Contract packaging company needed to connect real-time shop floor data collection and workflow integration to their Macola ERP system.

BACKGROUND

Coregistics had a SaaS packaging management system in place in the embedded work centers, but it did not exactly fit Coregistics workflows and connect the car manufacturer’s Red Prairie warehouse management system (WMS) to Coregistics’ Macola ERP system.

• It was difficult and time-consuming to manage the flow of work.
• Managers did not know how long it took to process a job.
• There was no visibility of job status across the warehouse or in the front office.
• Any rush orders had to be manually walked through. There was no data collected for quality control and auditing.

CHALLENGE

Coregistics needed a partner that could work with operations managers and understand their packaging process to implement a manufacturing operations management system that connects the embedded work centers to the warehouse and increases operations flow.

• Eliminate email-based communications to reduce confusion, slow responses, and problems reacting to changing job priorities
• Incorporate auditing and accountability into the workflow, to provide information necessary to determine the root cause of issues.
• Improve visibility for Coregistics and for their customers, providing the data in real-time to communicate and collaborate.
• Give senior management a real-time view of the embedded work centers, the ability to be proactive to eliminate bottlenecks, and continually improve performance on the production lines.

SOLUTION

TwinEngines worked with operations managers and executive management to architect a business system that connects line-of-business systems to improve operations, enables real-time shop floor data collection, and provides visibility to the front office.

• The SharePoint MOM system connects the Red Prairie WMS and the Macola ERP system extracting and integrating data with workflows that connect employees from both companies.

• TwinEngines developed Windows Mobile applications for Motorola Bar Code Scanners – used by employees throughout the packaging process. Integration with handheld devices enables the collection of the job and performance data needed for business intelligence.

• The most significant benefit Coregistics realized from the deployment was a nearly 40% reduction in administrative duties at each work center. This was achieved partly through the reduction in manual effort but mostly through the SharePoint centralized repository of information and workflows that connected systems and people from both companies.