Challenge
SSI recognized the need to modernize its manufacturing operations and improve data-driven decision-making. The company’s production teams relied heavily on manual reporting processes, making it difficult to gain real-time insights into performance, downtime tracking, and compliance monitoring.
As part of a broader strategic initiative, David Armentrout, Senior IT Manager for Manufacturing Systems, was tasked with implementing a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) to enhance production visibility. However, traditional MES solutions proved expensive - often costing up to $1 million - prompting SSI to explore a more agile and cost-effective approach.
At the same time, the finance team successfully implemented Zap Data Hub to streamline financial reporting. Seeing its impact, the operations team looked to expand Zap’s capabilities into manufacturing analytics, ensuring a unified data strategy across finance, production, and quality assurance.
By using Zap Data Hub’s analytics and automation capabilities, SSI was able to integrate manufacturing data seamlessly, delivering real-time insights without requiring a costly standalone MES.
SSI found several key challenges that needed to be addressed to improve operational efficiency and ensure accurate, real-time data reporting:
- Manual Reporting Inefficiencies: Production teams spent up to two hours per day compiling shift reports manually, leading to delays and inconsistencies in decision-making.
- Lack of On-Demand Production Visibility: Without a centralized system to track downtime and production counts, it was difficult to pinpoint operational inefficiencies and optimize performance.
- Compliance & Quality Control: SSI needed a more precise system to monitor and verify product weight consistency, particularly in ice cream production, to meet strict customer contracts.
- Expanding Data Strategy: With Zap Data Hub already proving successful in finance, SSI wanted to extend its use into manufacturing analytics, ensuring a single source of truth across departments.
Solution
To overcome these challenges, David led a project to expand the use of Zap Data Hub from finance into manufacturing operations. By integrating production data into Zap, SSI was able to:
- Automate shift reporting , reducing manual effort while improving accuracy.
- Track key performance indicators (KPIs) , such as production output, downtime reasons, and efficiency metrics.
- Enhance compliance monitoring , particularly for weight consistency in ice cream production.
“Within the first month, we saved more than $50,000 through better inventory management, Zap paid for itself almost immediately.”
— David Armentrout, Sr IT Manager, Manufacturing Systems
Through a seamless integration, Zap was configured to ingest data from production lines, MES systems, and financial sources, tracking essential factors such as downtime events, product counts, and quality control data.
One of the most impactful enhancements was the introduction of weight tracking dashboards for ice cream production. By capturing and visualizing scale data within Zap, the quality assurance team could pro-actively monitor product consistency, ensuring compliance with contractual weight requirements. This feature helped reduce audit exceptions and strengthen relationships with key customers.
David explained the impact of integrating MES data with Zap - “What Zap does for us is empower decision-makers to act on the data being captured on the plant floor. Without it, we’d be flying blind.”
Sample reports
Outcome
By implementing Zap Data Hub, SSI realized significant cost savings, efficiency improvements, and data standardization across the organization.
Operational Efficiency Gains
- Shift reports that previously took two hours per day are now fully automated, saving valuable time and improving accuracy.
- Dashboards provide instant access to production insights, enabling faster decision-making.
Significant Cost Savings
- Proactive inventory management reduced operational costs by over $50,000 within the first month, effectively covering the cost of the product.
- The ability to identify inefficiencies in production scheduling and material usage prevents unnecessary waste and excess stockpiling.
Improved Compliance & Audit Readiness
- Weight tracking dashboards significantly reduced audit exceptions, ensuring contract compliance with key customers.
- The traceability of production data improved, allowing SSI to respond quickly to quality control inquiries.
Centralized & Standardized Reporting
- SSI now runs with a unified data strategy, consolidating over 70+ data pipelines across finance, operations, and quality assurance.
- Standardized reporting ensures all teams work from a single source of truth, eliminating data discrepancies.
“Zap Data Hub has revolutionized how we use our manufacturing data - turning raw numbers into actionable insights that drive efficiency, reduce waste, and improve compliance.”
— David Armentrout, Sr IT Manager, Manufacturing Systems
Seamless integration & scalable growth
The success of this transformation was not just about technology, it was about the strong partnership between SSI and Zap.
Seamless Data Integration
- Zap was configured to pull data from multiple sources, including Dynamics AX and MES systems, creating a comprehensive analytics platform.
Custom Dashboards & Automated Reporting
- SSI leveraged Zap’s flexibility to tailor reports for manufacturing operations, ensuring clear and actionable insights.
- Automated daily shift reports are delivered via email, cutting manual data pulls and providing instant access to key performance metrics.
Scalability & Future Growth
- SSI now has a scalable analytics platform capable of expanding into supply chain forecasting and traceability improvements.
- Future initiatives include predictive maintenance analytics and further automation of quality control processes.