Double work was the standard for the production planners at GOSH COPENHAGEN, the well-known Danish beauty brand. Today, this is history due to the fact that the company now has implemented ROB-EX for production scheduling.
Slow and troublesome scheduling
“We used to work double. First, we put everything down in Excel and then copied it all into our ERP. All the time we had to keep track of every detail and still we never had that total shared overview. Only the person with the plan in his hand really knew what was happening,” says Tommy Erhardt Petersen, Production Manager at GOSH.
No more overtime
The frustrations about the rigid scheduling system made the company reach out to ROB-EX. A visit to another user of the solution was very convincing for Tommy Erhardt Petersen:
“At our first reference visit at WOCA, their planner told us that he used to do overtime 3-4 days a week. After ROB-EX he hadn’t done it at all for a year and a half. That made a great impression on me.”
Overview, also in stressed situations
After a thorough screening process GOSH chose ROB-EX. And the effect was clear soon after the activation. Tommy explains:
“My co-planner and I both did a lot of overtime earlier, but ROB-EX has taken the pressure off the boiler. Our overview is much better and we don’t do double work anymore. Also, it is nice to be able to give a detailed reply when someone asks. We are able to do that now because ROB-EX gives us the ability to easily simulate what will happen when our plans are changed.”
“We often say to each other, that no matter how busy we are and how much pressure we’re under, we always have the full overview. It saves us so many discussions.”
The employees take more responsibility
The advantages of having a full visual overview are not limited to the scheduling office. The employees on the production floor have a better understanding of the plans and are able to contribute with ideas for optimisation.
“My people in the production take more ownership because they can see what they have to produce. Many of them come in to see the plan for the week but also ahead into the future. They bring suggestions for improvement to the table – for example, if we need to produce hair conditioner now and again in a few weeks, then it might be a good idea to do both series in one run since we have the setup for it,” Tommy Erhardt Petersen says.
The procurement and customer service departments have access to the plans in ROB-EX as well. The always updated overview helps the purchasing staff time their orders optimally with regards to stock and cashflow, and the people in customer service are able to give precise information about delivery schedules and order status.
From resistance to enthusiasm
The transition to ROB-EX was met with a certain amount of sceptisism by many employees at GOSH. This is not uncommon as abandoning well-known routines can feel uncomfortable and unmanageable. But, shortly after the activation the advantages are widely acknowledged around GOSH:
“We have seen improved productivity and efficiency and this earns us respect from everybody. The people on the production floor now say that they want the system to be visible at their place, after having rejected that at first,” Tommy says. “And, as I explained, they now contribute with suggestions for optimisations because they can actually see the plan. We didn’t see that before. Also, it has become much easier to change plans – it used to be hell, as we had to find all the stuff and find out, if we had all the material. Now ROB-EX tells us in no time,” the GOSH Production Manager concludes.