LONG BEACH, CA, May 12-Apriso, provider of adaptive software solutions for global manufacturing operations management, announces that Scandinavian Tobacco S.A. has selected the Apriso FlexNet solution.

“The concept of a company needing to plan production several months in advance has quickly become a thing of the past. Increasingly, manufacturers must respond quickly to demand fluctuations, while still maintaining the highest levels of quality,” says Dariusz Kudzia, senior director of field operations for Central and Eastern Europe, Apriso. “Furthermore, manufacturing requirements have only become more complex, with increasingly diverse and complex product requirements to best serve local markets, as well as regulations mandating better traceability and reporting standards.”

Scandinavian Tobacco S.A. in Myślenice, Poland faced such a challenge, with expanding production volumes and distribution complexity within its markets. With a 17% market share in Poland and increasing sales across the rest of Europe and Asia, production schedules and product mix complexity was becoming an operational challenge. Production lines now required increased adaptability to meet local taste requirements within each of their markets. An adaptable Operations Execution System (OES) was needed to help manage the recent increases in production complexity and volume, while at the same time maintaining the highest level of quality.

“The Apriso system enables us to quickly change manufacturing and logistics processes. Most changes will be performed within just a few minutes following the event,” says Tadeusz Dyduch, project manager responsible for the Apriso implementation. “Relying entirely on ERP to manage shop floor operations resulted in response times taking up to several dozen hours, an unacceptable time for changes implemented on a production line in continuous operation on a very large scale.”

Scandinavian Tobacco will leverage the Apriso system for real-time access to its shop floor, recording the processes performed by each shop floor machine and worker. This data will flow between the shop floor and the executive suite, delivering the necessary visibility to manage operations, synchronize production and optimize performance. FlexNet will capture and archive information with regards to the actual wear and tear of production components and supplier materials, providing a comprehensive product genealogy knowledge repository.