"With Honeywell’s help we were able to replace our legacy web-based application and production management system with one that was much easier to install and use. Honeywell’s OptiVision with web-based services enabled Portucel Viana to actually improve our customer service levels."
Fernando Albuquerque, Web Order Services, Portucel Viana
With the amount of web-based orders received by Portucel Viana, the company needed to replace its legacy production management system. However questions remained on how to replace this web-based application without disrupting customer service and improving it in the long run. Portucel Viana turned to Honeywell’s OptiVision® business optimization software that combines best practices of the paper industry with the most advanced e-business capabilities.
Honeywell’s advanced optimization software and web-based services features enabled Portucel Viana to:
Located near Porto, Portugal, Portucel Viana produces corrugated board, Kraftliner paper and boxes for the packaging industry. The company is a division of Europac (Papeles y Cartones de Europa), a Spanish company principally engaged in the manufacture of packaging products. The mill produces 250,000 tons/year of Kraftliner paper on one production line which is distributed in 18 locations across Spain and Portugal.
As Portucel Viana grew so did its web-based business. Beginning in 2001, the majority of Portucel’s customer orders came from outside the mill via a web-based application used by sales agents, customers and sales-related personnel. The company was using a legacy production management system that could not adequately handle these orders.
“In order to keep up with the 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,” said Fernando Albuquerque, Web Order Services, Portucel Viana.
Due to the high volume of web-based business, Portucel Viana needed a way to optimize its business via web services. In finding the appropriate solution to replace its old production management process, the company had two specific requirements:
As the search ensued for the right solution, Portucel Viana investigated several options including both ERP products and proprietary solutions; but neither seemed to meet the requirements so Portucel turned to OptiVision.
With OptiVision, Portucel Viana was able to focus on order entry with an easy-to-use, web-based process that helped facilitate its e-business order entry.
“We were able to identify a new process for order entry that not only helped us meet customer demand but also improved our customer service at the same time,” said Albuquerque.
Portucel Viana now has a defined, automatic process for order entry. Orders are now entered online through Honeywell’s Web Order Services, received in OptiVision order entry and then scheduled. The system automatically sends this information to the Web Order Services module and then sends a message to the commercial agent. Once confirmed by either a customer or sales agent the system 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 manufacturing requirement.
Concluded Albuquerque, “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. The product is easy to install and requires very little training. We also look forward to additional reporting capabilities expected in future enhancements.”
OptiVision® is a registered trademark of Honeywell International Inc.