Sometimes, opportunity awaits those who reach for it. Other times, it can be part of a dynamic shift to a new way of doing business and a new way of thinking. When Best Maid needed to refine and sharpen its performance and inventory accountability to take in the growth it was experiencing, Plex was the answer.
The Transition from Tradition to Modern Best Practices
Best Maid represents an iconic traditional brand with a well-known reputation. But in the modern era, growth and the drive for more stringent certification such as Safe Quality Food (SQF) meant they needed to reexamine their system to drive quality and performance at the granular level.
Previously, Best Maid, like many companies undergoing growth, had handled their processes and inventory through Excel spreadsheets. However, this led to multiple monthly audits to keep their inventory current.
As growth created complexity, it became clear that they needed a more accurate and real-time solution to managing inventory and demand.
Focus Areas
Best Maid chose Plex because of its reputation as a software solution for the food and beverage industry that could deliver fast and measurable results.
This meant focusing on a few critical areas:
1. Inventory Management – Utilizing the Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform allowed Best Maid to digitize their inventory. Their raw material holdings were reduced from months to weeks. They also saw a significant drop in spoilage and realized considerable savings by eliminating mislabeling.
2. Order-to-Cash – Servicing major retailers means big business. But when companies don't have their act – and system – together, it can mean considerable penalties. By deploying the Plex solution, Best Maid could narrow their delivery to a three-day window to avoid penalties.
3. Improving Financial Management – Manual systems place a drag on financial management. Companies are continuously looking today at data from months ago. Implementing the Plex solution reduced Best Maid's financial closure time by 75%. This meant they could go from being four months behind in closing to monthly closing, giving them a better understanding of costs and profitability.
Results
Compared to their old system of Excel spreadsheets and dated human analysis, the results of utilizing the Plex solution were stark. Best Maid used a suite of solutions to manage MES and system integration, allowing superior cash flow over three years.
They also closed the delivery AP to decrease penalties and further lowered costs by avoiding material waste and reducing FTEs. With greater visibility across the company, they also sharpened their financial processes and cut maintenance costs.
Important Lessons
Best Maid's experiences with the Plex ERP deployment were significant but not surprising. By conducting hardware compatibility research at the outset, they avoided the implementation issues experienced by many companies.
This meant considering the hows and whys of connectivity. It also meant evaluating tablets, scanners, and other devices used in day-to-day operations. These considerations and the flexibility of Plex's cloud-based platform helped ease the implementation when service or support was needed.
Finally, Best Maid realized greater resiliency during upgrades and maintenance. And because it does not assume a future migration to a new system as the company grows, it is highly scalable while providing stability.
ROI and the Plex Implementation
Best Maid recovered their initial investment in just six months of deployment. And their overall ROI was an astounding 185%.
Want to learn more? Join Jim Bresler, Director, Product Management, Rockwell Automation, as he hosts special guests from Best Maid at the 2023 Automation Fair on November 6-9 in Boston, MA. Click here for more information.
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