NAPM Strengthens Manufacturing Efficiency with CADDi AI Platform, Reduces Search Time by Up to 70%
The manufacturing industry is entering a new stage of digital evolution, where artificial intelligence is becoming a critical force behind operational efficiency, decision-making, and cost optimization. As automotive suppliers face mounting pressure to improve productivity, reduce inefficiencies, and strengthen competitiveness, companies are increasingly turning to intelligent digital platforms that can transform fragmented data into actionable insights.
Against this backdrop, CADDi, a global technology company focused on developing AI-powered data solutions for manufacturers, has released a new case study detailing how Neaton Auto Products Manufacturing (NAPM), a Tier-1 automotive supplier, significantly improved operational workflows, engineering collaboration, and quality control by implementing the CADDi platform. The partnership illustrates how centralized digital intelligence can create measurable improvements across departments while laying the foundation for broader procurement and cost management capabilities.
NAPM’s adoption of CADDi reflects a larger shift occurring across the manufacturing landscape as organizations move beyond conventional digitalization and begin embracing artificial intelligence to extract greater value from operational data. Through the implementation of CADDi’s manufacturing intelligence platform, NAPM successfully consolidated a massive volume of technical assets, improved document accessibility, accelerated engineering workflows, and reduced search times for essential information by as much as 70%.
Manufacturing’s Shift from Digitalization to AI Integration
For many manufacturers, digital transformation initially focused on replacing paper-based systems with digital tools and introducing software platforms for design, production planning, and enterprise resource management. However, the next challenge involves making those disconnected systems communicate effectively to unlock the full potential of AI.
According to Naomi Noda, Vice President of Design Engineering at NAPM, manufacturers are now moving into an era where digital connectivity and unified information systems are essential for maximizing AI effectiveness.
Noda explained that manufacturing companies have already experienced a major wave of digitalization, but the future lies in successfully implementing artificial intelligence by ensuring digital assets are integrated into a centralized environment. In practical terms, this means connecting departments such as engineering, production, quality assurance, and shipping so that data can flow seamlessly and be analyzed more effectively.
The ability to centralize information enables organizations to identify errors faster, respond to issues more efficiently, and accelerate decision-making processes that previously required extensive manual coordination.
At NAPM, leadership recognized that fragmented information systems represented a major obstacle to productivity and operational efficiency. Critical engineering knowledge was dispersed across multiple shared drives, isolated storage systems, and complex folder structures, making it difficult for employees to locate relevant documentation quickly.
As a result, teams often spent valuable time searching for updated specifications, validating revisions, and coordinating information across departments before actual work could begin.
Turning 140,000 Manufacturing Assets into Connected Intelligence
To overcome these inefficiencies, NAPM partnered with CADDi to create a unified digital ecosystem capable of supporting engineering, quality assurance, and procurement functions.
The company uploaded more than 140,000 documents into the CADDi platform, consolidating a vast amount of manufacturing information into a searchable, centralized environment.
The integrated system brought together data from Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, technical drawings, scanned documentation, and even handwritten notes that had previously been difficult to locate or reuse.
By organizing this extensive body of information into one accessible platform, NAPM established a stronger foundation for cross-functional collaboration and manufacturing intelligence.
Instead of navigating disconnected storage systems, employees gained access to a centralized repository where they could search for documents, specifications, historical data, and related engineering content more efficiently.
The transformation generated measurable results almost immediately.
Engineers at NAPM estimate that the time spent searching for drawings and technical documentation has been reduced by between 40% and 70%, depending on the complexity of the task and information required.
This reduction in administrative effort has allowed engineering teams to redirect time toward higher-value activities such as product design, validation, troubleshooting, and process optimization.
Rather than spending hours navigating complicated file hierarchies or searching across multiple databases, engineers can now retrieve the information they need within a significantly shorter timeframe.
This acceleration of engineering workflows not only improves productivity but also helps maintain project momentum and reduce delays associated with missing or inaccessible information.
Stronger Adoption Reflects Organizational Value
One of the clearest indicators of the platform’s effectiveness at NAPM has been the rapid growth in employee adoption.
Initially introduced to approximately 30 users, CADDi’s presence expanded steadily throughout the organization as more departments recognized the operational benefits of centralized information access.
Today, NAPM reports 85 active users on the platform, representing a 183% increase in adoption since implementation began.
The increase suggests that CADDi’s value extended beyond a single department and became relevant across engineering, quality, procurement, and related operational teams.
Higher adoption rates are particularly important in manufacturing environments, where technology implementation often struggles due to workflow disruptions or employee resistance.
In NAPM’s case, the growing number of active users signals that employees found the system practical and beneficial for day-to-day responsibilities.
The ability to access information quickly and eliminate time-consuming searches appears to have driven organic engagement across departments.
