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Plex Online Case Study • AnintegratedERPsolutionhelpedanautomotivesupplier

improvemonthlymaterialcostdiscrepanciesbyover92%.

• Thesystemreducestheinventorytrackingprocessfromsixdayspermonthtojustafewhours.

• Linesidelabelsareautomaticallygeneratedattheproductionworkcenters,whichhashelpedimproveHondalabelaccuracybyover95%.

• Thesupplierachieveda78%improvementofdeliveryperformanceinlessthanayear.

• Dataflowsseamlesslyfrompurchasingandreceivingtoproduction,givingthecompanyreal-timevisibilityandbettercontroloftheirentireenterprise.

At a Glance

Taking Control: Integrated ERP Solution Helps Honda Supplier Cut Costs, Improve Productivity

Plex Online Case Study | page �


About KAMCO IndustriesKAMCOIndustries,Inc.isaninjectionmolderthatsuppliestheautomotiveindustrywithinterior,underbody,andexteriorcomponents.KAMCO’sparentcompanyisKumiKaseiCo.,Ltd.,headquarteredinTokyo,Japan.

Over95%ofthecompany’soperationsserveTierIandIIsupplierstoHonda.KAMCOofferscustomersinnovativeprocessesincludingin-linefabricmoldinginwhichfabricismoldedatthesametimethattheplasticismeltedintothemold,suitableforinteriorcomponents.Thecompanyalsooperatesanin-linethermoformingsheetextrusionlineforproductssuchastrunkliners,andofferscustomassemblyservices.

Past ChallengesInpastyears,KAMCOmaintainedavarietyofstand-aloneITsolutionsandspreadsheetstomanagebusinessandproductionoperationssuchasqualitymanagement,electronicdatainterchange(EDI),productlabeling,employeetimetracking,inventorycontrol,andothermission-criticalfunctions.

“The SaaS model helps standardize business functions across multiple North American facilities.”

Noneoftheseparatesystemsinterfacedwiththeothersefficiently,anditwasachallengetomaintainandsupportthepatchworkofITsolutions—manyofwhichnecessitatedmanualprocessingordoubledataentrywithspreadsheetsanddatabases.

Manual Inventory MethodsAccordingtoTonyBrown,ManagerComputerServicesGroupatKAMCO,thebiggestchallengewasinventorycontrol.“Essentially,welostvisibilityoftrackingcostlyrawmaterials.Wecouldnoteasilyascertainwhereorwhenmaterialswereconsumedinourproductionoperations.”

KAMCOpurchasesplasticresinsreceivedin1500-lb.gaylords,50-lb.bags,andlargesilos.Theresinisusedinfinishedgoodproductionforvarious



finishedgoodandwork-in-progressparts.Componentssuchasclips,screws,foampads,andotherpiecesarealsopurchasedandinventoried.

KAMCOdidnotperformserializedinventoryofthegaylordsand/orboxesofcomponentsuponreceiving.Theymanuallyrecordedwhatmaterialswerebroughttothepressesandlistedthejobswherethematerialswereused.Attheendofeachmonth,thestaffthenconductedatime-consumingphysicaltaggedinventory.

Production InefficienciesKAMCOfacedotherchallengesrelatedtoeffectivelyschedulingpressesandworkcenters.Asanexample,full-timeassociatesmaintainedmanualspreadsheetstogeneratedailyproductionschedulesusingastand-aloneOEMdatabaseanddoubledataentryfortheEDIsystem.Itwastime-consumingtomanageproductionplansattheworkcentersandefficientlyschedulepresses.

Thesupplierwassusceptibletomachinedowntimeduetolast-minutemoldortoolchanges,plustheyexperiencedinaccuratework-in-progresstracking.

Manuallytrackingdailyinventoryandend-of-monthdataentrytooknearlysixdayspermonth,withoccasionalovertime.Aswithanymanualmethod,therewasthepotentialtointroduceerror.

Thesemanualinventorymanagementmethodsledtosignificantmaterialcostdiscrepancies.NotesBrown,“Atanyonetime,KAMCOcanhouseover$1millionininventory.Itwasaburdentotrackthevolumeofrawmaterialsconsumed,andevenmorechallengingconsideringattheendofeverymonthwesometimeshad20%discrepanciesofunaccountedinventory.”



An Integrated SolutionToaddressthesechallenges,andtostandardizeERPandbusinessprocesses,KAMCOteamedwithPlexSystemsandimplementedtheindustry-leadingPlexOnlineERPsoftware,deliveredviatheSoftwareasaService(SaaS)model.

