SUCCESSFUL STORIES
La Pila Food
The value of real-time data to optimize production processes
"We like to be technological leaders in our sector, and that's why we're always open to incorporating new tools that can add value to the business."
Leading company in its category in Spain.
La Pila Food is a company founded in 1942 and specialized in the development of food solutions for Retail and Food Service with the aim of improving people's daily lives. With eight manufacturing lines, 30,000 kg of processed product per day, and a team of more than 150 people, the company has been part of Familia Martínez since 2020. In 2022, they surpassed €25 million in turnover, a figure that makes them leaders in their category in Spain.
The value of real-time data to optimize production processes
In 2021, Familia Martínez launched a corporate-level software standardization program, including La Pila Food, with the priority of linking its ERP to Mapex's MES solution to ensure a constant, bidirectional flow of information, guaranteeing data integrity and providing real-time visibility into stocks and warehouse status.
The initial objectives of the project were:
- Capture real-time data through IoT to continuously monitor the status of production lines, detect bottlenecks, monitor the operation of critical equipment, and identify downtimes and their causes.
- Monitor OEE in real time.
- Record rejections and losses by OF, batch, etc.
- Digitize quality and traceability to ensure regulatory compliance (IFS and ISO 45001).
- Get customized reports to streamline business decision-making.
- Improve data analysis and exploitation.
- Optimize warehouses and inventories.
- Establish indicators for continuous improvement.
- Optimize real production costs.
- Gradually eliminate paper in the plant.
- Link the MES with Microsoft Dynamics AX bidirectionally.
“In the case of the MES system, we chose Mapex based on the feedback from Platos Tradicionales: they had been working with the platform for five years and their assessment of the solution was very positive,” explains Roberto López, CTO of Familia Martínez.
“Having very clear initial objectives, conducting a thorough analysis of internal processes to make the most of the solution, and involving key users from the beginning have been the three keys to the project's success,” López acknowledges.
Benefits obtained
We're talking about success because the implementation of Mapex's Production, Quality, and Traceability modules has brought several benefits to La Pila Food. These include an improvement in the 6% OEE and the ability to identify the true source of rejects and errors during the start-up and shutdown phases of production in order to implement appropriate corrective measures.
Furthermore, with Mapex, the company has been able to obtain reliable records of the production staff working in each manufacturing office; capture real-time information on consumption and production; reduce warehouse stock errors by nearly 80%; and streamline inventory management by 40%.
The positive impact of the MES system has been felt beyond the production area. The company has complete, digitalized traceability, from the receipt of raw materials to the dispatch of the finished product. "Moving away from paper allows us to be much more agile in accessing traceability information and responding predictively to potential quality deviations," adds López.
As we can see, data digitization has also had a very positive impact on La Pila Food's Quality department: "With Mapex, we perform quality controls on the plant in real time, we can identify trends thanks to historical data, and we have very useful reports to identify opportunities for improvement."
Connecting Mapex's MES to the Microsoft Dynamics AX corporate ERP: a challenge successfully overcome with the collaboration of Emiral
One of the major challenges of the project was integrating Mapex's MES system with the corporate ERP Microsoft Dynamics AX.
"It's a process that has required a lot of dedication, both in the analysis phase and in the information transfer and solution design phases," says López.
The company spokesperson emphasizes the importance of constant coordination and communication between La Pila Food's internal team, the consulting firm Emiral (in charge of ERP implementation), and Mapex.
The end result is that "by making purchases online and having a bidirectional system, information flows constantly, ensuring data integrity and providing real-time visibility into stock and warehouse status. This helps us with inventory; when even minimal deviations appear, we can optimize our processes. Furthermore, orders travel between both systems, allowing operators to work on previously validated orders and allowing the ERP to know the actual status of each of those orders," explains the company's CTO.
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"We are very pleased with the work done by all parties, as it was no easy task. Without this cross-cutting approach between the ERP, the MES, and the business needs and objectives, it would have been impossible to successfully complete a project of this magnitude."
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