TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP (ENT600) CASE STUDY COMPANY ANALYSIS THREE C TECHNOVATION SDN.BHD FACULTY : MECHANICAL ENGINEERING PROGRAMME CODE AND GROUP : EM 241/PEM2417B1 SEMESTER :7 PROJECT TITLE : CASE STUDY STUDENT NAME : MOHAMAD FAHIM BIN AHMAD NASARUDIN LECTURER NAME : SHAIRA BINTI ISMAIL 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT In performing this case study, I had received helps and guidelines from some person who deserve my greatest gratitude. The completion of this assignment gives me much pleasure also improve my knowledge on this field. I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to Mrs Shaira Binti Ismail as my Technology Entrepreneurship lecturer for providing invaluable guidance for completing this case study throughout numerous consultations. Her dynamism, vision, sincerity, and motivation have deeply inspired me on this study. It was a great privilege and honor for me to work under her guidance. I am extremely grateful for all her has offered me. I would also like to thank her for her friendship, empathy, and great sense of humor. Moreover, I am extending my heartfelt thanks also to my parents, classmates, and friends for their prayers, caring and sacrifices for educating and preparing me for my future. Despite being extraordinary busy with their work had taken time out to hear guide and keep me on the right path and allowing me to carry out my case study I perceive as this opportunity as a big milestone in my career development. I will strive to use gained skills and knowledge in the best possible way, and I will continue to work on their improvement, to attain desired career objectives. 2 TABLE OF CONTENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ....................................................................................................................... 2 TABLE OF CONTENT .......................................................................................................................... 3 LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................................................ 4 LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................. 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...................................................................................................................... 5 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 5 2. COMPANY INFORMATION ......................................................................................................... 7 3. COMPANY ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................... 15 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ................................................................................................. 17 5. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 24 6. RECOMMENDATION AND IMPROVEMENT ......................................................................... 24 7. REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................ 25 8. APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................. 26 3 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: STHI completed Machine ................................................................................................................ 11 Figure 2: HST Completed Machine ................................................................................................................. 12 Figure 3: HDBI Completed Machine ............................................................................................................... 12 Figure 4: Three C Technovation official website ............................................................................................ 13 Figure 5: Three C Technovation official uniforms .......................................................................................... 14 Figure 6: Packaging for Upper Rear Guide ..................................................................................................... 26 Figure 7: Packaging for Tray Guide ................................................................................................................ 26 Figure 8: Packaging from AEM SINGAPORE PTE.LTD ...................................................................................... 27 Figure 9: Automated Inventory Software system .......................................................................................... 27 Figure 10: Assembly production workstation ................................................................................................ 28 Figure 11: Functionality test on machine ....................................................................................................... 28 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Company information and background .............................................................................................. 7 Table 2: SWOT Analysis .................................................................................................................................. 16 Table 3: disadvantages of current inventory system ..................................................................................... 