All released engineering drawings are stored in Germany and the UK. Cimage DM-Net allows
remote customers to log on to the Cimage system via the Ford Intranet and view and print
images directly. This has resulted in over 20,000 images being downloaded every month with
more than two logins a minute. The Cimage system has proved to be very popular with its
customers as one of the customers of the system in manufacturing in South America stated:
"I consider it a major improvement in the services. Being able to respond to queries
in a faster manner."
Ford's suppliers are also seeing a benefit from the Cimage system as one supplier
from North America commented: "I am a supplier and before (i.e. without online
access) the only way to get a lot of drawings was through other suppliers or the
reproduction department (2-3 days or longer sometimes)."
Ford is now in the process of upgrading its system to Cimage 98 to take advantage of
the software's increased functionality and the extra processing power provided by the
latest hardware. This will allow Ford to increase their user base substantially in the
years ahead. |
