Seamlessly Integrated ERP and MES Delivers Massive Efficiencies and Growth
“We believe the difference is in the details. And when the difference is in the details, everything matters.”
That’s the conviction of Custom Molded Products-Shanghai (CMP), a division of a U.S.-based manufacturer of pool and spa components, which was acquired by Fluidra, a global leader in pool and wellness equipment and connected solutions.
CMP trusted those vital details to Epicor Kinetic and Epicor Advanced MES.
A leading supplier of innovative solutions for pools and spas, fast-growing CMP operates manufacturing and distribution facilities in the U.S. and China, supported by distributors and OEMs across the globe. Johnson Zhu, IT Director at CMP Shanghai, and his team contribute to the company’s operations and sales goals by deploying and overseeing effective technology solutions.
CMP sought a modern, integrated solution for managing manufacturing and sustaining a competitive advantage. Zhu shared, “We needed a system to link our data with U.S. operations, to improve efficiencies, and to grow and adapt with us. Epicor stood out above the rest. The Epicor China team helped providing outstanding support in the implementation, including providing sales consultants to help us close a manpower gap.”
We used to rely on Excel to count and record data—an extremely inefficient, static and siloed approach. With Epicor Advanced MES, we have real-time, simple and transparent data that is connected to our ERP.
He added, “We also had a unique requirement for barcodes and Epicor assigned developers who created a tailor-made barcode system based on our specific needs.”
The integration of Epicor Advanced MES with Epicor Kinetic has automated fundamental workflows, providing real-time decision-making data and driven massive efficiencies.
Zhu shared one example which highlighted the dramatically decreased time required for recurring tasks. “Work orders from Epicor Kinetic are exported into Epicor Advanced MES, and the entire production workflow process was automated,” Zhu described. “This liberated planning and installation staff from needing to import and export basic information such as work orders and BOMs. Previously, many of these tasks would need to be done twice. By eliminating that redundancy, we generated a substantial efficiency boost.” Additional capacity within functional teams was redeployed to other efforts, a benefit that was crucial during the rapid growth period of the last few years.
The integration also helped to deliver real-time data enabling CMP to respond faster when production issues need attention. Zhu recalled, “We used to rely on Excel to count and record data—an extremely inefficient, static and siloed approach. With Epicor Advanced MES, we have real-time, simple and transparent data that is connected to our ERP. Every employee, from line staff to higher management, can clearly see instantaneous production metrics.” In addition to enhanced synergy between production and management, the data allowed CMP to identify areas for improvement and freed resources to focus on higher-order priorities.
Furthermore, CMP utilize Advanced MES’ statistical process control (SPC) and statistical quality control (SQC) capabilities to meet customer needs while reducing scrap and rework. Zhu is also exploring the Epicor advanced quality module to further drive quality improvement.
CMP has the details to demonstrate the value of Advanced MES integrated with Kinetic.
A major focus for the company is Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). From 2018 to 2022, OEE increased by almost 33%. Zhu remarked, “The jump in efficiency from 66.47% to 94% is amazing. Advanced MES integrated with Kinetic played a key role in informing us of the ways we could improve, which drove that impressive outcome.”
The jump in efficiency from 66.47% to 94% is amazing. Epicor Advanced MES integrated with Kinetic played a key role in informing us of the ways we could improve, which drove that impressive outcome.
CMP also tracks Single-Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) which tracks how much time it takes for a die to be switched before production can resume. In 2018, CMP’s SMED average was 194 minutes—more than three hours. Advanced MES enabled steady time reductions in the intervening years, resulting in a SMED of 80 minutes in 2022. “The guidance that Advanced MES provided enabled us to cut SMED by approximately two-thirds. That’s an extremely high-efficiency rate. Epicor provided the information that enabled us to make changes and achieve a dramatic improvement,” Zhu noted.
Improving machine utilization rates has been essential in supporting brisk growth in sales and production. Sales increased from $29 million in 2019 to $58 million in 2022, and even when Shanghai was under lockdown for two months in 2020, sales still increased by nearly $10 million over the previous year. Zhu explained, “It’s critical for management to understand if our staff and systems can support such a tremendous increase in production. Epicor easily matched our meteoric growth and provided the information that we needed to adjust appropriately.”
Epicor is an excellent system—and that excellence goes beyond the solution to the Epicor team. No matter how good a system is, it still depends on the people behind it. From sales to implementation to customer service, Epicor is an exemplary team.
Zhu and his team even organized training sessions to help frontline staff better understand and use Epicor data. He explained, “Because Epicor has lightened employee workloads, they are now able to join in efforts to improve our processes, products, and general welfare. The insights from Epicor provide the knowledge they need to do so meaningfully and strategically.”
Zhu admitted that he had some early concerns that the success of the Epicor implementation might not be sustained over time. He elaborated, “It is very hard for a product to satisfy most of the features in the initial stages of implementation and then to continue to meet requirements during the course of usage.”
However, with seamlessly integrated Advanced MES and Kinetic, Zhu’s worries were unfounded. He continued, “Epicor is an excellent system—and that excellence goes beyond the solution to the Epicor team. No matter how good a system is, it still depends on the people behind it. From sales to implementation to customer service, Epicor is an exemplary team.”