# 199: Leveraging the Data You Already Have to Solve Your Manufacturing Challenges with Yushiro Kato, Founder & CEO of CADDi

- Show: [Manufacturing Happy Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour)
- Published: 2024-08-20
- Length: 48m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2024-08-20-199-leveraging-the-data-you-already-have-to-solve-your-manufacturing-challenges
- Listen: http://manufacturinghappyhour.com

## Summary

Yushiro Kato, Founder and CEO of CADDi, explains how his background at McKinsey & Company and a previous clinical trial recruitment business led him to identify inefficiencies in manufacturing procurement. He details how CADDi’s software, including the product Drawer, uses AI and OCR to extract data from historical CAD drawings, allowing engineers and procurement teams to search by shape or material rather than arbitrary part numbers. Kato highlights that this democratization of historical data solves the 'knowledge drain' problem as baby boomers retire, while simultaneously driving immediate cost savings by identifying pricing inconsistencies across similar parts. He also discusses the operational challenges of leading a multicontinental company with established operations in Japan and a scaling presence in the U.S., noting cultural differences in job specialization and employee tenure.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2024-08-20-199-leveraging-the-data-you-already-have-to-solve-your-manufacturing-challenges#t=0) Introduction: Yushiro Kato and CADDi
- [5:47](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2024-08-20-199-leveraging-the-data-you-already-have-to-solve-your-manufacturing-challenges#t=347) Kato's Early Entrepreneurship and McKinsey Tenure
- [12:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2024-08-20-199-leveraging-the-data-you-already-have-to-solve-your-manufacturing-challenges#t=770) CADDi's Evolution from Should-Cost Modeling to Procurement Platform
- [17:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2024-08-20-199-leveraging-the-data-you-already-have-to-solve-your-manufacturing-challenges#t=1068) The Problem of Redundant Engineering and Historical Data
- [23:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2024-08-20-199-leveraging-the-data-you-already-have-to-solve-your-manufacturing-challenges#t=1403) How Drawer Uses AI to Search Drawings by Shape and Material
- [28:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2024-08-20-199-leveraging-the-data-you-already-have-to-solve-your-manufacturing-challenges#t=1707) Solving Knowledge Drain and Empowering Frontline Workers
- [33:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2024-08-20-199-leveraging-the-data-you-already-have-to-solve-your-manufacturing-challenges#t=2001) Immediate Impact: Procurement Cost Savings and Standardization
- [38:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2024-08-20-199-leveraging-the-data-you-already-have-to-solve-your-manufacturing-challenges#t=2302) Managing a Multicontinental Company: US vs. Japan Culture

## Topics

- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- CADDi (company)
- McKinsey & Company (company)
- Drawer (product)
- Ramen San (other)
- Zenode (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Digitizing Institutional Knowledge w/ Yushiro Kato](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-11-28-digitizing-institutional-knowledge-w-yushiro-kato) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [248. Xometry’s Oscar Lovera & How AI Is Rebuilding Manufacturing](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2026-07-14-248-xometrys-oscar-lovera-how-ai-is-rebuilding-manufacturing) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [Electronica 24: Peter Gutschi on How AI is Shaping the Future of Manufacturing](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2024-12-19-electronica-24-peter-gutschi-on-how-ai-is-shaping-the-future-of-manufacturing) (EMS@C-LEVEL)
- [From Quotes To Confidence: How Luminovo Is Rewiring EMS Collaboration, Founder Sebastian Schaal](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2026-03-31-from-quotes-to-confidence-how-luminovo-is-rewiring-ems-collaboration-founder-seb) (EMS@C-LEVEL)
- [Matchmaking Supply and Demand for Parts Manufacturing w/ Markus Seibold](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2024-10-15-matchmaking-supply-and-demand-for-parts-manufacturing-w-markus-seibold) (The Manufacturing Executive)

## Citing this page

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