Albéa is one of the world leaders in packaging with $ 1.5 billion in sales, 15,000 employees and around 40 industrial sites around the world. The company works in particular with beauty giants such as L'Oréal or P&G and other international brands. In total, it has more than 2,000 customers in 60 countries. Very established in Asia, it has been, like so many others, particularly affected by the health crisis.
The supply chain (already) on the front line before the crisis
Two years before the COVID crisis, the Albéa group undertook the deployment of a Sales and Operating Planning (S&OP) based on the DDMRP methodology. The goal: to pool the supply chain across all production chains to ensure that logistics management becomes a competitive advantage in a rapidly changing market. Indeed, the boom in online sales and the development of small series require better responsiveness and the ability to quickly produce small batches while remaining competitive.
Optimisation that has become vital in the context of the health crisis
When the COVID crisis spread across the world in early 2020, several of the group's factories, as well as many customers, came to a standstill. Successively all production chains will find themselves confronted with major business air gaps and strong takeovers leading to a surge in demand, resulting in real complexity for the supply chain.
In this context, the S&OP will be adjusted on an almost daily basis and better integrate the overall industrial capacities of the group, in order to anticipate production needs and be able to provide a response to customers within 24 hours. As a management tool, the tool will also be simplified to serve as a turnover optimisation tool for the attention of sales teams who have benefited from better visibility on stock availability.
Despite the crisis, BEVOLTA will have made it possible to increase competitiveness
Powered by various synchronised information flows, particularly from Albéa's customers, the BEVOLTA software has enabled the group to produce as closely as possible to its customers' needs despite a particularly erratic context. Among the benefits observed, the group notes a reduction in the time between orders and deliveries, an increase in the availability of finished products without increasing stocks, and an increased turnover.
Tested on 5 sites, the solution should quickly roll out globally in 2021.