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There in a Pinch for Smokey Mountain Snuf
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
Applicable Industries
- Consumer Goods
Applicable Functions
- Discrete Manufacturing
- Quality Assurance
Use Cases
- Manufacturing System Automation
Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
When Dan Calandro joined Smokey Mountain Chew as CFO in January 1999, he discovered that a great product doesn’t automatically provide great margins. After conducting a thorough financial and operational review, he found that Smokey Mountain’s quality and profitability fell way short of its tremendous potential. Its inadequate off-the-shelf accounting package was part of the problem. It had to be replaced with a system that could handle Smokey Mountain’s complex manufacturing and distribution operations. Quality assurance was Calandro’s initial concern. Product taste and texture were inconsistent from batch to batch. This called for tighter manufacturing controls, closer production monitoring, and batch analysis.
About The Customer
Smokey Mountain Chew is a company that produces America’s original and best-selling tobacco-free snuff. The company offers an all-natural herbal blend in Classic, Wintergreen, Cherry, and Arctic Mint. Despite having a great product, the company was struggling with quality and profitability issues. The product taste and texture were inconsistent from batch to batch, and the company's off-the-shelf accounting package was inadequate for handling its complex manufacturing and distribution operations.
The Solution
Calandro selected Sage 100 ERP to replace the inadequate off-the-shelf accounting package. Through Sage 100 ERP, a yield analysis report was created utilizing a standard deviation schedule to highlight significant variations by batch. By pinpointing production dates and associated yields, The Sage 100 ERP Bill of Materials module allowed Calandro to establish a quality control matrix. Guidelines were created in the Bill of Materials module for all steps in the manufacturing process, giving Calandro criteria for refusal. The onus of responsibility then fell on the contract manufacturer. Materials falling outside of the criteria are now destroyed, and the costs plus a service charge are billed back to the contract manufacturer.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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