Automated Packaging Systems

For Immediate Release

A Baan Strategic Planning and Optimization Project
October 2001 - Cleveland, OH

Automated Packaging Systems (APS) is a privately held, international company. With sales offices, distributors, and representatives in North America and Europe, manufacturing facilities are located in Streetsboro, Garfield Heights, and Bedford Heights, Ohio. in Keyser, West Virginia, as well as Malvern, England. APS invented the original and genuine Autobag ® bags-on-a-roll and has been manufacturing them since the company's founding in 1962. APS has since grown to over 800 employees worldwide.

In the Spring of 2000, Automated Packaging senior management questioned the viability of their recently-installed Baan IV ERP software. They requested an independent audit to inventory the organizational and system-related problems, to recommend solutions, and to estimate the cost for their resolution.

Pemeco Inc. was chosen to prepare the audit report and, over a three-week period, Pemeco senior consultants:

Interviewed selected departmental users to determine procedural and system-related problems,
Analyzed the results and defined short and long-term changes to procedures and/or Baan software to address the issues,
Documented the interview findings,
Presented the recommendations in a final report to senior management.

Over the following five months, Automated mandated Pemeco to oversee the implementation of the report's recommendations including refining the many programs' scope and objectives, defining the project implementation teams, and facilitating the departmental meetings. Finally, Pemeco assisted in the search, interviewing, and hiring of the Automated Director, IT.

Today, improvements continue, especially in the areas of Customer Management, Production Planning, and Shop Scheduling. The report's recommendations provide the focus for ongoing operational and system enhancements for the short- to medium-term.

Mike McNamara, Automated Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Analysis, confirms, “Pemeco provided structure to the myriad of complex problems with a clear set of prioritized objectives, associated strategies, and a roadmap to get them done. Not only do their very senior consultants know business process, they are extremely adept communicators and managers.”

Mr. McNamara continues, “Pemeco's skills in strategic planning and operations streamlining as well as their in-depth knowledge of Baan software made them an ideal choice to lead the audit. I question if we could have found this combination elsewhere.”