Solutions Overview

Clarify Work Standards & Job Targets for Better Planning

FLEX is a communication and integration platform designed for the challenges of short-run, highly competitive manufacturing environments such as Book Printing, Automotive Supply Chain, Food & Beverage, and general industry. FLEX provides real-time feedback to Frontline Leaders to help automate & integrate their most common workflows on the shop floor, such as:

• Downloading Work Standards & Job Targets directly from ERP systems
• Starting production orders automatically on equipment
• Collecting accurate, real-time job costs from operators with minimal effort
• Incentivize Operators & Supervisors to increase 'Job Scores'

FLEX provides real-time feedback & better communications between Operators, Supervisors, Material Handlers, Plant managers, Planners, Estimators and Corporate Executives to improve manufacturing execution and hit Production Schedules more consistently with less effort.

Communicate Real-time Performance Results for Better Execution

Our vision is to develop better information & integration systems that help accelerate Lean Manufacturing practices targeting the Commercial Printing, Automotive, and Pharmaceutical markets. Lessons learned from these Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) can also be applied to other segments such as Distribution, Packaging, and Healthcare.

SoftSolutions works with the commercial printers RR Donnelley, Arkay Packaging, Sheridan Book, Bertelsmann's Arvato Group, and Thomson Shore to customize FLEX for the needs of the printing sector. SoftSolutions and FLEX help this highly competitive, short-run manufacturing sector to increase flows and reduce inventory levels, generating more cash from operations.

Real-time Enterprise Visibility enables Better Management

The more real-time visibility and quantitative metrics that front office managers have available, the better the decision making process for hitting corporate objectives. Too many operations today are running with little, if any, real-time performance feedback. FLEX is a proven solution for the challenging demands of high-speed, short run environments such as book printing and high volume, tier one automotive supply chain manufacturing. FLEX is installed in leading Print companies, Food & Beverage, and Automotive plants.

FLEX Data Collection has been successfully added to new as well as retrofitted onto legacy production equipment. Installation to record automated production data is quick and easy. The results of an integrated manufacturing environment can be significant.

FLEX is also designed to integrate with leading ERP software solutions such as Pace Systems, PrintStream, Hagan, Microsoft Dynamics, and other popular ERP accounting systems for the manufacturing Sector. FLEX picks up the production workflow from Planning through Shipping to give decision makers real-time feedback to optimize their process by Job, by Shift, by Week.

Predictable Performance

"If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don't bother trying to teach them. Instead give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking."

Buckminster Fuller

Highly competitive manufacturing sectors such as automotive and aerospace have developed sophisticated 'Lean' systems to improve their process capability.

SoftSolutions believes that every production focused business should have easy access to the most cost-effective, Lean Manufacturing tools and techniques to help eliminate Waste as quickly and permanently as possible.

FLEX provides an integrated toolset that helps organizations release the benefits of Lean faster & more cost effectively: FLEX-Features

The challenge is not just getting access to more reliable data - which is absolutely critical - it is in developing the internal systems and disciplines that utilize that data to enable more predictable performance over time.

Organizations, like individuals, must mature through progressive phases or 'Levels' in order to become comfortable and effective in using new tools and techniques. In terms of utilizing performance metrics to drive more predictable performance, these 'Levels' are easy to identify:

• Level 1 - Reactive culture, ad-hoc reaction to process changes. Crisis management often prevails
• Level 2 - Proactive and responsive to Alerts & Notification based upon current status and awareness of defined processes
• Level 3 - Processes are standardized, procedures are well defined and followed consistently, problem solving techniques are quantitative, not subjective. However, stress can still result in Level 2 or Level 1 response to process changes
• Level 4 - Process quality is managed scientifically. Root causes of process deviations are identified. Statistical tools are effective in identifying process changes and guiding optimal responses, even under the most stressful conditions

FLEX is designed to help organizations transition from Level 1 through Level 4 and ultimately establish a sustainable Level 4 process improvement culture.

Our ultimate goal at SoftSolutions is to provide clients with more than just software applications and data collection devices.

We understand that driving sustainable process improvement requires more than a good tool or the latest management fad - it requires a culture of wanting to be the best in the market. FLEX helps you get there faster.