Improving Quality Control Through Faster Information Access
Quality control represents another area where NAPM experienced meaningful gains after deploying the CADDi platform.
Traditionally, quality assurance investigations required personnel to gather information from multiple systems before root-cause analysis could even begin.
Engineers and quality teams often needed to locate technical drawings, design notes, inspection reports, and quality assurance documentation scattered across separate repositories.
This fragmented process slowed investigations and delayed problem-solving efforts.
Following implementation, NAPM’s quality control teams gained centralized access to critical resources from a single interface.
Instead of manually searching through multiple systems, staff members can now retrieve drawings, design notes, and QA sheets immediately and move directly into investigating manufacturing or product issues.
Beth Crose, Quality Control Manager at NAPM, highlighted the dramatic time savings experienced by her team.
According to Crose, quality assurance-related searches were reduced from an average of approximately three minutes and 17 seconds to around one minute and 30 seconds.
The reduction translates to nearly 50% faster access to information, saving approximately one minute and 47 seconds per search.
While that may appear modest on an individual level, the cumulative impact becomes significant when multiplied across dozens or even hundreds of daily searches conducted by quality personnel.
Faster access to documentation means teams can respond more quickly to defects, streamline investigations, and reduce delays in identifying corrective actions.
Crose also noted an unexpected behavioral improvement resulting from the platform.
Because technical drawings and documentation became easier to access, employees began using them more frequently during daily operations.
Previously, the effort required to locate documents often discouraged regular use, limiting the practical value of available information.
By removing that barrier, CADDi increased visibility into critical manufacturing knowledge and encouraged stronger reliance on documented standards and specifications.
Procurement Efficiency Becomes the Next Priority
While CADDi initially helped NAPM improve engineering and quality workflows, procurement efficiency remains one of the company’s most important long-term objectives.
After successfully deploying CADDi Drawer, the company is now exploring ways to strengthen cost visibility and quotation efficiency through CADDi Quote, the procurement-focused component of the platform.
The next phase of NAPM’s digital transformation involves connecting engineering drawings with procurement and supplier pricing data to create more efficient and consistent quotation workflows.
Procurement teams frequently face challenges when attempting to validate supplier pricing or compare quotes against historical cost data.
Without centralized visibility into past components, material costs, and previous supplier pricing, purchasing teams may struggle to determine whether quotes are competitive or inflated.
This limitation can negatively impact profitability and reduce negotiating leverage.
Naomi Noda emphasized that improving procurement capability was a major factor behind NAPM’s decision to partner with CADDi.
According to Noda, procurement performance plays a direct role in profitability because component pricing significantly influences production costs and the pricing manufacturers can offer customers.
Maintaining cost competitiveness therefore remains an ongoing challenge for procurement teams.
Before adopting CADDi, procurement staff had limited ability to compare incoming supplier quotations against similar historical components and pricing benchmarks.
This often restricted their ability to make informed evaluations or negotiate effectively with suppliers.
As a result, procurement professionals spent more time gathering and validating information rather than focusing on strategic sourcing and supplier management.
Building a Smarter Cost Evaluation Framework
Through CADDi’s procurement tools, NAPM aims to create reusable cost tables and structured pricing intelligence based on historical manufacturing data.
The goal is to build a reference system where procurement teams can evaluate new supplier quotes against similar parts produced in the past.
When quotes arrive, procurement professionals can compare pricing with historical benchmarks and assess whether proposed costs are reasonable.
If pricing appears unusually high, teams can use supporting historical data to negotiate more effectively and challenge cost increases with suppliers.
This structured approach shifts procurement activities away from manual administrative tasks and toward more strategic analysis.
Instead of spending excessive time searching for historical information, teams can focus on evaluating supplier competitiveness, improving sourcing strategies, and identifying opportunities for cost savings.
The integration of engineering drawings with procurement intelligence also strengthens collaboration between departments, ensuring purchasing decisions are informed by both technical and financial considerations.
A Blueprint for Manufacturing’s AI-Driven Future
NAPM’s experience demonstrates how manufacturers can benefit from turning fragmented operational data into connected intelligence.
As the industry increasingly adopts AI technologies, centralized access to information is becoming essential for improving speed, efficiency, and decision-making.
The ability to unify engineering knowledge, quality documentation, procurement history, and operational data within one platform creates opportunities for stronger collaboration and faster problem resolution.
For automotive suppliers operating in highly competitive markets, these gains can contribute directly to improved productivity, reduced operational costs, and enhanced responsiveness.
By transforming more than 140,000 assets into searchable manufacturing intelligence, NAPM has taken a significant step toward modernizing operations and preparing for an increasingly AI-driven industrial environment.
As the company continues exploring procurement optimization through CADDi Quote, its digital transformation journey could serve as a model for other automotive manufacturers seeking to unlock greater efficiency through connected data and artificial intelligence.
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