Data-driven strategy helps baker build base for European growth
The adoption of Plex’s Smart Manufacturing Platform has helped Irish baked-goods company, West-Bake, establish and maintain tighter inventory and quality control in a digital format as it scales up its manufacturing.
Based in Glenamaddy, Co. Galway, in the west of Ireland, West-Bake operates a state-of-the art, 44,000 ft2 (4,088 m2) bakery, with a strong team dedicated to producing muffins, cookies and cakes for customers around Europe.
“Our Plex solution is ideal for companies with big digital aspirations looking to optimise and future proof their operations,” said Åsa Arvidsson, regional vice president central, east & north region, Rockwell Automation, owner of Plex. “Our consultative approach at West-Bake helped identify operational improvements, and from there we were able to tailor and deliver a solution that offered the best possible control, management, insights, and return on investment.”
Initially looking for an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, an in-depth, project-requirement capture and factory walkthrough by the Rockwell Automation team discovered that the Plex manufacturing execution system (MES) and quality management system (QMS) would have a positive business impact for West-Bake. Indeed, the return on investment savings realised by the MES would fund the ERP investment, which was subsequently bolstered by the QMS capability.
“By digitalising our inventory and quality records, we anticipate significant time, effort and cost savings,” said PJ Shanks, IT manager at West-Bake. “As well as more accurate records and smoothing of supply chain and inventory fluctuations, the ‘train the trainer’ approach Plex offers means we can be self-sufficient in terms of configuring the system for future products, new recipes and additional manufacturing lines. And the tightly integrated offerings mean that all pertinent data generated across our operations is accessible in real time to all internal stakeholders.”