18 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The case study for Technology Entrepreneurship (ENT 600) was implemented to exposed students from theories to practical business management and applying their knowledge on the problem solving. This case study gave students opportunity to explore and study companies which provides innumerable type of industry in term of manufacturing, automotive, electronics, semiconductors, microchips and others especially in Malaysia. In the first phase of this study, students required to choose the internship company as the subject for the case study which is Three C Technovation. the student has gathered the general information of the company which have been collected through the primary and secondary source. The objective of this project is to use technological solutions, background information, organizational structure, and services provided by Three C Technovation Sdn Bhd for the problem solving of the company's issues. Other than that, students also have explored about company’s technology which primarily been used for their business as well as marketing and its operational strategy. Moreover, marketing strategy is the is the core to business component to promote their services for achieving their goals. Apart from that, students also have analyzed the company’s strength, weakness, threats and opportunities by using SWOT analysis. Hereby, student has a better view of Three C Technovation information and business data which could help them to complete the case study 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background Of The Study A case study was a study of activity, event, or problem which includes real or hypothetical situation also complexities which student would encounter in the business. Case study is an important element need to be experienced by students to develop and applying knowledge and the thinking skills in real situation. In this study, students were required to encounter problems from the industrial training they had undergo in the past semester break. The problem may be process, technology, or product/service oriented. An alternative solution to the problems encounter was includes as the main part of this study. A proper analysis would be done by student and come up with solution which supported by relevant theory and course concept. Hereby, this case study has been done at AEM Microtronics. In AEM Mictronics, student was under Three C Technovation given task to assemble machine. Incoming parts and component were crucial for assembling machine. A poor and inefficient store keeping for incoming material 5 would lead to problems when assembling machine. Hereby, a proper system with technological implement would solve this problem. This case study will give students the opportunities to experience business activity also they get to use all the engineering knowledge so they can come up with the proper solution to the problems. 1.2. Problem Statement An Assembly Technician builds final products in a warehouse or other facility based on instructions and diagrams provided by the manufacturer. An Assembly Technician also responsible for constructing small parts and components to create new products according to client specifications. In addition, they perform diagnostic tests on assembled items and conduct adjustments when needed to make sure the final product functions efficiently. They ensure quality checks on products made to ensure customers receive a high-quality product. Hereby, in performing assembling process required a completed parts and component to ensure the product would be assembling perfectly. Incoming material and component need to be check and declared before it would be sent to each department for assembling. A poor management on store keeping would lead to problems to the material and component. Missing, wrong item and reject parts were the problem encounter due to the poor store management system. Moreover, time is of the essence and meticulously counting each piece and recounting to double check the incoming material became a time wasting and losses to the company 1.3. Purpose Of The Study The purpose of this study is to identify the potential problems of poor store management system for the incoming material and propose the suitable solutions to the problems. Analysis on the manual store system for incoming material would be done and data from this analysis answered why this problem need to be overcome. The method that would be apply is accuracy of checking and listing data, time usage and the efficiency of both manual inventory system and the automated inventory management system. The result from this study will show us which system has better performance and applicable in this business. 6 2. COMPANY INFORMATION 2.1. Background Name of the business Three C Technovation Sdn.Bhd Business address THREE C TECHNOVATION SDN.BHD, unit 8-1-18A d’orient mall, macallum street ghant, georgetown, Pulau Pinang Telephone number 012-477 1031 Type of business Contract Manufacturing and Engineering services Main activity Mechanical and Electrical Assembly Company’s vision To be the most preferred automation service provider of the global automation industry for years to come Company’s mission To be the most successful automation services provider to manufacturing and engineering companies and in partnership with them, to forge a powerful competitive force in the market Clients PBQ Leader Motorship, AEM Microtronics, Penta Master, and SAM Meerkat Operating time Monday to Friday from 8 a.m until 6 p.m Number of employees Over 80 employees Table 1: Company information and background 7 Three C Technovation Sdn Bhd (3c Tech) was principally engaged as automation service provider that has a responsibility to provide manufacturing services to manufacturing companies. Three C Technovation Sdn Bhd (3c Tech) is managing by a team of experienced and seasoned in automation field. Apart from that, Three C technovation Sdn Bhd were also specialist in Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) provider, machine assembly and wiring installation. Three C Technovation Sdn Bhd (3c Tech) is a provider of Contract Manufacturing and Engineering Services. We could provide a variety of short- and long-term service based on your requirement. Three C Technovation (3c Tech) could help resolve short term labor shortage, save on labor costs such as wages, training, and benefits and focus on the core competencies better by working together with Three C Technovation Sdn Bhd (3C Tech) to create a win-win situation. Three C Technovation Sdn Bhd (3C Tech) have over 80 of employees that are carefully trained and interviewed that process experience in manufacturing and engineering such as Engineer, Technician, Operator, Quality Control, General worker, and customer services. Therefore, Three C Technovation Sdn Bhd (3C Tech) able to comply with manufacturing industries, semiconductor industries, automotive industries, medical product industries and food industries. 