ThegoalwastoincreaseefficiencyandstandardizeoperationswithasingleERPsystemthatansweredtheneedsofproduction,inventory,shipping,quality,accounting,andHRfunctions.

Standardizing ProcessesTheimplementationincludedthefollowingPlexOnlinemodules:ProductionControlPanelimplementationon85workcenters;Accounting;Purchasing/Receiving–InventoryRawMaterials;Shipping/EDI;ProductionControlwithlinesidelabelingandconsumptionofrawmaterialCoreQuality(ControlPlansandChecksheets);EmployeeTimeandAttendance;andtheWorkflowModuleforelectronicdocumentapproval.

“We received a Honda North American Assembly Plants Superior Delivery Performance Award one year after implementing Plex Online.”

AccordingtoKAMCO,PlexOnlinewasflexibleenoughtobeconfiguredtomatchhowtheNorthAmericanfacilitiesmanagetheiroperations,andtheimplementationmadeKAMCOlookatdifferentwaystodobusiness—whichinturnimprovedbusinessprocesses.TheSaaSsolutionisespeciallybeneficialinstandardizingbusinessfunctionsacrossthemultipleNorthAmericanfacilities.

BecausePlexOnlineishousedoncentralizedserversatPlexSystemsinAuburnHills,Michigan,KAMCO’ssystemsdepartmentnolongersupportsandmaintainsthepatchworkofstand-alonesystems.Brownadds,“Thefullyintegratedsystemreducesoverheadcostsofthird-partysoftwarevendorsandtheirannualsupportcontracts.



SincePlexOnlineishostedontheInternet,itactuallyhasreducedERPdowntimeontheproductionfloor.SincewenolongerrequireaserverforourERPsystemnorsoftwareupgrades,licensingfees,maintenance,hardwareupgrades,andotherserverrelatedsupport,weasanISgroupavoidthesetypesofissues.”

Improved Inventory ControlOneofthegreatestbenefitsachievedwithPlexOnlinewasreducingthehoursrequiredformanualinventorymanagementfromsixdaystoonlyafewhourspermonth.Inventorydataflowsseamlesslyfrompurchasingandreceivingtotheshopfloor,givingKAMCOreal-timevisibilityviaaneasy-to-useinterface.Thissavesthecompanycostlylaborandovertime,andfreesupproductionstaffformorevaluabletasks.

Cost, Productivity Improvements

PlexOnlineJobRequirementPlanningandWorkCenterProductionReportingreducedowntimeduetomoldortoolchanges,andprovidemoreaccurateWorkinProgressmetrics.

Thereisnolongeraneedforfull-timedataentryclerksorlabelprintingassociatessincereal-timeProductionReportingandInventoryseamlesslyintegratewithcustomershippingEDIrequirementsandotherenterpriseplanningmethods.

KAMCOachievedcostimprovementsduetothestable,lowerinventorylevelofRawMaterialandFinishedGoods,alongwithimprovedvisibilityofconsumptionontheshopfloor.Infact,KAMCOimprovedtheirmonthlymaterialcostdiscrepanciesbyover92%.Month-endclosingisnowaccurate,automated,andefficient.

About Plex Online

Plex Online, built on a “Software as a Service” (SaaS) model, offers more than ��0 functional modules, providing manufacturers instant access to vital information and management functions using a simple Web browser. The on-demand solution features product lifecycle management (PLM) functions such as program and change management, enterprise resource planning (ERP) functions such as accounting and finance modules, customer relationship management (CRM) features such as order entry and tracking, manufacturing execution systems (MES) functions such as production scheduling and machine integration and supply chain management (SCM) functions such as supplier quality and traceability.

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No. 1 Rated ERP Solution for Manufacturers

Linesidelabelsareautomaticallygeneratedattheproductionworkcenters,whichhashelpedtheKAMCOteamimproveHondalabelaccuracybyover95%.

KAMCOachieveda78%improvementofdeliveryperformanceinlessthanayear.Asaresult,HondaNorthAmericanAssemblyPlantsawardedKAMCOaSuperiorDeliveryPerformanceAwardafterjustoneyearoffullimplementationofthesystem.

“We cut the hours required for manual inventory management from six days to only a few hours per month.”

ConcludesBrown,“TheautomatedoperationsnowpossiblewithPlexOnlineimproveeverypartofouroperations.”