In 2001, as business peaked, Merley were keen on ramping up production and improving their manufacturing processes. But to forge ahead in a highly competitive market, they knew they had to upgrade their current standalone systems, and transfer vast amounts of data from their old systems to a new one, without losing data or bringing manufacturing to a halt, risking costly production hours, and causing late deliveries. After a lengthy market evaluation, Merley chose to partner with Medatech UK. Priority's authorized business partner, to replace their legacy software, and implement Priority ERP. 'For Merley, Priority was quickly deemed a perfect fit because of its strong focus on an organization's internal processes,' said Allan Dyson, owner, Merley Paper Converters.

Multi-skilled account management teams work with customers from project initiation to offer bespoke, precise, best of breed solutions. Fully supported by in-house design and engineering teams, plus state-of-the-art JIT manufacturing facilities, to provide timely delivery with 'right first time', every time deployment. Designed for purpose and produced to the very highest standards, SMl's molten pressure moulded cable systems are manufactured with carefully selected materials, including Polyurethane, Polyethylene and Elastomers, to form the highest integrity, situational resilient, dual jacketed connections for hostile environment deployment. Due to accelerated company growth, Keith Wells, SMl's CEO, needed a better way to manage production operations because existing systems could not cope with increasing volumes. Existing systems also didn't provide some specific functionality that was required to support customers, modernize processes and develop new efficiencies.

Simplivia had up to 6 months to implement a new IT infrastructure to unify all the company's processes and support the entire supply chain, sales, distribution, procurement, and financial operations, while extensively growing the workforce, implementing new procedures, and establishing workflows. As part of establishing a new business entity that would incorporate an additional business activity recently acquired in an asset transaction, Simplivia faced extensive growth and expansion. Simplivia had up to 6 months to implement a new IT infrastructure to unify all the company's processes and support the entire supply chain, sales, distribution, procurement, and financial operations, while extensively growing the workforce, implementing new procedures, and establishing workflows.

Stepping into an established family operation and being charged with making big changes is not what most people would consider an easy task, but Piaskowski was just the man for the job; maybe even the company superhero for the job. Talsco had been using one module of REALTRAC’s ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) machine shop software to help manage their operations. Jeff learned to use the software and quickly realized he could do more, a lot more, with REALTRAC. Over the next few months, Mr. Piaskowski worked to build his case for each new module he added. Like any crusader, caped or not, he did his homework, learned what each module could do specifically for Talsco Aerospace manufacturing and took his plan to management. He then worked with his team to implement these modules. As a result, the new software modules rapidly improved the efficiency of Talsco’s operations.

Dave Jacoby, founder of Jacoby Custom Cues, faced significant challenges as his business grew rapidly. Despite increasing sales, profitability was not keeping pace due to the complexities of managing thousands of custom orders each year. The company needed a reliable way to better cost and price their high-end pool cues, some of which can cost over $10,000. Additionally, they required a system to manage their operations efficiently, ensuring on-time deliveries and perfect quality. The fast growth also necessitated moving to larger manufacturing spaces twice, further complicating operational management.

In 1993, East Side had grown to an 18 employee ship and realized that its manual methods of shop management were no longer adequate if growth were to continue without sacrificing quality and customer service. Job shop manufacturing software was needed to assist in: tracking jobs, managing deliveries and providing accurate machine shop costing. It was also beginning to become apparent that manual bookkeeping and accounting procedures could no longer provide the accurate and timely financial control that was necessary for a growing company.

Yazaki Saltano, a molded plastic parts supplier in Portugal, was facing challenges in managing its high-volume molding operation with paper records and Excel. The company was planning to add many more molding machines and realized that it needed a more robust control system. A previous attempt to implement a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) had failed due to unreliable communication between the molding machines and the MES. This, coupled with plans to add even more machines, created a strong incentive for Yazaki Saltano to choose the right partner and succeed with the MES implementation.