8 2.2. Organizational Structure 9 2.3. Product/services Three C Technovation Sdn Bhd (3cTech) offers value add services for all types of mechanical and select electro-mechanical assembly services starting from product introduction through full production either simple or complex assemblies will be done in the most costeffective manner while maintaining the highest quality levels. Three C Technovation Sdn. Bhd cover all types of industries either OEM, agriculture, automotive, medical, and industrial. Three C Technovation Sdn Bhd (3C Tech) provides one-stop-solution center in Wire & Cable interconnect solutions which cover wire harness preparation, electrical control panel, electrical system integration and PLC system. Moreover, Three C Technovation Sdn Bhd (3C Tech) also provides other electrical and wiring assembly such as Turret Machine, Vision Machine, Pick and place machine, Packaging Machine, Trimming machine, Tester Machine, Solar Machine, Polycord and Chain Conveyor, Warehouse storage system. Three C Technovation Sdn. Bhd (3C Tech) offers a variety of services and have the flexibility to customize your requirements which also covered machine alignment, machine fine tuning, machine troubleshooting, machine maintenance, on-site machine interface installation and on-site service support. 10 2.4. Business, marketing, operational strategy Business The company offers services for all types of mechanical and electro-mechanical assembly for full production either simple or complex assemblies. The company also covered variety of services and flexibility in customer requirement as long as the service is in the engineering fields. For AEM Microtronics where students were placed for the industrial training, Three C Technovation were given project to assembly mechanical parts for full production. There were four types of machines which is STHI, HST, HDBI, and HBX. Each of this machine contains major modules such as Input/Output module, robot module and column module. The finish assembled machine will undergo quality assurance before it would be setup the coding, program and installed the suitable software. Completed product will be hand over to the AEM Microtronics for the delivery and shipment process. Figure 1: STHI completed Machine 11 Figure 2: HST Completed Machine Figure 3: HDBI Completed Machine 12 Marketing Three C Technovation is a sub-contract company which provided mechanical and electrical assembly services and others manufacturing service. By providing services comes with challenge to ensure companies always offered to new partnership and clients. Majority clients of Three C Technovation are located at industrial free zone such as Penang, Batu Kawan and Kulim Hi-tech which is in the range area from the base company located. However, Three C Technovation also encourage to be worldwide manufacturing service company. Hereby, the company has prepared the marketing strategy to enhance the company reputation. The first marketing strategy to promoting Three C Technovation company is by using creating the official website which is https://3ctech.com.my/ . The official website Three C Technovation consisted of the company’s background, the details on the serviced provided, feedback and reviews about the company services. Moreover, the detailed-on contracts and any required information could directly through whatsapp to the given number which directly to the operation manager Yeap Chee Siang. In addition, this official website also stated the major clients where they currently provided serviced such as AEM Michrotronics, PentaMaster, SAM Meerkat and Intel. Figure 4: Three C Technovation official website Then, the marketing strategy continue by using the employee’s uniform. Three C Technovation uniform presenting their company logo and the QR code at the rear side of the 13 uniform. Therefore, each employee is representing their company’s name and the potential clients also can easily contact or review this company by scanning the QR code provided. Figure 5: Three C Technovation official uniforms Operational strategy Three C Technovation is a sub-contract company which provided mechanical and electrical assembly services and others manufacturing service. Operational strategy is the core to the business succession. Hereby, improving supply chain is one of the strategies applied by Three C Technovation. As a manufacturing assemble company, cost to manufacture product is the crucial and the delivery goods and equipment must be efficient. Three C Technovation reducing costs of materials with bulk purchases or automating parts of the production line. The next strategy is Core competencies strategy. This strategy involves a business recognizing and vastly improving its strengths, resources, and capabilities to attain a sustainable competitive advantage. A business's core competencies include its technical superiority, financial position, customer relationship management, distribution system, market share, and efficient processes. This strategy focuses on areas of strength to increase a business's expertise and applies this expertise in other markets while adding value to the consumers. 14 3. COMPANY ANALYSIS • STRENGTH WEAKNESS Consistent Quality Insufficient employees Three C Technovation consistently give • the best working quality and performing company after gained experienced in more than client’s expectation. this always exposed to the engineering field to prepare for • the • The company have strong and stable management which this company could survive and expand their business even world was being hit by pandemic. Flexibility • Three C Technovation covers majority works in engineering fields. • This company sub-contract Three C Technovation doesn’t have the employees. Strong financial financial to clinic panel which could be essential to upcoming works. • due Low benefit to employees Employees of Three C Technovation trainings company company. Experienced employees • Employees were always finding another always welcome customers advice and requirement and tends to follow with the best solution. 