AMES SOLVES PLASTIC INDUSTRY'S DIFFICULTIES

Plastics manufacturers are finding it more challenging than ever to stay competitive and grow their businesses. Limited visibility into plant performance, constant pressure to become leaner and more efficient, regulatory requirements, and expansion into new global markets are just a few of the many challenges surrounding today’s rapidly changing manufacturing landscape. Opportunities await plastics manufacturers who face these challenges head-on. Businesses can stay competitive by relying on AMES to solve plastics industry’s difficulties.

Major competitive trends are impacting the control of manufacturing performance, emphasizing quality in every aspect of operations to increase efficiency and reduce the total cost of producing products.

Almost every plastic manufacturing company, whether it is a high-volume mold maker or a medical device manufacturer, is trying to produce products cheaply and quickly while maintaining quality. Businesses are always looking for lower costs for materials and labor, as well as shorter lead times. In addition, businesses are looking to compete with low-cost products manufactured overseas. Other challenges relate to the level of service and innovation provided to customers.

One business strategy might include improving the customer experience with more value-added services. Another might be to help your customers by providing better product improvements for the next generation of products. These types of challenges are everywhere in the plastics industry.

AMES SOLVES PLASTIC INDUSTRY'S DIFFICULTIES

Illustrating images. Source: epicor.com

Delivering quality products at lower costs

The two main factors that affect the cost of manufacturing plastic products are the materials used to make the product and the labor required to put it all together.

In addition, there are other costs such as training, operating costs, scrap, and general expenses for equipment, facilities, and utilities. Then there are quality control and documentation departments. Especially in industries such as medical devices and aerospace. Finally, there are departments such as sales and marketing, human resources, training, and administration. All of these factors affect the cost of production during the manufacturing process.

Choosing the best material for the application. Sometimes the best material is not the most cost-effective, but if a business considers factors such as the reduction in scrap that can be obtained from high-quality materials, ease of processing, repeatability of orders, and consistency of the material supplier, sometimes its total cost will be lower in the long run. Selecting a material based solely on the lowest cost available on the market, without regard to the unit of manufacture or the individual characteristics of the material, will increase the risk of defective products and related consequences. Use the most efficient machining equipment designed for the intended purpose and the best machining techniques. Relying on a manufacturing management system (AMES) allows businesses to consistently produce the best quality products, providing real-time monitoring with integrated tools for statistical process control (SPC) and quality control (SQC).

Illustrating images. Source: epicor.com

Competing with Overseas Manufacturers

With today’s software solutions for plastics manufacturers, businesses can efficiently match inventory levels to projected demand. The goal is to plan inventory, schedule equipment, and schedule labor to match orders.

Sometimes there will be downtime—sometimes planned, sometimes not. Coordinate labor and equipment maintenance for that downtime, and it will improve efficiency significantly. Finally, it can provide additional services or next steps in the process to customers.

Businesses continue to provide services to customers that reduce their costs. Examples might include pre-assembly, additional testing, documentation, sterilization, packaging, distribution, or inventory storage. Equipment manufacturers are trying to reduce overhead and staff, so they are looking for ways to cut costs.

Real-time insights for better production

With the ability to connect to any machine on the shop floor, the AMES solution includes tools to analyze scrap and downtime, automate quality control, and monitor energy consumption. It also includes real-time planning and scheduling tools that allow for the modification and optimization of production schedules so that production and delivery can be made on time, every time, and react faster to changes in customer requirements.

3S Software Co., Ltd.

To successfully upgrade a business, businesses need an experienced and trusted partner. 3S will be a partner accompanying businesses on their path of development, helping businesses become more comprehensive and increase productivity at lower costs. Along with compliance with the Epicor Signature Project Implementation Methodology, it will help businesses increase production efficiency and improve profits at a very reasonable cost. 3S believes that it will always bring the most satisfaction to customers.