Excel Industries, a leading outdoor power equipment manufacturer, was facing a significant challenge with their parts lookup and ordering system. The company was dependent on a third-party provider to make changes to their parts books and manuals, which was a time-consuming process that often took five to six months to implement. This delay resulted in dealers and distributors being unsure if they were ordering the right part or accessory, damaging the trust between the company and their network. The inaccurate parts data also began impacting Excel’s costs and bottom line, with one instance of a mislabeled transmission resulting in significant shipping costs and a 30-day delay to fix the error.

Before the implementation of Documoto, Paladin Attachments had a manual and time-consuming process for parts ordering and customer service. Customers had to call in to order parts and consumables, and the company relied on hard copy manuals and PDF catalogs for parts lookup. These documents were not regularly updated or maintained, leading to issues with part supersessions. Updates to these documents could take anywhere from 4-12 hours, and creating a new parts manual could take weeks. The company wanted to modernize its aftermarket sales and develop a better way of doing business online.

Atlas Copco Construction (ACC) is a global manufacturer of construction equipment with a geographically dispersed customer base. The company was facing challenges with its parts lookup and ordering system. The traditional, printed parts catalogs were becoming obsolete and were unable to keep up with the real-time updates. This was causing delays in the ordering process and was affecting the company's relationship with its customers. ACC needed a solution that would deliver updated versions of documents to their network immediately. The company wanted a dynamic system, which would not only display current inventory levels, but also provide customers with information regarding how products should be used. The goal was to make speed and accuracy a competitive differentiator, with product updates, technical information, and pricing available to end users as close to real-time as possible.

LA Metro, the operator of a system with 2,200 buses and over 270 rail cars, had an inefficient and outdated parts lookup and ordering system. Mechanics diagnosed vehicle problems, then created a parts list by viewing PDFs and manually writing down part numbers. Then they would open the EAM portal and enter the part numbers to create an order. However, obtaining accurate part information from manufacturers' PDFs remained slow and tedious, and submitting an incorrect part number could result in lengthy delays. One of the major sources of staff and vehicle downtime is order accuracy. Before implementing the new solution, technicians ordered an incorrect part on 25% of orders. Re-ordering the correct part involves at least a 30-minute delay before the right part arrives back at the service bay. With 2,000 mechanics losing a half hour of work on 25% of their jobs, fixing this problem was a major goal of Metro's maintenance division.

As Hiperbaric expanded its product base, they realized that their customer satisfaction goals required a more robust content solution for technical support. They needed a system where spare part information, service bulletins, and other technical documentation could be easily accessed by internal staff and machine owners. Traditional parts manuals were created and formatted using desktop publishing tools in a repetitive, mostly manual process. However, constant changes in parts information created a roadblock for time and efficiency, as each instance had to be manually updated and then redistributed in a timely fashion. Hiperbaric wanted to provide quick and accurate after-sales service, as even a brief stoppage in operation can shut down a food manufacturer’s production line and cause unacceptable impacts on output.

Viking Range, LLC, a pioneer in bringing commercial-quality technology and design to the residential market, needed an online solution to provide comprehensive product information in one location for both service people and consumers. The documentation includes use and care instructions, installation guides, service manuals and bulletins, and parts books. Viking was also motivated to increase efficiencies in their publishing department. Their previous system relied on an outside vendor to update the content via static PDFs and spreadsheet files. The process of updating a parts book took up to two weeks before it was available online because Viking had to send the change to the external service provider and wait for them to get the content updated on Viking’s online system.

Fecon, a manufacturer of premium products in the forestry industry, was facing challenges with its parts catalogs. The catalogs were dependent on a third-party vendor, who converted product information from the manufacturer into parts books and manuals. This process was time-consuming and costly, with each manual costing almost $10,000. The lengthy turnaround time meant parts catalogs were effectively obsolete as soon as they were published. There was no effective way to update manuals in response to engineering changes and product updates. This resulted in extensive phone time with Fecon customer service simply trying to identify the correct parts for a customer’s machine. Fecon wanted to improve dealer and customer communications by providing timely service bulletins, warranty notifications, sales promotions and other vital information for equipment owners.

