The market for cardboard and corrugated board packaging is highly competitive. For manufacturers, this means becoming faster, more flexible and more efficient with digitalised and automated processes - in order to prevail against the competition.
There is no question that the industry is facing a radical change. Companies that were previously considered resistant to economic cycles have recently suffered from weakening business. In the worst cases, they were suddenly up for sale.
Increased raw material and energy prices and supply bottlenecks due to raw material shortages, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, as well as a slowing economy and consumer sentiment are currently affecting many companies. On top of this manufacturers must increasingly address the issues of climate protection and resource conservation. With the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) the next EU regulation to promote the circular economy will come into force in 2024. This will Manufacturers in the packaging sector are made more responsible for recycling, disposal and reporting.
If companies want to remain competitive, it is crucial that they are able to deliver on time and meet the demand for high-quality customised products despite all the challenges. The basis for this is integrated software solutions are required with which all relevant processes in the company can be digitised end-to-end - from the order to the receipt of payment. If this is done on the basis of an IT patchwork of different solutions, there is a risk that data exchange will falter, there will be no single point of truth and system maintenance will consume an extremely large amount of resources.
„The very first step at the beginning of a digitalisation project is to know your own needs and requirements. This means that data from the production process and, for example, from liquidity, investment and maintenance planning as well as procurement and shipping logistics must be collected at the start of a digitalisation project in order to derive potential for improvement.“
Gerhard Göbel, Product Owner Trim Suite at IT consultancy T.CON
In the best case scenario, companies look for a system for the Production of cardboard and corrugated cardboard, to equip themselves for as many challenges as possible at once.
Gerhard Göbel explains which requirements the solution should fulfil:
1. digitalise and control production from start to finish
A modern MES (Manufacturing Execution System) is the data hub that connects the platform data from the shop floor with the data from the ERP system. Ideally, the MES is fully integrated into the other components of the company's IT. The advantages are Centralised view of all production process data and detailed data analyses. This makes it clear, for example, which production step ties up a particularly large amount of resources, causes costs or consumes a lot of energy and which processes or procedures are „greener“ than others. Companies can then optimise their processes accordingly.
2. reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions
With integrated solutions, companies can Identify cost drivers and gain leverage to reduce expenditure. Users can, for example, integrate real-time services such as energy data management into their analyses to suit every requirement. Additional potential is offered by the Evaluation of pressure, flow or temperature sensors. This quickly makes it clear what impact decisions have on consumption costs and production quality. At the same time, the product-specific recording of energy requirements provides companies with many approaches for more CO2-neutral and environmentally friendly production.
3. compensate for bottlenecks in procurement
Optimised for the production of cardboard and corrugated board Solution for digitising production must be closely interlinked with warehouse management be. This allows employees to recognise whether production orders should be started at all due to the current material situation. For example, they could decide to put an order on hold for the time being - after the software lets them know that stocks are low. An interruption due to a material shortage can thus be avoided. With a standard tool that is precisely customised to the specifics of the industry, it is possible to reschedule quickly. In this way, the manufacturer avoids downtime if there is a hitch in the supply chain and preliminary products are missing.
4. increase good quantities, ensure quality
With end-to-end digitalised production processes and the integration of digital tools such as an MES, quality inspections can be triggered on an event-based basis and production data can be linked to quality data. Employees can analyse deviations immediately, to changed production parameters and take countermeasures. Thus the Traceability of every batch produced ensured - and the amount of packaging that has to be re-produced due to quality problems is reduced. This enables companies to increase the efficiency and sustainability of their production.
Particularly quick successes, especially in the roll processing industry, can be achieved in the area of waste optimisation. While manual planning by an employee often results in a relatively high level of waste, even after hours of work, the appropriate software calculates an optimum cutting plan in just a few minutes with optional consideration of blade position changes, which in turn reduces set-up times. „We recommend a solution that quickly and automatically delivers added value for production planning and manufacturing processes and is also intuitive, user-friendly and visually appealing,“ says Gerhard Göbel. Without much effort, companies can generate a head start in an increasingly competitive market.
Author: Catrin Schreiner, specialised journalist from Cologne
