Optimizing Color Management for a Healthcare Global Non-Woven Textiles Manufacturer
The Challenge
A leading global manufacturer of non-woven products for the healthcare industry—such as hypoallergenic hospital bed sheets and aseptic surgical drapes—faced a persistent operational challenge. Their production lines, which handle large rolls of non-woven fabric in various colors, required extensive cleaning whenever a lighter color followed a darker one. This disrupted production flexibility and increased costs.
Complicating matters, the company’s global ERP systems tracked sales orders by customer, length, color, and chemical specifications. Any solution had to work seamlessly with these systems—without requiring customization or interfering with standard ERP upgrades.
The Expectation
The client turned to Shelly North Carolina, Inc. to design a smart, non-intrusive solution that would:
- Preserve production flexibility and margins
- Eliminate unnecessary line cleanings
- Integrate with existing ERP systems without modification
The Strategic Insight
Shelly deployed three Digital Collaborators (DiCo’s) to manage color sequencing and production reporting, bridging the gap between shopfloor operations and ERP systems without disrupting either.
The Solution
- Work Order Aggregation & Sequencing
A DiCo analyzed all ERP-generated work orders and grouped them by shared attributes (chemical specs, width, dimensions, and color). It then created Shelly Work Orders—optimized sequences that minimized color changeovers by running from lightest to darkest. These internal work orders were invisible to the ERP’s, preserving their structure. - Shopfloor Execution Support
A second DiCo guided operators through production reporting, material consumption, and time tracking—based on the Shelly Work Orders. This ensured accurate, real-time data captured without disrupting workflows. - ERP Synchronization
A third DiCo mapped the completed Shelly Work Orders back to the original ERP work orders, ensuring that all production data was correctly reported—without requiring any ERP customization.
The Result
- Cost Transparency: Executives gained a clear view of the cost structure behind trading operations.
- Margin Optimization: Low-margin activities were identified and addressed, improving overall profitability.
- Trader Benchmarking: Performance was compared across desks and regions, enabling strategic staffing and automation decisions.
- Compliance & Audit Readiness: Blockchain-backed work orders provided a secure, immutable audit trail.
