Optimizing the business - Portucel Viana mill has found a new web-based services approach pays dividends

March 2008
A PPI Special Report

Since 2001, the majority of Portucel Viana's customer orders have come from "outside" the mill via a web-based application used by sales agents, customers and other sales-related personnel. The Portuguese mill's existing product management system could not adequately handle these orders.

Portucel Soporcel realized it must replace its legacy production management system. However questions remained about how to actually replace this web-based application and not disrupt customer service, but actually improve it in the long run.

"In order to keep up with customer demand, we had to find a way to quickly and easily replace our legacy web-based application but in a way that didn't impact our customers," explains web order services, Portucel Viana, Fernando Albuquerque.

Finding a solution

The high-volume of customer web-based business meant that finding a way to optimize its business via web-services was a priority for the mill. In finding the appropriate solution to replace its old production management process, the company had two specific requirements that had to be met:
Order Entry must be web-based, and be able to support outside sales agents, internal sales department and current customers;
and System must be integrated to the mill's existing planning and scheduling system and manufacturing execution system (MES) process.

In its search for the right solution, Portucel Viana investigated several options including both enterprise resource planning (ERP) products and more in-home proprietary solutions; however, none seemed to meet its requirements. Instead, Portucel turned to the OptiVision product with web-based order services from Honeywell Process Systems.

With this system, Portucel Viana was able to focus on order entry with a web-based process that helped facilitate its e-business order entry.

A typical Honeywell Process Systems control room

"We were able to identify a new process for order entry that not only helped us meet customer demand but it also improved our customer service at the same time," says Albuquerque.

Orders now entered into Honeywell's Web-order Services are received in OptiVision order entry and then scheduled. The system automatically sends this information back to the Web-order Services module and then sends a message to the commercial agent. Once confirmed by either a customer and/or sales agent the system then sends this information to OptiVision and a confirmation back to sales. Once in order entry the order is then changed from a request to a manufacture requirement.

"This integration between web-orders and our optimization software is now immediate and has saved the company both time and money and still satisfied all our company and customer needs," comments Albuquerque. "The product is easy to install and requires very little training. We also look forward to additional reporting capabilities expected in future enhancements," he adds.

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