Inside the Suunto factory

Background

Suunto Oy in short

Suunto is part of the international Amer Sports company. Suunto’s story began more than 80 years ago with the development of the liquid-filled compass and has progressed over the years to today’s sports watches and dive computers. Suunto’s factory and product development operations are located in Vantaa, Finland. Suunto manufactures its products for retailers and sells them directly from its online store to its consumer customers. Customized products are manufactured at Suunto’s Vantaa plant according to customer orders

  • Part of Amer Sports Corporation
  • Products: sports watches, compasses and diving computers
  • Suunto has interntionally over 400 employees
  • Headquarters: Vantaa
  • Established 1936

Partnership steps

At first the customized production dictated production run lenght to 1

The partnership of Suunto and Syncron Tech began in 2015 when Suunto launched its online store for customized products. This required a MES system that enables the manufacture and delivery of customized products to customers with short delivery times.

The cooperation quickly expanded to other production areas and wider scope of production planning and management. Production planning including human resources and manufacturing is performed using a single tool, which streamlines operations and saves planning time.

"Continuous development of products and production is an essential part of Suunto's operating culture. The production management system and its customizability play an important role in this as manufacturing is developed to meet ever-changing customer needs."


– Teemu Suominen, Head of Operations

Results

A comprehensive APS and MES system boosts production

The introduction of customized products and the use of temporary workforce used to even out seasonal fluctuations in production posed a challenge to production management. Suunto chose Syncron Tech as its partner in streamlining production. When the production batches of the orders to be manufactured are small, the MES system must be able to effectively support the production operator in the manufacture of the product.

The SyncPlan® production planning module made it possible to improve production management so that it includes the collection of stock items used in production and their timely delivery to production cells. At the factory, large quantities of small production batches are manufactured. The fast pace is illustrated by the fact that delivery often takes place on the same day after the order arrives.

Everything is planned, resourced and manufactured at a fast pace while ensuring top quality. Task-based visualization is key here. Everything can be viewed at a glance and details can be easily accessed or traced if necessary.

Results summary:

  • Productivity has increased significantly each year.
  • The system has enabled customer-oriented operations and a quick response to market changes.
  • Better and more comprehensive plans, more quickly.

Syncron Tech’s software supports Suunto’s Vantaa plant in achieving its production goals and developing its production processes. The system streamlines operations, from component warehousing to production cells and production management. Integrations into the product database and testing equipment support production quality and the aftermarketing of products.

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