“We may need to replace the components with every sale, but the base remains constant. It’s the finished formula that changes by request. BatchMaster understood those requirements. BMM seems to think the same ways as we do.”
Henri Pigmans, C.O.O.
Customer
Polytex Environmental Inks, ltd.
Industry
Industrial Coatings
Location
Bronx, N. Y
Solution
BatchMaster Manufacturing
with SAP Business One
with SAP Business One
Polytex Environmental (Netherlands) Inks Finds Holistic Process Solution with BatchMaster Manufacturing (BMM) and SAP Business One
Polytex Environmental Inks, ltd. was
established in 1943 by Joseph
Landau to manufacture and supply
industrial coatings.
The growing concern over air quality in the late 1960’s made industries turn their attention to new technologies. Passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970 in the U.S. accelerated the need to develop inks and coating that comply with changing environmental standards.
Environmental Concerns became a worldwide issue. Recognizing the evolving need for high performance compliant products Polytex committed its technical resources to developing replacement products for printing and conversion processes.
To effectively support the printing industry, a 80,000 square foot plant was established in 1986 in the Bronx, N. Y. to include Research and Development and Manufacturing.
To strengthen its position worldwide Polytex Environmental Inks established an R&D and Manufacturing site in the Netherlands in 1993 to provide local technical and service support for Europe. In 2008, the European arm of the organization began a search for a solution that would support not only manufacturing and distribution of their products, but that included full support for their R&D needs.
After some initial research, Polytex identified solutions from Microsoft, Infor Global Solutions and SAP that offered support for some or most of their business needs. Unfortunately, none of them fully met their needs for product development, production management and distribution. C.O.O. Henri Pigmans explain their selection process as, “extensive… We identified some solutions that were nice looking, but seemed cumbersome to implement.
Just when the company determined that no one solution offered everything they needed, they learned of BatchMaster Manufacturing, an important component of the SAP Business One Partner Solution Suite.
BatchMaster ERP, established in the 1980’s, is the original process manufacturing and formula-based product development solution in the software industry.
Early on, SAP identified BatchMaster as a key partner in the service of the process manufacturing industry. BatchMaster responded to their interest by developing the same functionality they offer in their stand-alone ERP package, integrated into the Business One solution. All the technical sophistication of Lot Tracking, Formula Development, Product Costing available in BatchMaster ERP are now available within SAP Business One, where previously this functionality did not exist.
Before the change, Polytex utilized technology that offered functionality in finance and distribution, but with no connection to Lab (Product Development) and Factory (Production Management). According to C.O.O., Henri Pigmans, “We needed a solution that offered us streamlined process between research and development, manufacturing and product distribution. We saw a lot of software in our search, but most of what we saw was incomplete for our needs, and very expensive to implement.” Pigmans goes on to say, “Once we saw the smooth functionality with BMM supporting our process needs, we realized it looked like the right solution. The price met the size of our company as well.”
While SAP Business One was an early favorite for their slick reporting and data mining capabilities, Polytex’s need for support in the lab and on the manufacturing floor drove them to search for alternate solutions. “At first, we didn’t know that a process manufacturing specific add-on to Business One was available,” says Pigmans. “Once we saw BMM integrated directly into SAP Business One, we knew that we were looking at the right product. We like the way documents come out in a uniform way and appreciate the very organized and professional look that the solution offers.”
Pigmans also points out that their business model makes them unique, and that BatchMaster understood and supported their business logic. “Much of what we do is one off custom,” says Pigmans. “We take existing formulas from stock and customize them to meet the target goals for product application. We make relatively expensive product, and pride ourselves on our quick turn-around and responsiveness to our customers.” Pigmans goes on to explain that, “product can look different every time. We need to be able to plan our bases, but reformulate with almost every order. We may need to replace the components with every sale, but the base remains constant. It’s the finished formula that changes by request. BatchMaster understood those requirements. BMM seems to think the same ways as we do.”
About BatchMaster Software
BatchMaster Software is a leading provider of ERP solutions that help formula-based process manufacturers streamline their operations and scale production, while reducing costs and complying with changing customer demands and ever more stringent regulatory mandates. The company delivers industry specific solutions for Food, Beverage, Nutraceuticals, Pharmaceuticals, Cosmetics, Chemicals, and other process industries. BatchMaster ERP is seamlessly embedded with SAP Business One and Microsoft Dynamics GP and integrates to QuickBooks, Sage 100 & 300 ERP, and is available on premise and in the cloud. BatchMaster Software has been serving the process manufacturing market for over 30 years and supports thousands of customers worldwide.
Contact Us
BatchMaster Software | 23191 La Cadena Drive, Suite 101, Laguna Hills, CA 92653 | 949-583-1646 | sales@batchmaster.com
