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Increasing Production, Reducing Labor Costs at Litehouse Foods
Salad dressing manufacturer sees significant results with CDC Software's manufacturing operations management solution as part of continuous improvement process
Atlanta — October 19, 2007 — Salad dressing manufacturer Litehouse Foods has achieved a 47 percent increase in production output and, at the same time, reduced labor costs by more than 15 percent following implementation of the CDC Factory manufacturing operations management system at one of its plants, the solution provider has reported.
Litehouse had embarked on a continuous improvement program based on Lean manufacturing practices and set out to improve performance without compromising customer service or product quality. The company had already leveraged its Ross Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, also from CDC Software, to improve efficiency, ensure consistent product quality and achieve industry-leading customer service levels.
Still the company lacked real-time visibility and feedback needed for operators and shop floor teams to make immediate adjustments in the quest for optimized operating performance. After participating in a three-day proof-of-concept performance review using their own production data, Litehouse chose to implement CDC Factory because the system was demonstrated to be capable of meeting their performance objectives in six months or less.
Since going live with CDC Factory in April 2007, Litehouse's Michigan facility has reported a 47 percent per shift increase in output on the main retail production line and reduced labor costs by 15.5 percent. These improvements allow the plant to manufacture product more efficiently, lower overall operating costs and improve allocation of shop floor personnel, CDC said.
According to John Shaw, IT director at Litehouse Foods, the impact of this increased output is significant because it means Litehouse can now produce in four days what previously required five days. With capacity constraints relieved for the rapidly growing company, Litehouse can now accept more new business without the need for increased capital spending on new equipment.
"Capturing data is one thing, but actually bringing it into a format that someone can use to make better and faster decisions is completely different," said Shaw. "CDC Factory makes the data actionable, and that is making a significant difference in our continuous improvement efforts."
Shaw added that the new solution "is not just another IT system sitting in the corner and collecting data. And in addition to its minute-by-minute use on the plant floor, CDC Factory is also used by management to drive overall performance improvement at a strategic level. This is one of those high-value, high-ROI systems that comes along very rarely."
Litehouse had embarked on a continuous improvement program based on Lean manufacturing practices and set out to improve performance without compromising customer service or product quality. The company had already leveraged its Ross Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, also from CDC Software, to improve efficiency, ensure consistent product quality and achieve industry-leading customer service levels.
Still the company lacked real-time visibility and feedback needed for operators and shop floor teams to make immediate adjustments in the quest for optimized operating performance. After participating in a three-day proof-of-concept performance review using their own production data, Litehouse chose to implement CDC Factory because the system was demonstrated to be capable of meeting their performance objectives in six months or less.
Since going live with CDC Factory in April 2007, Litehouse's Michigan facility has reported a 47 percent per shift increase in output on the main retail production line and reduced labor costs by 15.5 percent. These improvements allow the plant to manufacture product more efficiently, lower overall operating costs and improve allocation of shop floor personnel, CDC said.
According to John Shaw, IT director at Litehouse Foods, the impact of this increased output is significant because it means Litehouse can now produce in four days what previously required five days. With capacity constraints relieved for the rapidly growing company, Litehouse can now accept more new business without the need for increased capital spending on new equipment.
"Capturing data is one thing, but actually bringing it into a format that someone can use to make better and faster decisions is completely different," said Shaw. "CDC Factory makes the data actionable, and that is making a significant difference in our continuous improvement efforts."
Shaw added that the new solution "is not just another IT system sitting in the corner and collecting data. And in addition to its minute-by-minute use on the plant floor, CDC Factory is also used by management to drive overall performance improvement at a strategic level. This is one of those high-value, high-ROI systems that comes along very rarely."
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