15 Employees salary increment were lower compared to other companies. • OPPORTUNITY THREAT Customers loyalty Economy problem Three C Technovation clients were always looking for an • ongoing Economic problems for worldwide have slowdown the manufacturing industries relationship with contract manufacturing and indirectly effect the company company Competitors ability Market growth • Global manufacturing • sub-contract manufacturing industries grows over company are positively growing and time and introducing improvement on demand their services. machine technology increase. Good relationship • in and on factory Competitors Three C Technovation have good engagement on Mega companies in electronic and manufacturing in Malaysia. Table 2: SWOT Analysis 16 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION PROBLEMS An inventory management system or inventory system is the process by which companies can track the items and product throughout their entire supply chain, from purchasing to production and lastly to end sales. A good inventory management to ensure their business is working follow their target and the customer requirement. Any company that handles stocks for production, will need a system to accurately track and control. However, Three C Technovation having problems on their inventory management where the items and equipment from the vendor were not received based on the planning schedule which led to delay on the assembly production. These problems basically occurred when the inventory management system was poor which the ordering for items and equipment were done manually. Hereby the item receiving to the assembly production were not accurate and cause to delay for assembling process. A delay for assembling machine will affect the company performance and their credibility. Moreover, every incoming stocks for items and equipment were manually checked and arranged from the warehouse to the assembly production. There were around three employees who responsible for checking the incoming stocks quantity and delivering to the assembly area. The employees need to check each item one by one from each vendor by using printed list for incoming stocks. Due to this problem, the assembly production having an incomplete part and equipment for their assembly process. 1. Periodic inventory system Three C Technovation was applying for periodic inventory system for their inventory management system. A periodic system is one that involves the regular or semi-regular counting of stock on hand to determine inventory value and to discover any losses from theft, breakage, and obsolescence. For businesses selling services, start-ups without much capital, or small businesses with slender resources or minimal stock, using a periodic system is an easy and straightforward method. However, Three C Technovation was conclude as the growth manufacturing companies as their customers and business partners were increased by year. By using periodic inventory system was not relevant or suitable for their company progress. 17 Disadvantages of current inventory system • long time Manually counting and checking inventory will take a long time. Inaccurate • Delay to assembly production. • Storage management will encounter incorrect data due to poor management system. • High labor cost Company needs to hire more employees for handling inventory. • Not suitable for high production Inventory management could not support the quantity for the production. • Poor management system Inventory always having understock or overstock. • Poor scheduling for receiving from vendor Table 3: disadvantages of current inventory system 18 ordering and SOLUTION Automated inventory Management Automated inventory management is a crucial step to take for any growing business. With advanced management software, businesses can keep track of sales, promotions, and ordering. Tasks and vendor management can be automated also company can do it across multiple locations. Large businesses that must handle a broad range of inventory goods over intricate multiechelon distribution networks benefit the most from automated inventory systems. a. Automated inventory system An automated inventory system makes it easier to track inventory levels and locations, value and audit inventory, purchase goods, and sell inventory. These solutions rely on IoT technologies to automate the entire inventory process. In order to prevent stockouts and overstocking, the platform provides demand-driven inventory planning, multi-location inventory management, and inventory optimization based on sophisticated analytics. System / software Functions • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) For accurate multi-location inventory planning. • To schedule the best time for relocating the inventory from the warehouse to the operation placed • To leverage inventory data at all levels of operational and strategic planning. • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) For automated input of relevant data for incoming and output inventory • Vendor Portal For automated input of product data from vendor 19 • To facilitated item status tracking • For faster processing invoices uploaded from vendor • Accounting Software accurate inventory value recording and reporting, and automatic recording of inventory transactions in the general ledger. • Hardware For accurate inventory level and location monitoring. • Business Intelligence (BI) solution For the analytics and visualization of multi-location inventory demand analytics Historical data and inventory demand for internal process Enterprise resource planning (ERP) Customer relationship management (CRM) Real time inventory data Business intelligence (BI) solutions Automated inventory system Customer order detail and historical data on customer demand such as location and period Purchase orders Vendor Portal Accounting software Data on inventory purchasing, selling and utilization Real time inventory data such as expected inventory delivery dates Hardware Importing inventory data such as identification number 20 Supplier invoices, Data on current Po status, and data on the product provided b. Key features Automated inventory system is a solution to the inventory management to every companies. There were several features that form the core to this automated inventory solution such as inventory planning, inventory ordering automation, SKU management automation, Inventory cost automation, inventory control automation, automated inventory reservation, inventory optimization, customer order management, reverse logistic automation, and inventory analysis. 