Electronic data interchange (EDI) has been around for a while. It’s still a reliable, cost-effective solution for exchanging documents within your supply chain—and it’s a requirement for doing business.
It’s imperative that you efficiently communicate with your suppliers and customers through industry-compliant EDI. At the same time, you must effectively respond to unique business rules that different automotive OEM and tier one suppliers might have.
Champion Plastics, a custom injection molding manufacturer of functional plastics for the automotive industry, was looking to change its EDI system to meet the needs of a large customer. Initially, ERP wasn’t on the company’s radar but when management saw the benefits of a flexible integrated solution, Champion made the move to cloud ERP.
Improving Operational Efficiency
Soon after implementation, Champion began to see operational efficiencies. Preparing shipping documents, sending advanced shipping notices (ASNs), creating purchase orders used to take hours but with the new cloud ERP system, employees only needed to click a mouse. With high definition traceability, a key requirement by customers, makes it easy for Champion to locate materials throughout the production process. Time saved from digitizing manual-processes now goes to more value-added activities like driving continuous improvement.
Becoming 100 Percent EDI Compliant
The company’s EDI system meets all standards. Not only is Champion 100 percent EDI compliant, but the company has also reduced costs due to consolidation of systems across multiple plants. There is no need for full-time data entry clerks since the cloud-based EDI system provides real-time integration with customer shipping requirements.
Gaining Inventory Control
Champion uses lean manufacturing tools and processes like just-in-time (JIT), which is why it’s critical for the company to accurately plan and schedule inventory usage. Part numbers are scanned into the ERP so they can be easily found when needed. Operators know exactly how many parts are on hand to save machine time. Raw materials and finished goods inventory counts are precise. Shipments are made with precision with an advanced shipment notice (ASN) EDI so Champion ships the rights parts in right quantities and with right labels—every time.
Discover the advantage that automotive suppliers like Champion Plastics already know about cloud ERP. Download the white paper Eight Must-Have ERP Features for the Automotive Industry.
