full control over production and inventory.QAD JIT Sequencing balances supplier schedules with on‐hand inventory levels and forecasted supplier delivery timesthrough calculated delivery patterns. It then manages thesequential manufacturing—even for several independentContinued on Page 76MMUG News – Spring 2009

Continued from Page 6manufacturing lines—and assures the on‐time delivery ofthose items.“QAD JIT Sequencing combines planning, execution anddispatching functionalities,” says Yves Wullaert, IT DirectorOperations and Logistics Europe, Johnson Controls. “It alsoprovides one of the key functions we were looking for in astandard sequencing solution—modeling enhancedforecast of real customer demand, which allows us to buildin two shifts, but to deliver in three because we knowwhat the customer is likely to do.”QAD JIT Sequencing primary drivers are broadcastmessages transmitted from the customer’s assembly linedirectly to the JIT Sequencing application. Thesebroadcasts include sequence number, vehicle identi‐fication number and product configuration data thatallows the JIT supplier to build and deliver the module insequence for a specific car. Broadcasts are triggered fromdifferent points on the customer assembly line as thevehicle moves through as a work in process.“QAD JIT Sequencing pays for itselfthrough fast reductions in supplychain costs, both in freight and ininventory,”Guus Dekkers, VP Information TechnologyEurope & International, Johnson ControlsQAD JIT Sequencing has the capability to extract productsfrom an existing (automated) finished good warehouse tobuffer against a suppliers’ short response time or a supplymodel that is based on finished good replenishment. Italso drives production of parts needed to fulfill thecustomer demand in a JIT manner or to refill the finishedgood stock inventory, allowing a decoupling of supplychain and production if desired.“The broadcast message can be split up for our manu‐facturing operations to drive different production linessuch as, instrument panels, door panels and seat sets. Inthe end, it comes together in such a way that we candeliver just‐in‐time all modules uniquely built for the spe‐cific car for which it was ordered.” says Yves Wullaert.In order to assure maximum reactivity, the JIT Sequencingplanning is done online. QAD JIT Sequencing reacts to anytrigger it receives from the supply chain, whether it be achange in customer demand, a suppliers shipment notedto be received late or a Bill‐of‐Materials (BOM) change. Itis the first online driven supply chain managementplanning tool available on the market.To assure a proper response time and reactivity, theproduct’s BOM is loaded into memory allowing a quick“beyond MRP” processing of any change, which allows thesystem to display any changed demands in raw and semi‐finished goods immediately. “We even added a newschedule type called ‘JIT pipeline,’ which shows thedemand in sequence car‐by‐car, basically modeling thereal‐time vehicle flow at the OEM.“One of our first implemented plantsdoubled its inventory turns using QADJIT Sequencing.”Yves Wullaert, IT Director Operationsand Logistics Europe, Johnson ControlsThe JIT pipeline is maintained by online broadcastsreceived from the OEM’s production line,” says YvesWullaert. “The QAD JIT Sequencing online planning engine‘predicts’ material shortages. A logistics cockpit showscritical components running out of stock in a timely order.This new concept has led to significant cost savings andincreased inventory turns,” he continues. “One of our firstimplemented plants doubled its inventory turns by usingJIT Sequencing.”“Prior to this solution, expeditors would have to react afterfacing a material shortage ‐ usually with an expressshipment involving premium freight and in most cases justshortly before production might break off,” notes GuusDekkers. “Thanks to the early warning QAD JIT Sequencingprovides, and the integration with supplier schedules, wecan now quickly respond to increases in the size ofregularly scheduled shipments and avoid the premiumfreight costs associated with expedited shipments. Thismeans we moved from a reactive towards a proactive wayof thinking and working.”The module also allows for optimization of truckloads andeven ‘milk runs’ to ensure that trailers are fully loaded,further driving down shipping costs. “If you look at thedesign of QAD JIT Sequencing, you can see how thesolution has been structured to drive ongoingimprovements in the production and planning process,”says Yves Wullaert.The rules engine also allows radical changes such asmoving to a two shift production model to support a threeshift customer assembly plant. “The savings from droppinga night shift can be substantial,” continues Yves Wullaert.“The changes to the production logic, however, are nottrivial. Fortunately, JIT Sequencing was designed to allowsuch flexibility.”Continued on Page 8MMUG News – Spring 20097

Continued from Page 7Another improvement built into QAD JIT Sequencing is thesupport of small production sites. While JIT Sequencing isfully integrated with QAD MFG/PRO software, it does nothave to run together with the ERP system‐and/or on thesame platform. The MFG/PRO solution can run locally withJIT Sequencing or run remotely at the corporate officewhile JIT Sequencing runs locally at a plant. The modulecan locally maintain its on‐hand inventory balances,broadcast production builds and planning parameters. Itprocesses all transactions and then updates appropriatecounters for batch transmission upstream to the ERPsystem as required. This flexibility allows small plants tooperate with minimal IT support on site.The BenefitsAccording to Guus Dekkers, the return on investment forQAD JIT Sequencing is rapid. “QAD JIT Sequencing pays foritself through fast reductions in supply chain costs, both infreight and in inventory,” he says. He adds that in additionto these savings, JCI can now react much faster to changes,as the configuration of the system is no longer beinghardcoded as in the past, but is truly rule‐based. “Creatingyour own standardized rule‐database helps you to deployJIT Sequencing quickly and cost‐effectively in yourorganization,” he says. The rules engine allows for changesin the sequencing logic to easily accommodate new lineconfigurations and improvements. “In our previous hard ‐coded solution, the cost of reprogramming the solutioncould outweigh the benefits of the change beingimplemented,” says Yves Wullaert. Further, because ofseamless integration across the supply chain, suppliers areable to better support JCI. When sequences differ frommedium‐term customer schedules, these variances arereflected in the next supplier schedule‐assuring that eachnode in the supply chain is apprised of the current statusof the OEM assembly line. If suppliers lack EDI integration,they can view the updated information on a secure Website. Content on the site may include alerts, kanbansignals, min/max inventory levels or simply supplierschedules.The FutureCurrently JCI Europe has installed QAD JIT Sequencing atfour facilities and will have four additional facilitiescompleted by the end of this year. Over the next fewyears, JCI envisions rolling out QAD JIT Sequencing to overfifty sites in Europe. “We wait for a model changeoverwhen replacing an old system with the new QAD JITSequencing module in order to take advantage of ramp‐upvolumes,” says Guus Dekkers.According to Yves Wullaert, the next frontier consists ofcascading both sequencing production and deliverymultiple levels down the supply chain. “In Rastatt forinstance, we are already ordering component parts fromour suppliers in sequenced containers, which we feedsequenced directly into the production process,” he says.“The QAD JIT Sequencing solution plays a critical role inthis process. The sequencing solution keeps track of theinventory and automatically triggers the next delivery assoon as it forecasts that the current build‐stream will haveconsumed the inventory in the near future.”“Of course, we can introduce rules to dynamically rebal‐ance the line as the mix and grouping of products requirechange,” says Guus Dekkers. “This is the kind of flexibilitythat sets QAD JIT Sequencing apart from any other JITsequencing tool.”Story prepared by Johnson Controls, Inc. in cooperation with QAD.Reprinted by permission.8MMUG News – Spring 2009

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