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SmithKline software simplifies specs management

Packaging specifications software helps SmithKline Beecham tame paperwork associated with an unwieldy packaging component inventory.

Packaging specs for a variety of plants or departments are divided up electronically into a series of folders representing pla
Packaging specs for a variety of plants or departments are divided up electronically into a series of folders representing pla

At SmithKline Beecham, packaging specifications on 5ꯠ packaging material components such as bottles, closures, labels and cases are being stored and accessed electronically by designated employees in plants from Pennsylvania to Puerto Rico. The packaging specifications software that permits this storage and access provides only the most current version of a spec. That reduces both errors and exposure to violations of Good Manufacturing Practices issued by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (see Packaging World, Jan. '99, p. 32 or packworld.com/go/sb).

The software, called NovaManage(TM) from NovaSoft® (Burlington, MA), runs on a server computer at SB's Philadelphia headquarters. Employees in quality assurance and purchasing at SB's four North American plants can access the data on the server from their PCs over the company's wide-area computer network. Other users include the print shop and corporate purchasing and labeling departments. The software's been in widespread use in the company for about two years.

An important benefit to the corporate packaging department is that it spends a great deal less time creating, approving and distributing packaging specs. (For an explanation of the software that automates this process, see PW, Jan. '99, p. 33 or packworld.com/go/sb2). That has enabled the packaging department to:

* Increase productivity by more than 30% for creating, reviewing and disseminating specs.

* Reduce by an average of 70% the time spent on "document transactions"--looking for individual specs, performing searches, answering questions about specs, etc.

* Reduce the administrative cost of creating or editing a packaging spec from an estimated $11 per spec down to $2.

* Free up an estimated aggregate of 21 working days per year spent by each packaging coordinator (support staff) responding to inquiries about spec versions, retrieving and faxing updated versions, etc.

* Handle an increase in workload over the last two years without increasing the number of workers. For example, the number of specs alone has nearly doubled during that time period.

* Spend more time on more "big-picture" packaging issues that affect the company, such as creating universal packaging guidelines to promote standardization of packaging components as new products are commercialized.

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