TIC Gums USA- Brochure

Case Study: bizzApps Enterprise Quality Management at TIC Gums Inc. TIC Gums was committed to improving information access, management and reporting processes across the entire organization. The Client Established in 1909, TIC Gums Inc. is America’s oldest supplier of hydrocolloids and has been the preferred hydrocolloid supplier to the U.S. food industry for nine consecutive years. Based in Belcamp, MD, TIC Gums supplies a complete range of gums and gum systems that are used extensively in foods, in everything from salad dressings, sauces, ice cream, confections, processed meats, veggie burgers and beverages, as well as in many industrial applications such as inks, cleaners, cements, carpet backing, bandages, defoamers, and many more. TIC Gums has a strong commitment to quality. The company has been compliant with the ISO 9001 quality standard for nearly 10 years, with strict quality systems and operating procedures in place that are subject to regular reviews by external auditors. TIC Gums has earned a superior rating in the American Institute of Baking (AIB) audit for over ten years, in acknowledgement of TIC Gums’ commitment to food safety practices based on five categories: Adequacy of Food Safety Program, Pest Control, Operational methods and personnel practices, Maintenance for food safety and Overall cleaning practices. The Challenge As a supplier of quality products to the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and industrial markets, TIC Gums is dedicated to ensuring that customers receive products that meet the most stringent standards for quality. The company has been successfully implementing company-wide quality practices for many years, but wanted to reduce the inefficiency of its largely manual and de-centralized quality processes. TIC Gums was eager to improve information access, management and reporting processes across the entire organization by implementing a centralized quality solution with real-time process visibility. After careful consideration, TIC Gums selected bizzApps Quality Manager solution for its ability to consolidate multiple data sources and integrate with existing inventory systems, while providing central access to quality information across the enterprise. Quality Manager was able to integrate with the current ERP system while supporting the consolidation of a number of existing applications: a calibration system, two data collection systems as well as Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel databases. “Since implementing bizzApps Quality Manager, TIC Gums has realized significant time savings in several departments across the organization,” said Ian Sklar, Quality Manager for TIC Gums. The Solution bizzApps was able to provide TIC Gums with user-friendly software configurable to the unique requirements of the business without the need for any customized programming. TIC Gums implemented bizzApps Inspection Management and Monitoring module to replace multiple disconnected databases with a central, version-controlled system. The new paperless system manages specifications, tests, and reporting for raw materials, received goods, and finished goods; replacing many paper-based and manual processes. “Since implementing bizzApps Quality Manager, TIC Gums has realized significant time savings in several departments. As an organization, TIC Gums now has real-time information on critical processes which enables better control and monitoring of the manufacturing process. Quality Manager allows us to be more lean in our operation and positively impacts overall productivity,” said Ian Sklar, Quality Manager for TIC Gums. TIC Gums plans to continue the rollout of bizzApps Quality Manager to enable the central control of other key processes including equipment calibration, supplier management. This approach will replace the paper-based calibration system and allow supplier performance measurement/reduced testing. The Benefits bizzApps Quality Manager had an immediate impact on the efficiency and accuracy of the quality data managed throughout TIC Gums on a daily basis. Methods and test sheets are now available online, and the software is already saving each laboratory technician on average of at least three hours per day. The new centralized automated data management system has eliminated duplicate entries, reduced the time taken to process test samples, removed the need for data synchronization and performs automated data calculations to drastically reduce the incidence of manual errors. The real-time availability of data that is afforded by the centralized data management system means that production managers can get real-time feedback for finished goods, while technicians are able to track all relevant data at all times. Each user can access and filter information based upon the needs of their individual job roles and responsibilities. The increased visibility of data across the enterprise means that managers are able to extract data from the system in order to identify trends, both current and historical, and use that information to improve current manufacturing processes on an ongoing basis. Most significantly, seamless integration with ERP and access to critical quality processes has effectively united multiple departments, from R&D, to receiving inspection, to labs, to production, and to sales. “TIC Gums recognized the benefit of replacing conventional manual and de-centralized quality assurance processes with bizzApps Quality Manager . The bizzApps approach allows the improved efficiency of existing QA/QC tasks and provides real-time visibility of critical business performance. It can also deliver a much more satisfying work experience for end users,” said Jan Huijbers, Product Manager for bizzApps. about bizzApps bizzApps delivers the most comprehensive suite of enterprise quality management solution available to manufacturing and industrial companies. bizzApps’ provides integrated software solutions that address all aspects of enterprise quality management, from non-conformance management to supplier management, inspection management and LIMS. bizzApps’ solutions are highly process-centric solution and can be adapted to the very specific quality management needs of any company, whether in the discrete manufacturing or the process manufacturing sector. Headquartered in The Netherlands, bizzApps combines over 20 years of industry expertise with a strong customer commitment to deliver business value to over 100 customers worldwide. For more information on our solutions, please contact us or visit: www.bizzapps.com