VALMIERAS STIKLA ŠĶIEDRA, AS and its subsidiaries is of the leading glass fibre manufacturers in Europe, with more than 55 years of experience in the production of glass fibre. VALMIERA GLASS GROUP faced following business needs — comprehensive real-time information on the production process and results, up-to-date information for decision making processes and timely records of management reports and information. The project objectives were complemented by the development of technologies — mobility, paperless on the spot, 24/7.
VALMIERAS STIKLA ŠĶIEDRA, AS centralized management of production planning, accounting and related business processes using ERP, MES, data warehouse and mobility solutions.
Glass fibre production
VALMIERAS STIKLA ŠĶIEDRA, AS and its subsidiaries is one of the leading glass fibre manufacturers in Europe, with more than 55 years of experience in the production of glass fibre. VALMIERA GLASS GROUP’s core business areas are glass fibre research, glass fibre product development, production and trade. The VALMIERA GLASS GROUP companies are located on two continents in three countries: Latvia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
As a major international producer of glass fibre fabrics for many technical applications, VALMIERA GLASS GROUP operates a quality control system that fulfils strict international requirements for a variety of industrial markets including composites, thermal and technical insulation and construction industries. VALMIERA GLASS GROUP products benefit from innovative production and application technology plus the most up-to-date manufacturing facilities.
VALMIERA GLASS GROUP’s vision is to become the market leader of industrial glass fibre in Europe. Our vision reflects the essence of what we do in the VALMIERA GLASS GROUP. It means being dedicated to satisfying each customer’s specific needs, becoming an example of productivity and creating and implementing innovative solutions, whilst remaining environmentally responsible.
The Challenge
VALMIERA GLASS GROUP faced following business needs:
- Comprehensive real-time information on the production process and results to ensure the daily production planning and control process in Latvia and the US;
- Up-to-date information for decision-making processes – sales, quality, purchasing, warehousing, shipping, financial and controlling departments;
- Centralized and timely records of management reports and information;
- Optimization of manufacturing equipment load and increase of company profit by optimizing production capacity, assortment and related processes;
The project objectives were complemented by the development of technologies -mobility, paperless on the spot, 24/7.
The Solution
- Centralized implementation of ERP system in manufacturing and related processes to ensure availability of information and day-to-day decision-making based on ERP system data;
- Installation of MES systems on the manufacturing equipment to automatically provide 24/7 information on equipment downtime and impact on production performance;
- Two-way MES integration with ERP;
- Scanner integration with ERP;
- Introduction of Data Warehouse System, report generation and collection of information, and daily e-mail broadcasting.
- Wi-fi equipment installation;
- Gradual implementation of ERP system on mobile devices (IOS, Android) for everyday use of mobile phones for warehouse management processes;
IT applications and related problems are processed with ServiceDesk system for e-mail broadcasting and status tracking.
Applied technologies
- Wireless Technologies
- Data Base Technologies
- Big Data/Data Analysis
- Security/ Encryption
- Simulation in ERP system
Implementation process
Analysis of existing and planned business processes and development of business plan based on the functionality of the selected ERP system.
- ERP system configuration for maximum use of ERP standard
- Basic data compilation;
- Change management;
- Key user testing and management of iterations;
- Improvement of ERP system to ensure mobile devices;
- ERP integration with scanners;
- ERP integration with MES;
- Design of mobile applications;
Project management methodologies – Waterfall, Agile as well as creativity of company experts in development of non-standard solutions.
Results and Benefits
The economic effect and increase of productivity are ensured by the automation of the processes maintained in the ERP system, both in production and in related processes such as sales, purchases and others.
While the system generates production orders or purchase requests, the employee can focus on planning without manual calculations and summaries.
What if simulations make daily work easier and faster as well as ensure proper decision making.
Mobile solutions allow employees to focus on business processes any time and any place.
All departments, including factories, use Time planning software for employee and shift planning and change management. The information is electronically submitted to the accounting, significantly facilitating and speeding up the wage calculation.
Thanks to the implementation of the system, considerable paper savings are achieved.
