The DeLuxe Packaging division of Novolex has set new records for efficiency and customer satisfaction by adopting the Syncrun planning and scheduling package. A look back at the genesis of success.
A growing need
Everything began when the company’s ERP planning module could no longer keep up with strong business growth. “We had more and more different items and customers, but our existing systems weren’t all that flexible. So we wanted to make the planners’ job easier,” remembers Marc-André Régimbald, the head of the supply chain department.
Marc-André began looking for an operations sequencing and optimization tool that could fit in with the existing ERP. His criteria? “A visual, easy to use tool that could be used to make production plan scenarios. Syncrun offered all of that,” he explained. After a successful test with the demo version, Novolex installed the software package in all of its DeLuxe plants.
Syncrun’s specificity
Marc-André Régimbald is especially appreciative because Syncrun’s algorithm can be adapted to the company’s special characteristics. At each stage of software installation, Arima’s developers were able to integrate new functions to meet the specific needs noted by DeLuxe: “It was really custom service and a beautiful joint effort.” Even today the department head points out that “we still have a ‘tech’ available to answer our questions.” He also emphasizes the “high level of trust” that has developed with the service provider and “the importance of encouraging a local product […] through a customized approach.”Concrete results
Syncrun has been synonymous with a myriad of benefits for DeLuxe plants. Marc-André Régimbald has noticed them in several areas:- Optimized operations planning: “The visual features enable the planners to assess the scenarios quickly and measure the impacts of each decision.”
- Increased production capacity: “The system automatically combines those orders that go well together in terms of operational constraints. That means less setup time, less scrap, and so on.”
- Better customer service: “Syncrun has contributed a lot to increasing our on-time delivery rate from 87% to 98% and more, in only 18 months.”
“The visual features enable the planners to assess the scenarios quickly and measure the impacts of each decision.”