Dragotec’s equipment is known for its durability, a necessity in agricultural working environments. However, the harsh conditions sometimes experienced during crop harvesting can lead to equipment damage. When this happens, dealers and equipment owners need product documentation that easily distinguishes what part requires repair or replacement. The challenge was ensuring that the manuals accurately depict the equipment parts. The printed books provided with their corn head attachments did not drill down into every part of the attachment, making illustrations with part numbers and specifications difficult to create and maintain. The outdated parts books were hard to read, making it difficult to provide sales and service support to dealers. The features they sought out in a solution were ease of use, improved publishing processes, improved publishing release timeframe, easy adoption rate with network, and enhanced dealer experience.

Oxbo International, a part of the Ploeger Oxbo Group, develops, manufactures, distributes, and supports mechanized solutions for agricultural niche markets worldwide. With several facilities and sister companies in Europe, the Ploeger Oxbo Group needed a solution to unify and host product information. The first challenge was finding a solution that could help them create and publish parts catalogs efficiently. The second was finding a solution that could connect to their fragmented technical documentation. Previous processes would take months to complete, making it challenging to provide sales and service support to the equipment owners seeking guidance on their machines.

Schramm, a manufacturer and global supplier to the hydraulic drilling industry, was facing challenges with their parts book processes. The company was producing generic parts books that were not customized to the customers' rigs. The process of creating these books was lengthy and time-consuming. Some illustrations were hand-drawn, out of date, or incorrect. If there were any engineering changes, they could not be easily added to the parts books in the field. This led to inefficiencies and difficulties in providing accurate and up-to-date information to their customers. The company needed a solution that could improve their publishing process, automate parts book publishing, and provide secure online access to parts information for their global network of customers and dealers.

MacLean, a company that designs, manufactures, and supports engineered solutions across the mining, municipal, and waste management sectors, faced challenges in unifying internal and external documentation. They needed a solution that could help them create and publish parts catalogs efficiently and improve their aftermarket customer experience by connecting their customers to their machine technical documentation. The previous processes were time-consuming and would take weeks to complete. They also lacked shopping cart capability for their customers.

ComfortFit Labs, a New Jersey-based packaging manufacturer that designs and manufactures custom orthotics, was facing a challenge with their traditional order processing workflow. The process was tedious, involving significant manual labor and long turnaround times. Customers would send plaster casts of their patients’ limbs along with paper order forms to ComfortFit. The order data was recorded manually, and when a work order was issued to the floor, technicians had to manually measure the cast and find the right mold out of hundreds to manufacture from. This resulted in an average 7–20 day turnaround time with a process that was prone to human error from order entry.

Arnold Packaging, a comprehensive supplier to the packaging industry, faced a significant challenge in their production process. Their process started with the collection of custom specs for an order and communicating them to the production floor. Technicians then worked together to complete various tasks in a workflow before the deliver-by date. However, activity was recorded manually on time sheets, which meant managers lacked real-time visibility on their operations. The company had a tedious, manual process of understanding data that couldn’t keep up with the pace of the production floor. Arnold Packaging needed a solution that would provide advanced production visibility, so that they could enhance technician productivity and gain significant managerial time savings.

HT Micron, a semiconductor facility in São Leopoldo Brazil, needed to implement a manufacturing execution system (MES) within two months to meet the demands of Tier 1 international customers. The company was starting up in a country with no industry experience and no MES consultants with semiconductor experience. The MES was critical for the company to get on the approved vendor list of global Tier 1 customers and to stay efficient and flexible as their volume and product mix grow. The company also faced the challenge of training every employee and getting to market rapidly.

SMART Modular Technologies’ 10-year-old memory chip back-end plant in Brazil was stepping up to implement a modern comprehensive manufacturing execution system (MES). The timing was to succeed as a second source for a new product and more to come. As SMART continued its thrust into the mobile market for memory, they recognized that the current controls would no longer suffice. The plant was using an internally-developed WIP tracking system plus Excel and paper. This system did not provide close yield monitoring. SMART could not easily analyze data to prevent defects. Lot traceability was a manual and tedious task, and operators had to choose the right tools and recipe. With new products and more volume, this would not be sufficient. So in 2013, the Atibaia IC facility began looking for a system that would do far more than its current software.

