CASE STUDY: Trek Bicycle speeds customer deliveries and improves operational efficiency 

Using Siemens Opcenter, leading specialty bike manufacturer doubles the output of their team 

Trek Bicycle Corporation, a leading specialty bike manufacturer based in Wisconsin, United States, has realized huge manufacturing efficiency gains through digital manufacturing. Their high-end bikes are sold worldwide, and now are delivered to specialty shops on an accelerated schedule. Their manufacturing style is a high-mix, low-volume, build-to-order business. 

Trek was experiencing high growth, and they needed a scheduling solution that would scale with them. They wanted to create efficiencies from design to manufacturing by testing scenarios digitally before production started.  They needed to do longer term capacity analyses based on different supply chain scenarios. And in general, they needed to create greater efficiency by eliminating manual processes and embarking on their digital journey. 

Trek chose Siemens Opcenter as the foundation of their digital transformation. Out of the box, Opcenter’s Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) module allowed Trek to automate and optimize their capacity planning and production scheduling. They were able to more than double the amount of scheduling with the same size team. 

“Opcenter APS stood out for its out-of-the-box options and functionality,” said Eric Schultz, Master Scheduling Manager for Trek. “We also liked the fact that Opcenter had been used more widely in the industry than the other products we evaluated.” 

Trek says Opcenter has allowed them to avoid countless production shutdowns, keeping their employees more productive. They have been able to speed up customer deliveries and use their enhanced flexibility to match build schedules with their available materials inventory. 

Read the full case study to learn how Trek leveraged Siemens’ partner SNic to implement their Opcenter solution, the details of their project, and how you can apply these strategies to your own operations. 

---

Opcenter Scheduling helps maximize production and minimize lead times