Kiekens gains insight and control over production and logistics with Smart Production Solutions

Thanks to the Smart Production Suite and the shop floor app of Smart Production Solutions, Kiekens Almelo has gained more insight into and control over its own production processes. Kiekens, a manufacturer of high-quality dust extraction, filtration, ventilation and dedusting systems, now has an extra layer around its ERP. Menno Meijer, director at Kiekens: “It lets us keep a better eye on production capacity and gives us more visibility of orders in the pipeline.”

Kiekens stands out from the competition with its own production in the Netherlands. The growing focus on customisation and engineer-to-order did, however, put more pressure on planning. “Our ERP software did not give us enough visibility of planning and of the production capacity for the orders in the pipeline. As soon as we started looking for tools that could give us the insight and control we wanted, Smart Production Solutions came into view. I knew the founders and knew they could deliver what we needed.”

Production software connected to ERP via APIs

The Smart Production Suite and the shop floor app are connected to the ERP via APIs. Thanks to this seamless integration, Kiekens can tell a customer straight away when an order can be delivered. “Before the implementation, we did that based on a safe margin and our people’s experience. Now the system shows the capacity available to us and even takes sickness absence and machines that are out of service into account. Customers now get a date from us based on facts, not on gut feeling.”

The shop floor can adjust itself

When the planning changes, the shop floor can act on it immediately with the shop floor app. Walking to the factory floor or crossing out the paper schedule is no longer needed. The smart software puts the shop floor in the driver’s seat, so it can respond to changes right away. Meijer: “The shop floor app is clear and easy to use. That matters, because the people on the shop floor are not IT specialists. With the app in use, we were also able to say goodbye to the scanners, which did not always work as we wanted.”

Transparency, capacity forecasting and accurate stock

The new software tools support the transformation Kiekens is going through. “We are moving from a production company to a strongly customer-focused business. We need to manage that well, and these applications help us do so.” There was hardly any getting used to it, says the director. “There is more transparency and more control, and we can forecast the capacity we need better.” The latter also has a positive effect on stock, as stock requirements are easier to predict.

Smooth implementation

Kiekens is growing, and the new applications provide the administrative and planning support it needs. “The decision to work with these tools has paid off. The implementation went well and we have gained the transparency we were looking for. It allows us to give our customers more reliable information and keep growing.”