ACCO BRANDS Boosts Innovation, Collaboration; Cuts Cycle Time in Half
Company Size
1,000+
Region
- America
- Asia
- Europe
Country
- United States
Product
- Aras Innovator Solution Suite
- Microsoft Windows Server
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Oracle eBusiness Suite
- SolidWorks
Tech Stack
- .NET Framework
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Windows Server 2008
- Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Cost Savings
- Customer Satisfaction
- Innovation Output
- Productivity Improvements
Technology Category
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
- Functional Applications - