Home – Optymalizacja harmonogramowania produkcji w Nutricia Polska

Optimizing Production Scheduling at Nutricia Poland

We implemented an advanced production scheduling system for Nutricia Poland, a leading manufacturer of baby food and part of the global Danone Group.

Optymalizacja produkcji

About the Project

We implemented an advanced production scheduling system for Nutricia Poland, a leading manufacturer of baby food and part of the global Danone Group. Nutricia operates one of the largest facilities in the industry in the region, producing a wide range of products, including dairy-based food items, semi-finished goods, and jars of pasteurized food.

The project scope extended beyond the production facility to include external warehouses and cold storage, where raw materials such as vegetables and meat were stored. The production process involved multiple stages – from raw materials to semi-finished products and finally to finished goods – adding to its complexity.

Project objectives and challenges

The primary goals of the project were to:

Production optymalization

Minimize production time by reducing the number of machine changeovers and cleaning operations.

On-time delivery

Ensure on-time delivery by creating a stable and efficient production plan.

Resources optimalization

Optimize resource utilization, including raw materials, packaging, and production capacities.

Production constraints

Address production constraints, particularly those related to allergens and natural colorants, which required frequent machine changeovers.

Complex production process

A multi-stage operation involving semi-finished products needed to meet the demands of both the Polish factory and other facilities in the region without in-house production capabilities.

Frequent changeovers and cleaning operations

Machine reconfigurations were required due to allergens (e.g., milk proteins) and natural colorants, increasing downtime and complicating scheduling.

Logistical constraints

Coordination between the production facility, external warehouse, and cold storage added complexity to inventory and transport planning.

Meat quality control

The production schedule had to align with inspections by independent veterinary services, ensuring high standards without delaying operations.

Our approach and Solution

To address these challenges, we implemented the following solutions:

Changeover and production rule matrices

✔ Developed a detailed changeover matrix accounting for key constraints, such as allergens and natural colorants.
✔ Implemented rules to minimize changeovers between product batches, reducing downtime and cleaning requirements.

Advanced SAP PP/DS system implementation

✔ Leveraged advanced heuristics within SAP PP/DS to efficiently generate optimal schedules considering resource availability, production capacities, and demand.
✔ Integrated scheduling with inventory management across the external warehouse and cold storage to optimize transport and resource allocation.

Incorporating key production parameters

✔ Factored in minimum production batch sizes and efficient utilization of raw material units (e.g., big bags).
✔Balanced semi-finished product consumption to ensure uninterrupted production at the Polish facility while meeting the needs of other factories in the network.

Logistics process integration

✔ Designed a production call-off system to streamline transport between the warehouse, cold storage, and production facility, integrated with SAP SNP.

Achievements and Business Benefits

The implementation delivered measurable results and benefits:

Achievements

✔32% reduction in changeovers, significantly shortening production times.
✔ Increased machine utilization by:
5% for dairy-based products,
7% for jars of pasteurized food.
✔ Stabilized production plans over a 2-week horizon, improving raw material ordering and reducing transport between the warehouse, cold storage, and factory.
✔ Optimized logistics and inventory management, reducing costs and improving operational efficiency.

Business benefits

✔ Reduced downtime: Lower frequency of changeovers and cleaning operations enhanced production efficiency.
✔ Improved resource utilization: Higher machine utilization rates allowed for increased production volumes within shorter timeframes.
✔ Greater predictability: A stable production schedule facilitated better inventory management and supply chain planning.
✔ Compliance with quality standards: Production processes adhered to stringent quality requirements for allergens and raw materials, including independent meat inspections.

Conclusion

The implementation of the advanced SAP PP/DS system, integrated with SAP SNP, enabled full optimization of Nutricia Poland’s production scheduling. A critical success factor was the development of changeover matrices and production rules that effectively minimized downtime while addressing allergen-related and raw material constraints.

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