Manufacturing Executive - January/February 2009 - (Page 18) Arla is now using a variation of the Good Automated Manufacturing Practice (GAMP) approach that Svendsen calls, “GAMP Lite.” The company is working on the idea toeuroPean CoMPanies seek greater agiLity gether with 100 other companies involved in Q: How do you assess the ability of your IT infrastructure (ITI) to support the Denmark’s SESAM automation group, which idea of agility? ranges in membership from local SMEs to global giants such as Carlsberg. ITI is currently substantially inadequate “The way it works is that we are all go5.5% ing to share best practice and use the same ITI can support some aspects of what’s needed automation model,” he explains. “We’re going 33.1% to use requirements specs in the same way, design specs in the same way, and follow the ITI is being modernised to support agility same basic models and templates.” 44.9% The GAMP Lite model is now being rolled out across Arla’s businesses, helping to set ITI is fully capable of supporting agility central standard procedures and controls, but 16.5% still leaving local production sites in charge of new recipes, packaging, and other activities. “Demand drivers are pushing companies to develop more “It streamlines the process and cuts time to delivery, but complex products, with more variety, more upgrades, and still allows local freedom to run projects in the best way for more functionality. The ability of a PLM system to manage each site,” Svendsen says. On large automation projects of that complexity is essential. It allows a company to be flexible anything up to €50 million, he believes the approach will enough to respond to increases in demand or volume, so they deliver cost savings of roughly 15%. “It’s a major improvecan easily change manufacturing lines and ratios, or run mulment for us,” he says. tiple products down the same line. It’s a key enabler to allow Agile Ambitions this complexity to be managed across a global enterprise.” So as Europe’s manufacturers begin another year of turRapid Project Delivery bulence and uncertainty, can they ensure that they are agile But there’s more to agility than just a clever PLM technolenough to make the best of all the opportunities before them? ogy or two. For Arne Svendsen, head of manufacturing IT at Agile technologies will certainly help. A more flexible and Arla Foods in Denmark, it’s also about putting the right promodular approach to product data and production knowledge cesses in place to allow new projects to be deployed rapidly can also accelerate responsiveness to sudden demand changes and successfully whenever they are needed. and help streamline end-to-end processes, from design to de“I guess if you talk agility, you also talk lean. They livery. Rapid project deployment methodologies will also help are two sides of the same coin. What we are trying to do cut costs and allow companies to harness innovation faster at Arla is to take out all the lead times wherever we can. and more efficiently. That’s why we’re adopting a rapid But, ultimately, agility is as much project approach so that we can reabout shared belief and ambition spond quickly to demand, innovation, across the business as it is a collection and creating new products,” he says. of tools and techniques. Large Majority PLan The €6.5 billion Arla Foods group “The key lesson,” Rexam’s Martin Further uPgrades is a major dairy farming cooperative concludes, “is that this whole process Q: If ITI isn’t adequate to support agility, is serving more than 80 countries. It’s goes well beyond manufacturing. your company planning to modernise? also the largest producer of organic It involves everyone who is part of dairy products worldwide. Arla’s new supporting the manufacturing environfive-year strategy, announced last ment — the head of sales, the head of autumn, includes consolidation around supply chain, the plant floor people, the No: 31.8% Yes: 68.2% three key brands: Lurpack, Castello, customer service people. They all need and a new Arla brand. The company to have a common goal about what you also plans to focus on its key markets are trying to achieve. Anything is posin Europe while expanding business in sible. Just get the right people together Russia, China, and the United States, and you can make it happen.” ME if yes, in what time frame? plus a 100% increase in investment into new product innovation. For additional information on the exclusive 2009: 40% “When you talk about agility, Manufacturing Executive readership poll — including the impact of the economic most people think about how can we Later: 25.6% downturn on Europe’s manufacturing IT change and create new products faster, budgets, technology spending patterns, and but that also demands an ability to predictions for 2009 — see this month’s plan new projects and judge the risk,” 2010: 34.4% Web feature on www.manufacturingexecutive.com. Svendsen says. ME Poll Agility ME Poll Agility 18 Manufacturing Executive JAN/FEB-09 http://www.manufacturingexecutive.com http://www.manufacturingexecutive.com
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