A U.S. subsidiary of a leading multinational provider and manufacturer of clinical diagnostic products was experiencing three significant issues with its current packaging film supplier.
THE ISSUES:
While the manufacturer was satisfied with the protective properties of the film they were using, they were not achieving the productivity on their form/fill/seal equipment they expected and needed when packaging cassettes that contained the chemistry used in their diagnostic products.
The film supplier required large minimum orders due to the use of a non-standard substrate. This resulted in the customer being forced to incur a repeated significant expense and take delivery of very large quantities of film that created warehousing issues and logistical problems.
The supplier’s performance was inconsistent when responding to changes in roll stock order volume and delivery schedules, causing production scheduling problems with the customer.
APPROACH:
LPS Industries’ reputation for solving complex, flexible packaging challenges resulted in the customer reaching out for help to create an efficient and agile solution to overcome these issues, while working within their established packaging cost constraints.
SOLUTIONS:
After a short series of meetings and site visits, supported by an LPS in-house analysis of the material, it was quickly determined that the productivity issue was caused by the film’s slip factor being less than optimal. LPS also recommended alternate film constructions that would meet or exceed the customer’s performance requirements. The LPS team created a selection of constructions for sampling to ensure the ultimate choice would perform as required on the equipment, while protecting the sensitive chemistry of the product. Extensive testing was performed over the following year, resulting in the customer selecting the best construction that met all of their requirements.
Replacing the non-standard substrate in the film structure with one that was more readily available, cost-effective, and delivered the same performance, resulted in smaller minimum order requirements and a reduced per square foot cost. In addition, LPS stored the customer’s roll stock in one of its strategically located warehouses, mitigating the historical on-site storage and logistics challenges created by the prior high volume purchase requirements.
LPS Industries warehouses are situated within three days by truck of virtually anywhere in the continental U.S. In addition to assigning an experienced, attentive account manager, the close proximity of the distribution facility to the customer’s manufacturing location allowed LPS to provide “just in time” delivery of smaller quantities that conformed to the tight production schedules.
IMPACT:
LPS Industries’ multi-phase solution addressed the technical, economic, fulfillment and logistics issues, enabling the customer to achieve required production performance metrics within established cost guidelines, while ensuring a predictable and consistent supply of packaging material. As a result, the customer referred LPS to its parent company for expanded use as a companywide resource for high barrier film solutions.
We invite you to challenge LPS Industries to create a solution to improve your medical contract packaging film operations. Our broad and deep knowledge and experience just may be the perfect prescription.
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