"I have one word for you, Benjamin: Plastics."  It sounded so simple in The Graduate, didn't it?  But you know that running a profitable business in the plastics industry means controlling an ever-increasing number of variables.  Epicor's solutions enable all types of plastic and rubber manufacturers-including extruders, injection molders, thermoformers, and film and bag makers-to tighten delivery schedules, manage raw materials, reduce excess inventory, and increase profits.

Epicor for Plastics: A Quick Guide

• Easy-to-use visual scheduling tools help you identify and eliminate bottlenecks before they hit the shop floor.  For example, if you're extruding parts for multiple jobs at the same work center, you'll know in advance if their schedules will collide.  Your scheduler can then just drag-and-drop the extruding operation's schedule forward or backward to alleviate the overload.  You can see at a glance the effect this will have on the rest of the job and on other extruding operations at that same work center.  And "what-if" scheduling lets you reconfigure your schedule and see the implications without actually affecting the work in your pipeline.
• CRM functions help you build productive long-term relationships with customers -- critical in an industry where customer service and support often distinguishes market leaders from the competition.
• Material requirements planning tools help manage the ever-increasing array of plastics that you work on.  Epicor's MRP tools can forecast parts requirements, adjust jobs as forecasts change, and generate suggested purchase orders to fill anticipated gaps in your raw material inventory. 
• Bar-coded shop floor data collection tools help shop supervisors gather accurate labor information while telling operators exactly what they should work on at any given time.
• Sophisticated scheduling tools help you coordinate multiple manufacturing business units so that individual components come together at the right time: final assembly. 
• Business Intelligence tools help you see and react to the variables that affect your productivity, such as the flow of materials into your shop floor and production bottlenecks.

Epicor also offer plastic and rubber makers a complete suite of professional services, including training, online and phone support, consulting, customization, and installation and implementation services.

For more information on how Epicor's manufacturing solutions can help make your plastics business run more efficiently, contact Epicor at 800-449-6772, or by e-mail at vantage.info@epicor.com.