Although manufacturers are using software systems to manage their production environments, there can still be problems, especially if the software system being deployed is not the right solution for them.
Such was the case for Poli-Film, Hampshire, Ill., a manufacturer of protective adhesive film products. They were burdened by software that was unable to efficiently manage information and required manual input throughout the entire manufacturing process.
Their system made it impossible for them to keep current data, and generated inaccurate information, slow production times and inconsistencies in the final product, oftentimes while working with their distribution sites in Kennesaw, Ga., Montgomeryville, Pa. and Monterrey, Mexico.
In the face of production cycle problems, Poli-Film recognized the need to update its existing solution. The company’s senior management team sought an all-in-one solution that could control production from beginning to end. They found the answer in Infor's ERP VISUAL Enterprise system.
An All-in-One Solution
Infor's ERP system streamlined all of Poli-Film’s processes with a single, powerful, comprehensive solution. It allowed Poli-Film to eliminate excess inventory and transform manual processes into automated production systems.
“Our material handling and shop-floor scheduling began occurring in real time,” said Poli-Film president Geoff Davis. “That was a real improvement over managing data in batch files. And not only did VISUAL help improve our overall manufacturing process and allow us to become more customer driven, the technology also supported our goal of doubling our business in two years.”
Infor's ERP VISUAL Enterprise produced a number of immediate benefits for Poli-Film beyond seamless shop-floor scheduling, including:
• Real-time operations
• “A leaner-than-lean environment” eliminating excess inventory
• Flexibility to customize parameters and adjust with the changing demands of the customer base
• Tracing products back to their raw materials to find and eliminate the root causes of potential problems.
VISUAL supports multi-site, multi-plant and multi-entity implementations that can be either integrated within other applications or serve as a stand-alone solution.
Through implementing VISUAL, Poli-Film capitalized on the solution’s ability to build an internal structure that drives quality and streamlines the existing manufacturing environment’s business-process flow. With revenues growing and inventory expense on the decline, Poli-Film is now experiencing the success that lean manufacturing can help to achieve.