Manual Overload turned into Growth Journey

Industry: Electronic Manufacturing Service (EMS) and Original Design Manufacturing (ODM).

About the company: Lacon is one of the Top 20 EMS providers in Europe. Lacon can not only assemble printed circuit boards and wire harnesses. With Lacon, you get the concepts, development, design, and production of electronics products – complete original design manufacturing made in Germany.

The Challenge

Lacon faced numerous challenges hindering growth and efficiency. Time-consuming processes, including numerous media breaks, slow supplier response times, opaque pricing, and high effort in recalculating costs, maintaining part data, and procuring hard-to-find components, were putting a strain on the business. The impact was further exacerbated by the high time investment required to maintain and capture data, leading to increased overhead costs and reduced profitability.

“If we want to operate financially sustainably, we need to spend less time on RfQs”

“Before Luminovo, we were very manual, especially when it came to customer inquiries,” says the CEO of Lacon, Ralf Hasler. “Many individual steps were necessary and, at the same time, we did not have a good overview of the status of the RfQs or outstanding tasks.” As most EMS companies, Lacon had to work through complex Excel lists – “this status quo wasn’t sustainable because if we remain fully manual, we don’t have time to take care of our customers or our growth ambitions. It had to change.”

The Decision

The cloud-based software solution, Luminovo, is designed to solve Lacon's problems. “As a future-oriented company, we wanted to invest in future technology,” Ralf Hasler explains why they opted for a cloud solution. Luminovo ensures data protection with ISO 27001-certified operating servers in Germany and provides transparent processes for all stakeholders.

“It quickly became apparent that Luminovo was a perfect fit - whether it was the intelligent BOM importer, being able to instantly compare prices and availabilities across numerous distributors, or getting part alternative suggestions, the added value of LumiQuote was obvious to every employee.”

“Now that LumiQuote supports our operational processes, we can fully focus on the sustainable growth of our business and increase employee retention in the long term through improved processes.”

The Result

Dr. Ralf Hasler, the CEO of Lacon, was thrilled with the results of the implementation of Luminovo, a powerful tool for automating the quote preparation and sourcing processes. Technology has transformed Lacon's business operations, making them faster, more efficient, and more competitive. “Now we are enabled to manage projects more effectively, ensuring timely delivery and meeting our customers' expectations.”

“Luminovo has revolutionised how we operate in our engineering, sales, and purchasing departments,” said Ralf Hasler. “With Luminovo, our sales team can respond to inquiries faster, providing customers with real-time quotes and pricing information. This has helped us win more proposals and improve employee and customer satisfaction.”

Luminovo has enabled Lacon to handle complex RfQs much faster and with much greater accuracy, thanks to the digital twin and the health check features in the BOM module. This has resulted in substantial time savings for the company, freeing up valuable resources for other tasks. The experience and knowledge brought by Luminovo have enabled Lacon to automate manufacturing cost calculations using templates, enhancing response time and competitiveness in the EMS market.

“The quick identification of the most cost- and time-effective sources with good availability has allowed us to optimize our prices and availabilities, which is a key factor in winning proposals,” said Ralf Hasler. “Luminovo has truly been a game-changer for Lacon.”

Bonus: What do you appreciate the most about Luminovo?

CEO Ralf Hasler sums up, “We appreciate the ease of use and flexibility of Luminovo. The software has significantly impacted our business operations and allowed us to focus on our core competencies. Our employees are happier when operating with Luminovo as it eases their daily tasks. The ability to streamline processes, reduce time and effort, and stay competitive in the market are all key factors that make Luminovo a valuable partner for Lacon. We are grateful to Luminovo for revolutionising our business and look forward to a continued partnership in our journey to accelerate technological progress.”

Curious to learn how Luminovo can transform your operational processes too? Schedule a call with one of our product specialists to receive a free introduction to our tool.