CASE STUDY: ELPACK
Elpack’s expertise as an electronic subcontractor range from the manufacture of the miniaturised connected object to the sophisticated medical device, such as an ultrasound scanner, including the electronic enclosure box.
“ Reduced quotes time and emphasis on value-added activities, support for change management ”
“We are delighted to collaborate with Buymanager on such a crucial aspect of our business. Their software provides both ease of use and time optimization, which are essential as we strive to meet the greater demands of our customers. The implementation and deployment have been highly successful. We received continuous support during this critical phase, ensure that we achieved our objectives together.”
ANAÏS GANDY, Purchasing and Procurement Manager | Elpack
CONTEXT
Elpack’s expertise as an electronic subcontractor range from the manufacture of the miniaturised connected object to the sophisticated medical device, such as an ultrasound scanner, including the electronic enclosure box. The company is positioned in a market of small and medium-sized production series, catering to customers such as SMEs, mid-caps, and subsidiaries of international groups.
As part of its operations, Elpack needs to identify items known as “critical items” – those with increasing delivery times and/or decreasing stocks, or even those that are out of stock. The objective is to promptly inform customers in real-time so they can find a solution tailored to the market’s constraints. Given the nature of its consumers’ sectors, the company is also expected to adhere to other requirements, including 100% traceability, a concise list of approved suppliers, and specific components. Therefore, Elpack must meet these expectations from the quotation phase, while simultaneously balancing two contrasting objectives: providing as much information to the consumer as possible and ensuring a highly responsive quote delivery.
OUR CHALLENGE
The company encountered various challenges that hindered the continuity and smoothness of card encryption activities, as well as the rapid response to the ongoing growth in the number of quotes being generated.
The main obstacle was the lack of human resources resulting in the quotation process (approximately 280 per year) being frequently side-lined, leading to extended deadlines for material costing and causing dissatisfaction among their customers. However, simply increasing resources to enhance response time proved to be an unsatisfactory solution. The number of quotes that needed to be generated was continuously increasing due to Elpack’s growth approach, as well as the current context that demands buyers to re-encrypt more.
The absence of an appropriate solution also resulted in several tedious manual tasks, such as assembling suppler quotes to select the best offer. Managing quote requests became excessively time consuming, requiring manual entry, line by line, into an Excel spreadsheet, therefore increasing the risk of errors. Moreover, certain activities could no longer be carried out due to the reliance on manual actions, for example, retrieving supplier prices from websites and creating all elements of the quote in the ERP system.
Other factors include the health crisis which is compounded by component shortages. Therefore, this is leading to lengthier research for the availability and processing of critical components, further burdening the responsibilities of buyers.
OUR SOLUTION
order to address these challenges, Elpack has implemented BOM costing software with the goal of reducing the time spent on generating quotes. To achieve this, Buymanager offers several solutions:
▪ An API connection with distributors and cataloguers (almost 100 suppliers) enabling Elpack to access contract prices, as well as market prices, with just one click. This simplifies and expedites the identification of the 20/80 and encrypt of the bottom of Pareto within seconds.
▪ Automated sending of inquiries to suppliers aligns with Elpack’s defined purchasing strategy. Supplier reminders can also be sent with just a few clicks, along with the ability to compare received quotes and select the best offer.
API connection, reusing quotation prices and ERP prices are all features that enable the encryption of a significant portion of the BOM (without sending RFQs) and the identification of critical items (top of Pareto, items without availability, etc.). Subsequently, RFQs are only sent for a limited number of lines, saving time, and reducing lead times for both suppliers and Elpack. In turn, this allows buyers to concentrate their efforts on managing this select number of critical lines.
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In addition to the technological implementation of the Buymanager solution, Elpack also received training and support to track the team’s progress and provide guidance during the initial weeks of tool usage. The aim was to fully leverage all available features and enhance productivity in generating quotes.
Strategic support was also offered, starting with a review of objectives prior to the training, followed by defining the workflow within Buymanager. Follow-ups were conducted at 6 months and 1 year to optimise results. This monitoring will continue in the future, scheduled 1 to 2 times a year.
ACHIEVED OBJECTIVES
The deployment of the solution in a few figures
In addition to the quantitative results, Elpack also observed a transformation in the buyers’ roles. Thanks to the Buymanager solution, they are now able to concentrate on fulfilling value-added tasks as all the time-consuming activities are handled through Buymanager.
WHAT’S NEXT ?
With the significant improvements and streamlining in quote realisation, Elpack is set to continue its digital transformation of the supply chain with the support of Supplyframe. The next phase, where Buymanager will play a crucial role, involves reintegrating Buymanager data into the ERP system, converting quotes into orders, and implementing advanced monitoring for supplier and purchasing performance.