Cargill, the largest privately held company in the United States has signed a contract with Compex, the Belgian leader in food and CPG industry software. Cargill, a global leader in the marketing, processing, and distribution of agricultural, food, and industrial products has decided to implement Compex’s Manufacturing and Quality Management Suite. This integrated software suite consists of three software solutions developed by Compex, including speCX (Corporate Product Specification Management System), proCX (Manufacturing Execution System -MES) and Unilab 4 (Laboratory Information Management System – LIMS).
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To meet customer’s ever increasing demands for quality, Cargill will be implementing the Compex solution in its Izegem (Belgium), Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and Hamburg (Germany) plants. Cargill will realize immediate cost savings. The Compex Suite will allow Cargill to increase plant transparency and use production systems more effectively. By improving quality, reducing off-spec production, and increasing the reliability of deliveries, Cargill will enhance its competitive position.
To reach the top in the food industry and stay there means paying close attention to key issues. Today, the competitive advantage goes to those who produce consistent quality and concentrate on customer satisfaction and regulatory compliance. That means schedule reliability and supply chain responsiveness along with product conformance. It also means the management of change and flexibility in new product introductions.
By combining MES and a LIMS into a single software suite with a Corporate Product Specification Management system, Compex has created a product that is unique in the marketplace. The three components form a solution that optimally follows every stage of production with both corporate and plant centric operations. The Compex software suite provides an essential link between ERP and process automation systems. This link ensures the coordination and implementation of production activities and business processes, allowing a company to meet supply chain dynamics.
Suite Components
speCX – Corporate Product Specification Management System
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By GlobalDataThe Compex speCX system helps users formulate product specifications for raw materials, semi-finished, and finished products. This includes both company-wide specifications and individual specifications for a single plant or client. It is the ideal solution to manage intellectual property. With speCX, it is easy to distribute and process information through different departments such as sales, purchasing, logistics, production, quality control… in a clear, concise and controlled way. It also provides more efficient purchasing strategies, faster time to market and better customer service.
ProCX – Manufacturing Execution System
The proCX system supports the execution of production specifications. It takes speCX production and quality information such as logistics, microbiological characteristics, physical and chemical properties, production methods and recipe specifications and operations and manages the planning of batches and operations. It then executes them systematically and registers the results in a production database. The proCX system generates intense communication between the logistic system (ERP) and process control (PLC or DCS).
Unilab 4 – Laboratory Information Management System
Unilab 4 is responsible for quality management. The system monitors materials received and current production. It samples materials as defined by speCX, decides which parameters have to be analyzed in accordance with proCX, and defines the precise moment in the production process when analysis should be executed.
Because speCX, proCX and Unilab are made to fit each other and function harmoniously, it is possible to automatically adjust and optimize in real time the recipes used. The risk of off-spec production during manufacturing is virtually eliminated.
About Cargill
Cargill is an international marketer, processor and distributor of agricultural, food, and industrial products and financial services. Cargill processes corn, cacao, and oil seeds. It mills flour, produces salt, provides seeds to farmers and buys their products. Cargill trades and transports grains and chemical oils and sells concentrated fruit juices. These are just a few of Cargills international activities. Cargill employes more than 85,000 people in 50 product groups situated in over 1,000 sites in 60 countries. The company provides distinctive customer solutions in supply chain management, food applications, and health and nutrition. Cargill Europe operates in western and central Europe, Africa and the former Sovjet-Union and employs more than 10,000 people. A quarter of Cargill’s worldwide investment is concentrated in Europe. Cargill BV employs 1, 400 people in the Netherlands and 600 in Belgium and is headquartered in Amsterdam. Cargill was founded in 1865 and is the largest privately held company in the United States. World headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
About Compex
Compex specializes in high-end solutions for batch processing industries and laboratories. Compex established an important industry milestone in 2000 when it introduced its Corporate Product Specification Management System, the revolutionary speCX. When combined with proCX and Unilab 4, it forms an integrated product suite that is unique in the marketplace.
Compex’s customers are large industrial companies located around the world active in the food, CPG, chemical, biochemical, and pharmaceutical industries and (independent) laboratories . Compex’s worldwide reputation for delivering innovation, quality and service has been widely recognized and includes the Ernst & Young Enterprise of The Year Award in 1998 and the Kraft Foods Supplier Excellence Award in 1999.
Compex has more than fifteen years of experience in software development and implementation for batch process industry and laboratories. The company is headquartered in Belgium and has offices in The Netherlands, Germany and the USA and important strategic partners throughout Western Europe and North America. New subsidiaries in the UK and France are planned for the near future.
For more information, visit http://www.compex-group.com
