Prepress
Comprehensive EFI ERP Solution Boosts the Bottom Line at PPC Flexible Packaging
Monday 27. April 2020 - PPC Flexible Packaging a premier producer of high-quality flexible packaging, continues to drive efficiency across its multi-plant footprint using the EFI Packaging Suite and Radius Packaging ERP solution from Electronics For Imaging, Inc.
Headquartered in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, PPC Flexible Packaging is a 49-year-old enterprise with clients in the consumer and healthcare sectors. The company offers fully integrated services from design to production to finishing. Most recently, PPC Flexible Packaging installed the comprehensive workflow at its manufacturing operation in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. It is the latest step in a company-wide roll out of the EFI solution that helps the company deliver a fully integrated, multi-site workflow with consistent data gathering and advanced reporting capabilities.
Packaging-specific ERP capabilities with top-tier reporting
“We have been building our organization through acquisitions and strong organic growth. We knew we wanted full integration with one system that would give us the consistent Key Performance Indicators we need to run the business,” said PPC Flexible Packaging CFO Lyle Meshberger. “We liked Radius and its functionality on the manufacturing floor. It has very good reporting for machine and operator performance. The system is very refined in terms of processes.
“We also wanted an industry-specific system,” Meshberger added, “and Radius is specifically configured to meet that need, so we get top-tier reporting across our complete business. It has absolutely lived up to our expectations.”
The EFI Packaging Suite workflow is now successfully installed at six locations for PPC Flexible Packaging, and its three remaining facilities will be brought on-line in 2021. The companys remarkable progress to date has helped the PPC management team make more informed decisions with greater insights into the key cost drivers of the business. These leading insights help highlight opportunities in product delivery, cost control and many other aspects of the companys manufacturing, sales and administrative operations.
Packaging Suite solutions are used by many of the worlds leading packaging and label producers and offer scalable, end-to-end business integration. PPC Flexible Packaging is now able to reduce manual data entry and touch points in its production processes, driving increased efficiency, reduced errors and, ultimately, faster turnaround times by leveraging some of the suites latest automation technology, such as the EFI Productivity Workbench. The Packaging Suite also features powerful business intelligence, shop-floor data collection and advanced accounting capabilities, giving PPC Flexible Packagings business leaders the visibility they need to make smarter decisions and drive higher profits.
Shorter-run flexibility and better planning and business insights
Many PPC Flexible Packaging clients are businesses that produce healthier snack products, a unique market characterized by small to mid-size runs demanding quick changeovers and small-order SKUs.
“When you run a quick-changeover operation, you really want to know how the specific jobs and changeovers are running. Radius does that,” said Meshberger. “For us, its even more important to have that shop-floor data information and collection because were constantly changing over presses.”
The benefits for PPC Flexible Packaging have been substantial across the board. The company was able to centralize its accounting functions, final reporting, and business intelligence teams by leveraging the Packaging Suites multi-plant capability. Now, PPC Flexible Packaging can collect consistent data across production facilities and is able to generate common reports, helping the management team make more agile decisions. Efficiency has also increased at two PPC Flexible Packaging distribution centers because of improved visibility of stock and inventory.
The scheduling component of PPC Flexible Packagings new workflow solution has given the company important capabilities for contingency planning and allows for faster response to customer demands. Not only has the company simplified processes for moving jobs between plants, PPC Flexible Packaging also generates greater scheduling efficiencies while reducing costs by moving job production closer to clients.
“We now have real-time data, consistent across the company,” said Meshberger. “It means we can react to situations better and more quickly, we have a better understanding of costs, we are more efficient on the shop floor and we have better indicators that drive performance. All that has had a positive impact on our bottom line.”