2.1. Inventory planning • Automated calculation for required inventory amounts by period, location and inventory item refer to the data analysis from the previous order. • Automatic calculation of anticipated inventory delivery dates based on the analysis of previous inventory lead times • Inventory demand to support internal processes and customer demand 2.2. Inventory ordering automation • Purchase orders are automatically created when particular dates and reorder points are reached. • Automated workflows for multi-department purchase order approval. • Status tracking for real time purchase order • Purchased invoice processing and submission for payment are automatically done. 2.3. Store keeping unit (SKU) management automation • Automated updating for SKU information when new data appear • Stock in and out are clearly manage 2.4. Inventory costing automation • Valuation of automated inventory is based on FIFO, LIFO, weighted average costing, and other inventory costing methods. • Calculating inventory carrying costs. 21 • Calculating cost of goods sold (COGS). 2.5. Inventory control automation • Monitoring inventory levels using barcode or RFID technology • Alerts on low-level inventory. • Inventory audit based on barcode or RFID technology. 2.6. Automated inventory reservation • Automated inventory reservation for a customer order. • Automated inventory reservation and request for transfer from warehouses to the locations where operations are conducted. 2.7. Inventory optimization • The use of AI to calculate the ideal stock levels and reorder points for each inventory item based on previous production and sales data, product promotions, demand seasonality, and other variables. • AI-driven inventory reallocation suggestions across various production plants, warehouses, and distribution locations c. Benefits Automated inventory management is one of the best inventory management systems that have been applied by big companies in Malaysia and international. By automatically operating this inventory management will give extra advantages and benefits to the companies also the business partners. There were several benefits that companies will experience when using automated inventory management. First is it can save time which companies could save hours of time when all the data and inventory items were automatically operated based on the software used. Moreover, manually counts and manage the data could leads to human errors because it’s extremely difficult to accurately checking the incoming material for hundreds or thousands for a week. By using automated inventory management will give the more accurate inventory management. 22 Automated inventory system was also more efficient compared to other inventory management system. All purchasing data, track record, scheduling and planning were wisely arranged based on the company and customer demand so that any unwanted problems can easily be traced and solved using appropriate manner. All the updates on orders, delivery and sales also can be monitored because it was made in real time. Lastly, automated is essential for chains and franchises. It was very suitable for companies which have several plant locations and have the products or items which link and need to supply to each other. 23 5. CONCLUSION As a conclusion, case study was splendid exposure for students to learn extra knowledge on business management and at the same time applied their engineering knowledge. By completing this study, students able to handle the problem solving for their internship company. Three C Technovation was great company in electronic and manufacturing fields. Contract manufacturing was one of the major businesses in Malaysia. However, a good inventory management system was not seriously implanted in these companies which cause them to many problems. Hereby, automated inventory management was the best solution to this problem. Instead of good management system, automated inventory management can give many benefits to the company, clients, and their businesses partners. Lastly, this case study could enlighten companies on the importance of inventory management to their business progress. 6. RECOMMENDATION AND IMPROVEMENT For the recommendation, Three C Technovation should ensure their resources on the inventory management are compatible with their technology and target market. Hereby, the management department and production department can carry out their work efficiently. Moreover, Three C Technovation should train their employees to current inventory software so that they can applied to their work. By doing this, company can easily improve their inventory management with the help of experienced employees on this fields. Then, Three C Technovation also should propose to other advanced software and system company to received advice on how to create or improve the inventory management system for their company to the optimum utilization. 24 7. REFERENCES AcaDemon. (2005). 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Three C Technovation Sdn.Bhd. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://3ctech.com.my/ Soft, S. (n.d.). science soft, Professional Software Development. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://www.scnsoft.com/scm/automated-inventory Steven, J. W. (1987). Production Operations Management. 2nd Editon. Zipkin, H. P. (2000). Foundations of Inventory Management. 25 8. APPENDICES Figure 6: Packaging for Upper Rear Guide Figure 7: Packaging for Tray Guide 26 Figure 8: Packaging from AEM SINGAPORE PTE.LTD Figure 9: Automated Inventory Software system 27 Figure 10: Assembly production workstation Figure 11: Functionality test on machine 28