Quality, efficiency and logistics in a candy factory | Blog | Objective

A candy factory that produces various types of high quality sweets such as, gum, licorice, peppermint, marshmallows, wafers, meringue, has included Objective in its production processes. In the past years, the company has become one of the most important players in its field in the Benelux and in a number of European countries. Among its customers are supermarkets, convenience store, wholesalers, candy stores and organizations such as gas stations and drugstores. With the growth of the company, they needed to optimize their production processes. They chose to implement the Objective MES and WMS software.

MES-implementation

The support of the box labelling system used by the candy factory had been discontinued, so they started looking for a solution to better optimize their production processes. The solution not only had to provide an answer for the box labeling system, it would also need integration with the ERP system (SAP), as well as, production efficiency and OEE tracking. These problems were addressed with the Objective software.

First, the packaging department was automated with the help of Objective. The goal was to make the data immediately available, data such as a real-time status overview of the machines and the active orders, and real-time and historical analysis of the numbers and the efficiency of machines and products (OEE). Each packaging line was equipped with a touch screen. Now each operator can start or stop an order through simple dialogues. Several signals such as machine stops are automatically received and registered. When there is a machine stop, the operator can easily input the reason why. This provides the production manager with a great deal of information.

There was also an integration of the product and print data, which enables Objective to complete the lay-out and printing of box and pallet labels and tracking of final shipment.

 

Laser Guided Vehicle (LGV) enables relocation to the right location

After the implementation of the MES software, the candy factory decided to use a Laser Guided Vehicle (LGV) for the finished goods. An LGV is an unmanned forklift truck that, in this scenario, continuously transports pallets to buffer locations in the warehouse. The finished products are first stacked by a number of robots after which the pallet is automatically transported to a conveyor belt, wrapped, and an SSCC label is applied by the Objective label applicator.

At the end position of the conveyor, the SSCC code is scanned and the Objective software checks whether the pickup location of the LGV is free. If so, the pallet is passed on to the picking location and Objective passes the SSCC code to the ERP system and then the pallet is moved by the LGV to the correct buffer location in the warehouse.

 

automatic link of production orders between Objective and SAP

The candy factory works with SAPs ERP system on an administrative level. An integration of the Objective software with the ERP system would therefore certainly make things easier. Initially, this integration did not exist and production orders, which were created in SAP, were entered manually in Objective. Also, the feedback of production data from Objective to SAP was not automatic. In order to optimize this data exchange Objective was asked to implement an automatic link of the production orders between Objective and SAP. This link was realized and ensures optimal cooperation between SAP on the administrative level and Objective on the shop floor.

To learn even more about how Objective can solve your production concerns, improve your projects, and help you reach your goals, contact us to speak with a product expert. For additional case studies specific to your industry, please see our results library