QAD customer, CCL Industries was established in 1951 and has since grown to be one of the leading manufacturers of the pressure-sensitive labels and films utilized in the packaging industry, including several different segments such as consumer, healthcare, chemicals, electronic devices and automotive.

The specialty packaging company has also developed leading technologies in materials science, adhesives development, lamination, coating, stationery and consumer products to name a few. It uses these as differentiators to acquire market share and add value for its customers.

Avery’s labels, printed cards and paper products were traditionally sold through distributors, mass-market stores and e-commerce retailers. 

Avery’s business model has changed over the last several years, however, as consumer behavior shifts to a greater focus on the need for quick delivery of custom products. Avery realized that it needed to adapt its business processes to meet this new business reality. It had used QAD’s ERP solution for years, but over time the customizations the company had added to the solution made it hard for them to adapt it to the new strategy. 

“We had been on an older version of QAD for a long time, and it was very resilient,” explains Avery CCL Operations Director Sean Flanagan. “It had worked well since we installed it, but over time, we had customized it in ways that made it difficult to adapt to the new business model. The modifications also prevented us from upgrading.”

Avery also has precise legal and fiscal reporting requirements at its multiple locations. The use of multiple accounting systems created major issues as reconciliation from all the different systems was being done using spreadsheets. Managing and keeping track of sales and costs was not an easy task with disparate systems.

Moving to Cloud-based ERP to Move the Needle

To solve the issues and give itself a platform that would support its growth, Avery decided to move to the cloud and upgrade to the latest version of QAD Adaptive ERP. The move allowed Avery to establish a strong base that would help the company grow, and while responding to changes in its business. The results were impressive:

• QAD Adaptive ERP enabled greater visibility across the system.
• Using a cloud-based solution gave the company’s IT team more time to dedicate to growing the business. 
• Avery also implemented QAD Automation Solutions, enabling it to sell products in both inner and outer case packs to meet customer requirements. 
• The entire logistics process has become much more efficient.
• The company now has better visibility of inventory at every stage, from raw materials to finished goods. 
• While Avery’s planner used to spend eight hours a day on routine planning tasks, that time has shrunk to two hours a day, with the rest of the day available for more strategic activities.
• Planning, finished goods, raw material inventory, shipping, and warehouse management are integrated and working directly with QAD Financials.
• Avery’s logistics operation is flexible enough to allow them to pick in single units or multiple units.

“We knew we needed to take this next step, and we didn’t allow any scope creep or customizations,” concludes Flanagan. “What we have now is a solution that allows us to control our supplies, control our raw material storage, control our planning and shipments and allows us to be flexible in the new consumer world.”

Read the full case studies detailing Avery CCL’s move to the cloud and their use of QAD Financials to learn all the benefits they received from the move to QAD Adaptive ERP.