SAY Plastics Inc.

The Company: About SAY Plastics, Inc.

Founded in 1986, SAY Plastics Inc. is a custom plastic solutions contract manufacturer that is ISO 9001 – 2015 certified in the design, manufacture and assembly of thermoformed plastic parts and components. The manufacturer continues to rapidly grow as it serves customers that represent some of the largest companies in the world across a range of industries. Today, those markets include mass transit, agriculture and horticulture, heavy equipment, energy, entertainment, food and beverage, healthcare and medical, industrial, telecommunications, and transportation and logistics.

With a focus on serving customers’ needs, SAY Plastics has continued to evolve its manufacturing operations. By taking advantage of the DELMIAWorks manufacturing enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and its intuitive, real-time dashboards, the company has been able to increase accountability, productivity and decision-making while ensuring ISO 9001:2015 compliance. Additionally, by leveraging the dashboards, SAY Plastics is also setting the stage for future innovations in robotics and automation— pushing operations to keep pace with customers’ future requirements.

The Situation: Automate Manufacturing Processes

Coming out of COVID, we faced a lot of challenges. New customers, new employees, and new technology meant we couldn’t go back to the way things used to be. Unresolved material and tooling delays were wreaking havoc on our schedules and deliveries. We needed data — and we needed it to make sense. That’s why we invested in DELMIAWorks RealTime, to harness the information we had at hand, and dashboards to make it truly useful,” explained Bobby May, director of information technology at SAY Plastics. Let’s look at how SAY Plastics is transforming its manufacturing operations and laying the groundwork for the future with the help  of DELMIAWorks. 

The Solution: DELMIAWorks ERP

Boosting On-time Delivery to Nearly 100%

Meeting delivery deadlines is an important part of SAY Plastics’ commitment to ensuring customer satisfaction. However, any number of issues around inventory, materials, production capacity, and the supply chain can create unplanned delays. SAY Plastics uses the dashboards, advanced tracking, and alert systems in DELMIAWorks to monitor production timelines and inventory levels to get ahead of issues before they become problems. Immediate access to production metrics helps the manufacturer to identify bottlenecks, adjust schedules on the fly, and optimize resource allocation to meet deadlines. Meanwhile, real-time insights delivered via DELMIAWorks dashboards, enables the company to quickly address any issues in the supply chain. 

As a result, SAY Plastics has achieved on-time delivery rates nearing 100%. And when there are late shipments, the delay has been reduced to an average of less than one day. ​“The visibility we have gained through the DELMIAWorks dashboards allows us to proactively respond to production and supply chain issues before they turn into delays, improving customer satisfaction and strengthening relationships,” said Jesse Fisher, production schedule coordinator at SAY Plastics. 

Simplifying ISO 9001:2015  Compliance Reporting

As an ISO 9001:2015 certified manufacturer, compliance with this standard is fundamental to maintaining the high-quality standards that SAY Plastics customers have come to rely on. However, meeting ISO compliance requirements can be a resource-heavy task. The company relies on DELMIAWorks to simplify the effort by automating the tracking and reporting of key metrics, as well as maintaining a detailed and accurate record of production processes. ​“Smart machines, robots and sensors generate massive amounts of data that need to be captured, monitored, and reported in order to comply with ISO 9001:2015,” explained Djan Groft, quality manager at SAY Plastics. ​“DELMIAWorks’ dashboards enable us to ensure that data from our operations is organized, accurate, and ready for ISO audits.” 

Increasing Control and Accountability for Continuous Improvement

A culture of control and accountability is key  to continuous improvement at SAY Plastics. Using DELMIAWorks, the company is able to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), such as cycle times, downtime, quality metrics, and delivery performance in real time. This, in turn, enables  the manufacturer to identify areas for improvement, address inefficiencies, and make more informed decisions. Additionally, DELMIAWorks dashboards provide teams across SAY Plastics with realtime data, fostering ownership and encouraging collaboration. So, everyone — from shop floor workers to production managers — has access to performance data that promotes faster decisionmaking and better problem-solving. ​“By using DELMIAWorks to make key metrics available to employees, we have been able to instill a shared sense of accountability while providing them with the knowledge to advance their skills,” May noted. ​“As more smart machines and robotics are integrated into our production workflows, we expect that DELMIAWorks will play a critical role in giving operators the insights they need to monitor, adjust, and fine-tune the operations of these systems.”

The Results: DELMIAWorks ERP Implementation Benefits

Paving the Way for Robotics and Automation

As SAY Plastics plans for the continued growth of customers and their evolving requirements, the company is looking at how to integrate more robotics and automation into its operations. Robots work with precision and speed, but they also require tightly coordinated schedules that need to be orchestrated. 

Using the real-time data and insights provided by the DELMIAWorks manufacturing ERP system and its dashboards, SAY Plastics can automatically monitor complex processes, track performance, and trigger alerts— core functions required for smoothly transitioning to automation without sacrificing control, quality or compliance. 

The real-time data and actionable insights from our DELMIAWorks dashboards are revolutionizing the way we manage our operations, from improving on-time deliveries to simplifying ISO 9001:2015 compliance and fostering continuous improvement,” said Aaron Stover, production manager at SAY Plastics. ​“Equally important, they are laying the groundwork for us to effectively incorporate robotics and automation into our workflows as we position our company for the future of manufacturing.”