Atlanta March 12, 2002 Supply chain planning specialist SynQuest this week announced an initiative targeting the $53 billion industry printed packaging industry with solutions the provider said can reduce costs and improve customer service for companies in the flexible packaging, folding carton and corrugated packaging segments of the industry.
SynQuest said its planning solutions for the packaging companies address the key business challenges facing printed packaging companies: improving customer service, margins and return on assets. The solutions focus on integrated manufacturing management, order coordination across multiple facilities and supply chain network rationalization.
"We have a long history of adding value for our printed packaging customers," said Tim Harvey, president of SynQuest. "With our latest supply chain planning products, we are now extending our capabilities to address the most critical pain points facing printed packaging companies today."
Harvey said that for many companies in the packaging space, gaining control of their production environments to improve on-time delivery is paramount to improving profitability, while others must reexamine their supply chains in reaction to mergers and acquisitions.
The solution provider said its initiative addresses such critical business processes as integrated manufacturing management for plants, which combines advanced planning with trim optimization and supply chain event management to manage orders in a real-time production environment designed to deliver the fastest, most reliable and lowest total cost results possible. SynQuest said its software can create optimal production plans based on quickly changing scenarios, such as a hot order, or an order that has the potential of being late.
The SynQuest solution also addresses order coordination across multiple facilities, which helps printed packaging companies look beyond fixed sourcing and determine the best way to source an order across all plants for the total lowest delivered cost and reliable delivery, given the tradeoffs in manufacturing, distribution and inventory, according to the software company.
Finally, the provider said its initiative addresses business strategy planning for mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, which allows companies facing consolidation challenges to make rational, supply chain decisions to maximize profit and return on investments. In addition, SynQuest can also help high-volume printed packaging companies with seasonal demand, long lead times and large asset bases understand how to assign resources in advance of demand to maximize profit.
SynQuest customers in the printed packaging industry include Printpack and Alcoa in flexible packaging; North State Cartons, in folding carton; and Corrflex in the corrugated segment.
