Problems:

• Intake and storage of production (making) materials and finished goods were poorly tracked and inventoried in a manufacturing facility
• Inventory excesses and shortages from a web of suppliers were common and impacting storage costs and delivery reliability
• Product recall processes were compromised by inadequate logging of production inputs

Client:

• Imperial Tobacco Canada, Montreal, QC
• Imperial Tobacco Canada, Guelph, ON

In Association With

• BAT Mexico, Monterrey, Mexico
• Ryder Mexico, Monterrey, Mexico

Background:

Our clients, prominent manufacturers and distributors, were challenged by a collection of problems in their warehouse facilities in Guelph. Managing materials related to product production was of primary concern, since the inability to control in-house quantities of production inputs created scheduling problems for the manufacturing line and suboptimal use of production resources. In addition, there were often situations where employees could not find production inputs, leading to low-value activities of long searches or reordering of excess inventory.

For this manufacturer, product quality is essential and regulated, and product recall processes in place at the time of our engagement were inefficient because of poor material tracking and inventory management. Any product recall initiated by our clients could have to include all products that “may” have used production inputs, because there was no way to track inputs reliably.

Our Solution:

Deploy in all of their facilities a web-based wireless Warehouse Management System which:

• interfaced with SAP
• facilitated business processes being implemented
• took advantage of handheld devices
• improved accuracy of incoming and outgoing products
• limited financial exposure to mass product recalls

Our Activities:

A Sandbox expert:

• Completed a readiness assessment of the business processes
• Completed a readiness assessment of the IT infrastructure
• Identified high priority activities
• Guided business functional leads in decision-making for the solution
• Helped establish the best local strategy for go-live
• Assisted the IT team in finalizing system and software details
• Helped setup and configure required technology infrastructure
• Participated in test cases
• Assisted in developing operational procedures
• Contributed to the transfer of knowledge
• Assisted in developing and organizing the training plan
• Participated in go-live activities and post-go-live support

Outcomes:

New custom software, which interfaced with SAP and was deployed on wireless handheld scanners and the client’s server , created an exceptional and cost-effective framework solution. The inventory of production materials was so accurate that our clients’ teams knew not only when to order replacement material but could optimize the production schedule on product makers they had.

The project was so successful that when Imperial Tobacco Canada moved manufacturing efforts to Monterrey Mexico, the software would move as well. Sandbox Software was asked to participate in a four month mandate to assist in the installation of the software in BAT Mexico's Canadian operations and in its Ryder warehousing location.

The partnership of Sandbox Software with these large manufacturing clients made possible a very aggressive timeline without losing on quality or the number of project deliverables.

If your company is facing similar process challenges, and you are ready to find solutions, contact us today for a free no-obligation consultation.