CDC launches packaged manufacturing operations software for SAP

Designed for the food and beverage and CPG (consumer packaged goods) industries, CDC Factory supports factory operations by helping to deliver, and then sustain, best practices linked, for example, to lean manufacturing and OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) improvement initiatives. Eric Musser, CEO and president of CDC Software, makes the point that now, with its SAP certification, existing SAP ERP users can establish a real-time plant framework with the software. That means, he says, they will be able to unlock hidden capacity on the factory floor by managing production scheduling in real time, pinpointing the causes of plant inefficiencies and providing immediate feedback on consistent KPIs such as rate, yield and utilisation. Where the original MVI solution has been used before, it’s worked extremely well. The system focuses on unlocking the potential of operatives on the shop floor by providing workflows that can make a difference and a robust, role-based intuitive kiosk-style interface for real-time performance tracking and alerting. This enables factory floor operators to react to information in real time and make changes, for example, to standard procedures that can significantly improve OEE and reduce waste. Says Musser: “With CDC Factory, we have set several new industry standards. This is the industry’s first and only out-of-the-box manufacturing operations management system, and it has been repeatedly proven to deliver results in weeks rather than months or years. “Now, with certified integration to SAP, we are making it even easier for SAP customers to take full advantage of these leading-edge capabilities in plant efficiency and management visibility. This certification also opens up a new channel for CDC Factory and we will be actively seeing additional consulting partners with deep industry expertise that parallels our own in food and beverage, life science and consumer packaged goods.”