Medium-sized specialist drives digital transformation with Simplifier

Packaging specialist implements low-code for efficient collaboration and gradually implements its digitalization strategy

In 2015, the specialist for customized solutions in the packaging sector was faced with the challenge of a heterogeneous IT structure. The IT department was faced with the task of consolidating the existing sub-systems and thus reducing redundancies within the various locations and departments. This was accompanied by the requirement within the company to improve important processes. These included optimized information flows within the company, closer integration of the individual divisions, departments and locations and better communication between internal players, suppliers and customers.

In addition, the specialist department was to receive more support from IT in future so that the value chain could be optimized through data-supported processes and automation. In particular, the focus was on shortening the long development cycles and making them more efficient. To accomplish this task, a separate sub-department was set up within the carton specialist’s IT department with a focus on supporting business processes.

The hybrid expertise required a standardized tool that could be used optimally by each team member. Based on the company’s medium-sized structures, the IT department has a generalist set-up, meaning that the small team must be able to implement any requirements. In response to this need, the medium-sized company introduced its first free low-code platform back in 2015, which offered a number of functions for the IT department. However, the options were extremely limited and could not meet the company’s requirements in the long term.

As the complexity of the requirements gradually increased, the family business was looking for an alternative to the free tools and platforms that had previously been used to assist them. The need for a development platform combined with specific initial use cases led to the companies working together and the implementation of the Simplifier low-code platform.

The collaboration with Simplifier began in 2019 with the implementation of production-related use cases: applications for order processing dialogs. As the planned service provider was no longer able to carry out the implementation due to capacity constraints, the application had to be developed in-house – without dedicated specialists in app development.

Thanks to the uniform working basis that the low-code platform gave the team, all members were able to contribute their expertise efficiently. In addition, the enabling and videos within the Simplifier community provided the necessary support to drive the project forward quickly and in a targeted manner. The joint hackathon between the packaging specialist and Simplifier not only provided the customer’s team with on-the-job training, but also created a joint functional basis for the required use cases, which could then be finalized without any problems. The low-code platform thus made highly complex processes operable for the medium-sized company: on the one hand, a dashboard was created for production that could display quality and personnel data ready for use. On the other hand, digital work instructions were created based on the low-code technology, which provided the specific information required for the respective workstation.

The platform was particularly impressive in terms of mobile capability, for example with its barcode scanning functionality, which could be used immediately throughout the entire production process. Simplifier’s mobile client makes it possible to use native mobile functions out-of-the-box, which in turn means that they do not have to be programmed manually. For example, an average of 4 days of development time could be saved for each device-independent mobile function used, which meant huge potential savings. The connectivity of the low-code platform, which made it possible to implement the concept of Industry 4.0 and realize the interaction of different data sources and machines, offered the medium-sized company direct access to data from IIoT/machine world and thus the possibility to integrate and use it directly, which also meant a saving of 70% in development costs for the connector.

The implementation of the low-code platform not only provided the packaging specialist’s team with a tool that all members can use and with which they can implement their projects efficiently. Simplifier also made it possible to establish agile working approaches within the team based on the graphical interface and the ready-to-use components: The preparation of large specification plans has since been eliminated. At the same time, initial basic logics for the required apps can now be created in workshops, which then only need to be completed.

On average, the company saves almost 50 percent of the project time – from concept to going live with the app – and can create applications twice as quickly as would be the case with individual programming.

However, the Hülsen expert was also able to successfully implement complex projects with the low-code platform in a comparatively short time: “We completed a change to our back-end within a year. Thanks to Simplifier, we were able to carry out a smooth migration to our new IRP system and move the applications in use without any problems.” (responsible IT manager).
The applications involved were able to remain in operation despite the change and were not interrupted, meaning that productivity could continue at the usual level.

Without Simplifier, output would have been reduced by a total of 23% over a period of 10 working days, which would have reduced the SME’s turnover by almost EUR 100,000.

However, the use of Simplifier influences more than just individual projects and teams. The state-of-the-art platform and innovative functions offer the opportunity to introduce new concepts and technologies, such as machine learning, into the company. At the same time, the automation provided by the applications introduced ensures leaner and more efficient processes – and also serves as inspiration. Overall, the company has reduced its time-to-market by a third on average per project, saving up to 20 project days.

Furthermore, the use of the low-code platform significantly supports the successive and continuous implementation of the digitalization strategy.

The low-code platform is already a core element of the IT infrastructure and is also firmly anchored in the company’s digitalization strategy. The intensive collaboration and constant exchange strengthen the core manufacturer’s strong trust in the possibilities offered by Simplifier. The platform is also playing an increasingly important role in the company, as it is a cornerstone of the digitalization projects. Based on the positive experiences and results, the company is now replacing an application that is seen as a key performer.

By handling the project independently, the sleeve manufacturer is expected to save a total of €130,000, which would have been incurred for services if it had been replaced with conventional programming.

Manufacturer of packaging and containers

Packaging

Main location in Southern Germany

approx. 2,000 Employees