One of North America’s largest pet product manufacturers, Nestle Purina PetCare, increases profit margins by letting WinSPC optimize individual package volumes.
About the Company
–Steve Huey
Process Manager
Ralston Golden Products Div.
Nestle Purina PetCare® [NYSE: RAL], a multi-billion dollar company, is known the world over as an industry-leading producer of pet food and litter. Among its many recognizable brands are: Alpo, Puppy Chow, Kit & Kaboodle, Friskies, and Tidy Cats.
Challenge
In its continuous pursuit of exceptional value for consumers and maximum returns for stakeholders, Nestle Purina PetCare identified individual package volumes as an opportunity for improvement. The need to avoid underfilling packages inevitably invited overfilling to be the de facto practice. But the cost of overfilling, even a little, when multiplied across millions of packages, adds up and exerts very real, downward pressure on profit. This was the dilemma the company faced.
Precision Filling with WinSPC
To address its challenge, Nestle Purina PetCare selected WinSPC. WinSPC is the global leader in precision-filling control. It combines the science of statistical process control with real-time alarms to dramatically reduce overfills without risking underfills. In addition, it:
- Automates and streamlines data collection
- Comes with professionally formatted reports and dashboards
- Has exhaustive analytical capabilities
- Is intentionally designed to be easy-to-use
Results
WinSPC was implemented at two Nestle Purina PetCare plants. The company reports WinSPC’s precision-filling control features directly and successfully addressed its challenge and resulted in substantial cost savings. Repeating the words of Process Manager Steve Huey shown above: “The money the company saved with WinSPC by controlling amounts as small as a teaspoon raised some eyebrows. Profit margins can be measured in very small costs in a large scale manufacturing setting.”
About DataNet Quality Systems
DataNet Quality Systems empowers manufacturers to improve products, processes, and profitability through real-time statistical software solutions. The company’s vision is to deliver trusted and capable technology solutions that allow manufacturers to create the highest quality product for the lowest possible cost. DataNet’s flagship product, WinSPC, provides statistical decision-making at the point of production and delivers real-time, actionable information to where it is needed most. With over 2500 customers worldwide and distributors across the globe, DataNet is dedicated to delivering a high level of customer service and support, shop-floor expertise, and training in the areas of Continuous Improvement, Six Sigma, and Lean Manufacturing services.