Soflex Online developed the e-catalog capability for PPI Technologies.
In this article Sun-Maid speaks of the benefits of the system:

Spare Parts Purchasing: Order History as Diagnostic Tool:
Sun-Maid analyzes spare parts order history to identify and correct
recurring problems.

by Ela Fruscione, Senior Editor/Online

Packaging World Magazine

When Sun-Maid Growers of California, Kingsburg, CA, invested in a PPI Technologies/Profile Packaging horizontal pouch machine, more than just manuals was included in the package. Sun-Maid project engineer Ed Hobock and staff were introduced to PPI’s Web-based spare parts ordering program, called PartSource™.

PPI provided Sun-Maid with a specific code number for its new machine. When Hobock enters the site he simply clicks on “e-source,” which brings him to the log-in screen. By entering the machine code number, he gains access to a complete parts manual along with digital pictures and settings of the new pouch machine. “Every part that is on your machine is in the Internet system,” he says.

This new service has made purchasing easier for Sun-Maid, which is now using it to buy up to $4,000/month of spare parts for two of its machines.

Get it right

Hobock tells Net Sourcing that ordering and receiving the right part is the biggest benefit of online purchasing. According to Hobock, previously, many parts that were ordered were wrong, partly because operators had a hard time identifying the needed parts.

“It is a lot easier to identify the right part now with this online system that is very user friendly,” he says. “The operator does not need to know much except which area the part is located in.”

PPI provides an online drawing or blueprint of each customer’s machine. Hobock can simply click on the section in which the part is needed, instead of searching through a manual, and find a detailed description of each spare part in that area.

“Now we have better identification of parts to communicate and get the right part ordered,” he says. “There is efficiency added and money saved over sending the part back and waiting for the right part to come in.”

PPI also takes digital pictures of the machine right after it is set up. “Pictures of all the different settings of your actual machine are taken,” Hobock says. “This is very helpful. If you have a brand-new operator or if you forget the settings, you can go online and see the digital pictures showing how your machine was originally set up.”

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