The Executive Guide to Plant Management Software
Barry Maxon
Understanding the relevance, impact, and ROI potential for Food, Beverage, CPG, and Process Manufacturers
Leaders in manufacturing have a general understanding of how technology can improve plant operations. Yet, with so many options to consider, getting started with a software implementation is daunting. Moreover, it’s challenging to pinpoint the precise ROI that technology can deliver, given the unique variables of one plant to the next.
With that, manufacturers need a way to keep up with the complex, increasingly fast-paced nature of business: from evolving product lines designed to meet ever-changing consumer preferences to aggressive delivery windows, there are more pressures on today’s manufacturers than ever before. This is especially true in Food & Beverage, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), and Process Manufacturing—industries which also face considerable regulatory requirements.
Outdated methods such as paper and spreadsheets, legacy ERPs, and limited point solutions simply can’t keep up with these operational demands. More importantly, they actually wind up costing you more by leaving room for human errors, compliance risks, production delays, and unplanned downtime.
Plant management software solves these challenges. It gives your teams the ability to promptly pinpoint issues which would otherwise be nearly impossible to detect. Instead of simply collecting data, it uses the information generated across your facility as fodder for better decisions that improve productivity and performance.
Of course, it’s impossible to estimate the hard-dollar savings that software can deliver without first knowing what it can do. Here’s a brief look into the profound impact it can have on your plant.
The Far-Reaching Impact of Plant Management Software
Plant management software leverages several features, including audit management, risk management, business intelligence and analytics, mobile forms, notifications and alerts, and task scheduling, among others. The best software solutions also have features for overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and statistical process control (SPC). With these capabilities, it drives significant improvements across manufacturing facilities. Some of the benefits you can expect to see include:
Quality
Time savings in sanitation and pre-op
Time savings resulting from on-time line starts
Reduced product holds
Reduced scrap and waste
Less time spent on inspection checks
Decreased resolution time for CAPA
Reduced foreign materials
Less rework
Production
Increased yield
Improvement of on-time shipments
Reduced unplanned downtime
Reduced overpacking and overfilling
Less travel between plants
Compliance
Fewer hours spent on record review and sign-off
Reduced audit times and RCA labor
Less time spent on adjusting to new regulations and certification processes
Ability to conduct remote audits
While these payoffs sound promising, it’s important to understand the “how” behind them before determining whether it’s the right time for your company to implement plant management software. Our executive guide provides an in-depth look into how the software’s features achieve these outcomes, as well as estimated savings for each of the benefits listed above. With this information, you can determine potential savings for your plants; plus, you’ll find a step-by-step guide for purchasing the solution that works best for your company.
For a more detailed description of what plant management company can do for you, download our full-length Executive Guide to Plant Management Software.
