Reduction of Excess Weight Per Packaged Box by Obtaining Dehydration Rate

 

Reduction of Excess Weight Per Packaged Box by Obtaining Dehydration Rate - Success Case Grupo MNS

Knowing the Company:

And it was in 1994, given the difficulties with the dissolution of the Cotia cooperative, that MNS was born. From the union of the Morioka, Nagahama, Shimizu and Horigome families, the MNS Group was created to sell the production of the family of the founding partners.

Starting with just 3 products, carrots, beets and potatoes, they started a great history of tireless work and respect for the entire production chain with the vision of being the best and one of the largest fruit and vegetable distributors in Brazil. From the first headquarters acquired in 1996, it has not stopped investing in infrastructure and logistics to expand its mix of products and services, in addition to a work methodology based on ethics, partnership and the pursuit of excellence.

Today, the MNS Group stands out as one of the best distributors of healthy foods (FLV fruits, vegetables and vegetables) in the country, with a presence in all regions of the country and main retail chains, 7 distribution centers, its own supermarket chain, import and export operations, international certifications of good agricultural practices and industry excellence awards.

Challenge:

GrupoMNS stands out in the market through its products with high quality requirements, in addition to adopting the philosophy of operational excellence, strong relationships, fast and efficient service to its customers and innovation to solve the difficulties of the sector.

In a scenario where the market is increasingly fierce, there was a need to improve its production process, aiming to reduce operating costs. Thus, in partnership with Avilla Consulting, a project was initiated, aiming to identify opportunities for improvement in the process, initially focused on the CD FLV MG (Carrot Processing Packing House).

In the initial mapping carried out by Avilla Consulting, some opportunities for financial gain were identified, but this case study aims to cite one in particular: Excess weight per box, which consequently caused the company to lose revenue due to the boxes being overweight, simply by not paying attention to the carrot's rate of dehydration over time. Because because the boxes have to travel or stay from 1 to 10 days in the cold rooms, a minimum and maximum limit was stipulated empirically so that the company would not have questions from customers. Aware of this opportunity, it can be noted that the company was not aware of the carrot dehydration factor in relation to time within the conditions provided by the chilling and humidification structure of the company's cold rooms.

The following steps were taken:

• Checking the weights of the boxes after the formation of the pallet;
• Box separation and daily monitoring of the dehydration rate;
• Definition of new lower and upper limits;
• Implementation of POP “Standard Operating Procedure”;
• Standardized job training;
• New check of box weights after pallet formation with the new limits.
• Implementation of the SIT “Integrated Technology System” as a way to monitor the weighing process.

The MNS Group implemented management methods and a software for monitoring indicators based on the Lean manufacturing philosophy focused on the enhancement of processes. The reduction of excess weight was the first objective to be set for this project.

Solution:

The analysis model implemented by Avilla Consulting, aiming to reduce the excess weight per packaged box, was based on statistical metrics so that an effective solution could be reached.

At first, in order to verify the average weight contained in each packaged box, some pallets were separated, with all the respective boxes weighed again and tabulated, so that it was possible to find the average weight.

*Some data was not exposed to maintain the company's secrecy.

*Some data was not exposed to maintain the company's secrecy.

Based on the above sampling, it was identified that there was a relevant fluctuation in the weights and that the average weights of the packed boxes were far above the ideal, as the upper and lower limits were defined through empirical opinions.

After this verification, a sample of packed boxes was separated, where they were identified and placed inside the cold room, respecting the normal conditions stipulated by the customer. The boxes were monitored daily, up to the maximum sale limit.
At the end of the analysis, a significant loss can be noticed in the first three days and a certain oscillation in the other days, however, with a tendency for the factor to fall and, based on the internal conditions of the customer's cold room, a factor of dehydration/day.

*Some data was not exposed to maintain the company's secrecy.

Through this dehydration rate and, based on the lead time for delivering the product to the customer, new lower and upper limits were stipulated.

With this definition, training was carried out with employees to adopt the new lower and upper limits for weighing boxes.

Subsequently, new analyzes showed a decrease in the average weight per box, obtaining a new average per packaged box.

*Some data was not exposed to maintain the company's secrecy.

*Some data was not exposed to maintain the company's secrecy.

The analyzes showed an increase in the profitability of packed boxes in relation to the previous limits. It can be concluded that through well-constructed analyses, well-implemented routines and operational training, the initial objective can be reached, that is, to reduce the excess weight contained in the boxes.

Results:

GrupoMNS achieved a significant reduction, in the order of 1.83%, in reducing the excess weight of packed boxes.

In addition to the quantitative results, qualitative gains were found through the qualification of process managers, achieving greater integration and communication between sectors and greater engagement by the teams to identify potential improvements.

This improvement, as well as all others implemented with the Avilla project, will be perpetuated by the professional who was trained and qualified to monitor and identify anomalies in the process.

Managers meet on a daily basis to discuss indicators, as a way to engage those involved in achieving goals and seeking solutions to problems.

The biggest beneficiaries, with the specific action beyond the company, were the partner producers who are being financially, positively and directly impacted by the increase in GrupoMNS' operational efficiency.