Goken’s client, an Automotive OEM was designing and developing a defrost duct that helps to defrost the large surface area of the windshield. The current 3D printed design made by the OEM met regulatory standards, however it could not be mass manufactured as the construction of the airflow path and its geometrical shape made tooling non-feasible. As a result, the client requested Goken’s engineering team to come up with alternative designs that could be mass produced.

Global product development is a growing trend as businesses realize the benefits of this approach. In recent years, especially since the pandemic, automotive OEMs have realized they can slash costs by partnering with an offshore company while still having access to experts through their global pool of resources. This case study represents such a global team with Goken engineers in India working closely with engineers from Korea and supporting development for a Japanese OEM.

Here is a challenge that is unique to start-ups and more specifically, EV (Electrical Vehicle) start-ups - Developing a product while also building the infrastructure that supports the development of this product. This includes PLM infrastructure with all its modules of requirements, configuration and change management, establishing processes around design and development, procurement, supplier integration. As this infrastructure evolves, there is a need to upskill existing associates and ensure that new associates onboarded are acclimatized to these processes and can effectively integrate into the organization’s way of product design and development.

The client saved approximately 100,000 USD in a year (9.5% of the development cost) while eliminating underutilized resources during valleys, minimizing overtime during peaks, and reducing dependency on Japanese engineering resources.

An OEM was experiencing over 90% turnover annually in their contractor purchasing roles. This turnover resulted in large amounts of overtime for their existing team. Extensive training was required for the newly hired associates in the purchasing department. This also reduced the amount of work contractor roles managed.

A Powersports OEM wanted to increase market share and expand their product line-up by adding a lower cost side-by-side ATV. The client had limited manpower and numerous projects in development. They approached Goken for staff augmentation support to assist the new product development that required a new body design and increased towing capacity to be delivered for evaluation within 10 months.

Automotive Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) often brings global suppliers onboard for their high-quality manufacturing capabilities. In certain cases, suppliers may not have local design support for close coordination with the OEM.

When resources are limited and deadlines are fast approaching, Automotive Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) reaches out to their trusted suppliers. Goken has been chosen for such tasks in the past by many of our clients. One such project required us to develop the chassis system and sub-systems for our clients’ Electric Vehicle (EV) in California. The project also required computational validation of components and the development of a system Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA)* and a Design Verification Plan (DVP)**.

There are numerous possibilities for using automation in the CATIA environment for optimizing the design. One way to do that is scripting, which involves writing code to execute a specific task. Another method involves writing a program in languages such as C, C#, and VBA to create new abstractions. The third approach is to develop an optimization algorithm that defines free variables and at the same time impose constraints and ranges to guide the optimization tool.

You cannot improve what you cannot measure. At Goken, we believe strongly in improving performance through continuous evaluation. We have been fortunate enough to work with clients who share our philosophy of continuous improvement. However, clients also realize that such improvement requires a process-oriented approach and a basic competency level.

When working in an environment that is fast-paced and riddled with disparate processes, productivity often suffers due to rework. A lack of organizational processes and work methods can quickly snowball into the organization not being able to release products on time or even diversify when needed.