GS-EPI, a provider of professional silicon epitaxial wafer (Epi) OEM services, was facing a growing challenge. The company manufactures more than 200,000 6” EPI wafers per month on three types of equipment and the volume was growing. Historically, GS-EPI collected production data, recorded it on paper and put it into Excel spreadsheets. Querying production data was very difficult and in some cases, it was impossible to find the correct set of data from the past. To win customers, GS-EPI has to explain how they manage the production process, how they control quality and how they achieve wafer traceability. Their critical customers demanded that they implement an MES system. At the same time, managers knew that they needed a tool to help manage production efficiently to meet the increasing number of orders they were getting.

AT&S, a leader in the high-end printed circuit board (PCB) market, was building a new plant in China to manufacture integrated circuit (IC) substrates. They recognized that their new substrate production facility would need effective automated information flows to handle all of the data for their products. The systems in place in their six existing PCB production facilities were not adequate. These systems presented two related business challenges: efficiency of data collection and access to data about products and processes, and changing traceability requirements that require agility to revamp information sets. The current application set also presented some IT challenges. Other AT&S plants had an array of systems providing MES capabilities. These included commercial applications from the ERP provider, some applications developed on IBM Notes and homegrown software.

The company, one of the world's largest providers of semiconductor manufacturing assembly and test services, was facing challenges in tracking, monitoring, and optimizing the utilization of its several thousand processing equipment in its high-volume manufacturing site in China. The main requirements were to capture equipment status and historical information automatically for real-time knowledge and performance analysis over time, and to visualize the status of all the equipment in real-time in a graphical manner representing the actual physical fab layout. The large scale of the operation necessitated a solution that was scalable, flexible, and had state-of-the-art visualization and reporting capabilities.

Hitachi Zosen Corporation, a Japan-based EPC, is committed to creating innovative products that are beneficial to society and technology. To stay competitive, the company needs to ensure that each product is not only innovative but also allows their clients to maintain a competitive edge with traditional products and other emerging technologies. One of the challenges the company faced was developing a zeolite membrane alternative to traditional ethanol dehydration. The removal of excess water from ethanol is an expensive and time-consuming step that limits ethanol competitiveness in the energy market. To be added to gasoline, a mixture needs to be at least 99.5% ethanol. With an azeotrope that limits water removal from mixtures to 95% ethanol, a cheap and effective means of reaching higher ethanol content is currently in high demand.

The company faced process and mechanical events at one of its wood products processing plants that had created product quality and throughput interruptions, causing product losses. The challenge was to identify and prevent these events to avoid operational shutdowns and maintain product quality.

Reliance Industries Limited, an Indian conglomerate holding company, faced a challenge with their toluene separation process. The existing benzene separation column was underperforming, with the benzene content in the bottoms being higher than the required 200 ppm. This resulted in an unsuccessful planned revamp for benzene-toluene separation. The vendor was unable to offer a viable solution to the underperforming column, stating the column was too tightly designed resulting in offsite processing of the benzene column bottoms containing toluene and heavies. Following the shutdown of the offsite processing facility, the revamp for benzene-toluene became essential. Because of heavy losses due to the lack of a local toluene separation facility, an urgent revamp became critical.

DeNovo, an independent upstream operating company based in Trinidad and Tobago, was seeking to leverage the best technology commercially available to run optimized operations that support innovation, enhanced workflows, and industrial efficiency. The company manages complex operations with a wide range of risk profiles and needed to be agile and highly efficient to remain safe, competitive, and profitable. Operating inefficiencies could account for as much as 25% loss in production output and up to a 40% increase in energy and operational costs.

The customer, a diversified energy company with operations in refining, marketing, midstream, chemicals and specialties, had experienced three previous failures of a hydrogen compressor resulting in millions in production losses and additional maintenance costs. The company had begun its own digital transformation initiative that uses big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to drive cultural change in the organization. As part of the initiative, they were investigating predictive maintenance. The customer decided to organize a competitive bakeoff, trimming an initial list of ten predictive analytics vendors to a handful of finalists. Ultimately, AspenTech was chosen as the sole vendor to execute an online pilot project.