More Thoughts On Technology and Boat Building

     My last posting began a discussion of fully utilizing modern technology in the process of building boats to order either one-off, or one-at-a -time. My contention has for some time been that the proper use of technology may bring a degree of basic efficiency to the building of boats to order that will allow pricing and even delivery to be competitive with production line boats, especially where unique and customized designs are desired. The primary advantage of working from digitized tooling is the ability to offer both endless variety and limitless variation; the advantage of production moulded fiberglass boats has always been the efficiency of building multiple boats from common tooling in a production setting. But floorplan costs, dealer profits, and marketing expenses have long altered this equation, and now technology has made it feasible to own unique, personalized boats without a major cost penalty.

     That said, we must now look at the full spectrum of technology as it applies to this field of modern boat building. I have already briefly addressed the obvious advantages of CADD/CNC technology; now I will take a look at the other critical role of technology, that of the supply-chain advantages to be exploited for modern boat building purposes.

     For companies like WalMart, supply chain management is a matter of keeping massive amounts of manufactured goods in the pipeline from the factory to the store. For factories, supply chain management means keeping adequate supplies of all parts in place where they are needed, as they are needed. This all fits under the umbrella of "just-in-time" inventory control (the Japanese industrialist credited with its' invention took his inspiration from American grocery stores; shelves are stocked, people come and get what they need when they need it, shelves are re-stocked as they become empty.)

     For a company like this one, the entire dynamic is different. Rather than move millions of identical parts or products to thousands of locations around the globe, we are moving small numbers of parts to produce a variety of final products, though still at locations around the world. It is my contention that the computer coding system does not care; it is simply processing information (we were entering the "information economy" in the 1990's; still are, I believe) and transmitting it to various places. And so, if an order is placed for a completely kitted 30 foot cruising sharpie, the computer will (with human prompting, of course) send out the orders for pre-cut parts, materials, hardware, sails, etc.; with all orders directed to be shipped to a single location for inspection, packaging, assembly etc. In theory, it should be possible to send everything needed to build that 30 foot motor launch to one location, and a 21 ft. sailboat to another, all in a constant pre-programmed order-to-delivery flow. This is what Jon Persson Designs is in the process of initiating.