Syspro: Packaging equipment maker packs efficiency across multiple warehouses

THE COMPANY: Incorporated in 1992, and headquartered in Montreal, Que., WeighPack Systems is a packaging equipment industry leader with an extensive, high-quality product line, and leading-edge packaging equipment designs. For more than 18 years, WeighPack has delivered packaging equipment for applications throughout the world, within industries as diverse as food, hardware and pharmaceuticals.

“Our core business is the manufacture of weighing and bagging equipment,” says company president and founder, Louis Taraborelli. “Our machines process snack food, frozen food, candy, hardware – anything in a bag.”

While WeighPack’s primary market is the U.S., the company is rapidly expanding its international presence with locations in Chicago, Las Vegas and Shanghai, and a new location in Southern Florida.

THE CHALLENGE: “We’re not a high-volume business,” says Taraborelli. “Most of our sales are build-to-order. Our products are extremely variable, and our customers typically require a high level of customization. In consequence, we need to maintain a huge inventory of stock codes and componentry across multiple warehouses and subsidiary companies. We require an ERP that gives us complete control over our inventory, and provides us with real-time financial information.”

THE STRATEGY: During the early 1990s, WeighPack hired a third-party consultant to research the ERP products available at the time. “We considered several brands of ERP,” says Taraborelli, “but there was one product that clearly came out on top. In 1995, we implemented Syspro.” Today, WeighPack has been leveraging Syspro for more than15 years.

To prospective ERP users, Taraborelli offers a word of advice. “To gain optimal benefits from your ERP system, a company must be willing to make some changes to both workflow and work processes. After making the decision to buy, dedicate a project team to speed the implementation process, and facilitate the necessary changes.”

THE RESULTS: “We now have a standard platform across all our warehouses and subsidiary entities,” says Taraborelli. “Using a centralized server, we can access real-time inventory information from any of our warehouses. We can also access the bookkeeping records of our subsidiary companies, allowing our accounting department to stay on top of our financial health. To get the same level of information without Syspro, I’d need double the accounting staff.”

Syspro lets WeighPack know to the penny what a job will cost in advance. “We can now predict the cost of a finished product before we do the job. And within seconds of the job being closed, we know the real cost, and can advise our sales department if they need to adjust the price for future business opportunities.

“Syspro continually upgrades and revises its software to make use of emerging technologies,” Taraborelli says. “Syspro invests in keeping its product leading edge. From my perspective, everyone at Syspro Canada is accessible, personable and interested in the well being of our company.”

For more information on WeighPack Systems, visit www.weighpack.com.

For more information on Syspro, visit http://canada.syspro.com/?//.