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Athea Labs Completes Their 'ERP Overhaul' with Batchmaster ERP
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
Applicable Industries
- Chemicals
Applicable Functions
- Discrete Manufacturing
- Quality Assurance
Use Cases
- Manufacturing System Automation
Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
Athea Labs was operating with an outdated ERP solution that had become so specialized for their needs that updates to current releases were no longer possible. The old ERP solution lacked key functions such as MRP and MPS, which were needed to drive Inventory and Manufacturing requirements. This led Athea to develop many of their own functions outside the old ERP solution. The old ERP solution maintained Production Work Orders and routings, but without Planning. The old ERP solution did not maintain a Lot Number/Location relationship for their items and since they inventory all their chemicals and finished goods by lot number, the process of locating the First Expired, First Out (FEFO) quantity of their chemicals could sometimes end up being a long and tedious process.
About The Customer
Athea Labs is a specialty chemicals manufacturer based in Milwaukee, WI. For over 35 years, Athea Labs has been delivering specialty chemicals and specialty products to customers in the Midwest and surrounding states. Athea Labs is an industry leader in the niche market of chemical specialties, manufacturing products from herbicides to insecticides to industrial cleaners to aerosols. In addition to their enormous private label business, Athea Labs developed its own product label, Total Solutions. The company has strong Research & Development and Quality Management departments, which are leveraged effectively for the entire organization.
The Solution
Athea Labs implemented BatchMaster ERP with SAP Business One. The new ERP solution will help Athea Labs in manufacturing in a number of ways. First, having the lot number with location on the Pick Slip will be huge. Expiration dates will also be linked by lot number, so that they are certain to be pulling the FEFO quantity from the area. The integration of inventory quantities with Manufacturing, Sales Order and MRP will result in much lower quantities of inventory being stocked and much faster turnover of their inventory. BatchMaster ERP will balance their material requirements and combine finished goods with like formulas, which is going to make them so much more efficient. The new ERP solution will also streamline their R&D Process with BatchMaster ERP's Sample Management.
Operational Impact
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