Introduction and company overview‍

Daito Seiki Co., Ltd. designs, manufactures, and sells steel processing machines that perform cutting, drilling, and other operations on steel materials used in buildings and machinery. Daito Seiki's high-precision, high-quality, and long-lasting steel processing machines have earned a high market share domestically and high praise internationally. As a pioneer in the steel processing machine manufacturing industry, the company has contributed to the development of social infrastructure both in Japan and abroad.

Before CADDi, Daito Seiki faced challenges in its purchasing operations, particularly in the complexity of cost calculations for procuring parts.

The complexity of cost calculation in purchasing

Shigeru Matsumoto, General Manager of the Manufacturing Division, speaks about the challenges of cost calculation:

"In purchasing, our job is to give drawings to companies that process parts and determine the prices, then procure the parts. In our time, we accumulated know-how by doing various tasks. After several years, you could look at a drawing and roughly estimate the price. However, when trying to quickly turn new hires into productive team members, the skill of cost calculation becomes a bottleneck."

"It takes several years of experience, starting with simple part orders under the guidance of senior staff, for newcomers to accurately predict appropriate prices. We tried creating cost tables to generate fixed prices, but with many small-lot, varied products and a wide range of suppliers from large to small companies, the complexity made it impossible to condense everything into a single formula."

"[Cost calculation] takes several years of experience, starting with simple part orders under the guidance of senior staff, for newcomers to accurately predict appropriate prices."

-Shigeru Matsumoto, General Manager, Manufacturing Division

Additionally, when determining the price of parts, they often tried to find similar past drawings and check previous orders to compare prices. However, finding these drawings took a significant amount of time. They often had to rely on memory, which could take more than half a day to find the drawing, or sometimes they couldn’t find it at all. The challenge was that without knowing a similar drawing existed, they wouldn’t even begin the search.

There was a need for a system where anyone could easily utilize past drawings and order history data.

CADDi Drawer becomes an indispensable tool supporting newcomers in their purchasing work

While searching for a new system, Daito Seiki was introduced to CADDi Drawer. The decision to implement CADDi Drawer has brought significant benefits to Daito Seiki's purchasing operations.

Shigeru Matsumoto
"Currently, we have two newcomers who joined the purchasing department about a year ago. Both of them can now independently make decisions and carry out their work to some extent. They even say they can’t do their job without CADDi Drawer."

"In the past, we would start new employees with simple purchasing tasks and gradually teach them more complex ones, with senior employees guiding them along the way. It usually took about three years for them to become independent. However, after implementing CADDi Drawer, the time required for anyone to access past knowledge has shortened that period by about six months. The impact of this implementation is immense."

"I can't do my job without CADDi Drawer."

- Daito Seiki Purchasing Department Newcomers

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Shigeru Matsumoto
"You can quickly find similar drawings, and they are linked to the previous order information and unit prices. With that, by comparing past and new drawings, you can make a price estimate. It might not be the exact correct price, but it provides a starting point. This makes it possible even for newcomers, which was very appealing."

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The search for past drawings has also seen significant improvements. Yusuke Shimajiri from the Purchasing Section of the Manufacturing Division feels the improvement in work efficiency and changes in communication since the introduction of CADDi Drawer." Previously, searching for drawings was a daily task, sometimes taking half a day or even a whole day. Now, with CADDi Drawer finding similar drawings for us, I feel a significant improvement in work efficiency. Previously, finding drawings depended heavily on whether you knew they existed, but now, anyone can search with CADDi Drawer, find the drawing, and even see the price. Everyone is now on the same page, using the same standard for discussions." - Yusuke Shimarjiri

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"Previously, searching for drawings took half a day or even a whole day. With CADDi Drawer, I feel a significant improvement in work efficiency."
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- Yusuke Shimajiri, Purchasing Section

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From Top-Down Methods to a flat culture where new ideas emerge from the younger generation‍

‍Daito Seiki has received support from CADDi's Customer Success team during the introduction and implementation of the system, greatly contributing to a smooth transition.

Shigeru Matsumoto
"Before the introduction, I had the impression that software companies would 'sell and forget,' leaving us to pay maintenance fees afterward. However, CADDi visited us repeatedly from the first month after introduction. They provided advice on how to use the system, carefully listened to our current usage situations, and kept setting new milestones for us to achieve. Their quick feedback and responses to our suggestions were also very reassuring. They helped us clarify what needed to be done each time, so we unknowingly made progress. They were a powerful driving force and played a leading role in this change."

"CADDi visited us repeatedly from the first month after introduction. They provided advice on how to use the system, carefully listened to our current usage situations, and kept setting new milestones for us to achieve."

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-Shigeru Matsumoto, General Manager, Manufacturing Division

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Looking ahead, Daito Seiki is considering expanding the use of CADDi Drawer to the sales department. This would allow them to check past installation examples and prices during sales visits, potentially reducing the number of interactions needed with customers. Additionally, they are considering using CADDi Drawer to search for and consolidate similar drawings, which could lead to the standardization of parts. If realized, this could significantly reduce parts procurement costs by consolidating orders.

Shigeru Matsumoto
"CADDi's CEO, Yushiro Kato, said that true digital transformation (DX) means 'changing the company's culture.' At the time, I hadn’t thought of it that way.

In the past, my approach was that if a task that took an hour could be done in 15 minutes, the 45 minutes saved should be used for the next task, and then the next. But now, my thinking has changed. I want that 45 minutes to be used to change the atmosphere in the department or company and to elevate oneself. I hope the new generation will move away from the top-down approach that has been in place for 38 years and use that 45 minutes to create something good and transform it into time for the future. I believe this will build the next company culture."

Daito Seiki aims to continue utilizing CADDi Drawer to drive transformation within the Manufacturing Division and, ultimately, the entire company.