Smurfit Kappa, one of the world's largest packaging manufacturers, is improving its processes with SAP Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence (SAP MII). This application collects production and quality data fully automatically and shares it with all systems across different business locations. This makes relevant data directly available to applications and employees, and fully digitizes and harmonizes production and related processes.
Complex circumstances
Smurfit Kappa develops innovative and sustainable packaging, based on both new and recycled paper. The company has 350+ locations in Europe and North America, employs 46,000 people and has a turnover of 8.9 billion euros. Smurfit Kappa's global presence poses exciting challenges in terms of productivity, sustainability and safety.
Manufacturing companies face complex conditions, fluctuations in supply and demand, and rapidly changing demands. If demand in one market increases, the other locations must respond. For global organizations, this is a major challenge that requires complete visibility and control over production. To compete, organizations also need to operate more efficiently. In addition, sustainable enterprises require a conscious production approach without waste.
Higher efficiency and reduction of waste
With SAP MII and fully digitized processes, Smurfit Kappa improves efficiency in various areas. Previously, Smurfit Kappa locations used to work with several separate applications that did not integrate with each other. Employees followed data on several screens and on paper, which they then had to enter in other applications. SAP MII replaces all these applications, paper documents and integrates seamlessly with SAP ERP, SAP Supply Chain Management and SAP Business Intelligence. This automates numerous manual actions. Manual data collection has been eliminated in many sites.
The locations can now also respond directly to market fluctuations by adjusting production. With new dashboards and analytics, Smurfit Kappa has more control over production than ever before. Thanks to the new paperless environment and increased production efficiency, the locations work even more sustainably than before. SAP MII also ensures better quality of the end products and a safer working environment.
A sustainable future
"SAP MII connects our shop floor directly to the boardroom," says Tewfik Noumri, director of Smurfit Kappa's SAP Competence Center. "This platform allows us to benefit directly from new technological trends in the domain of manufacturing. Production remains at the same high level, but is more sustainable for us, our customers and the future."
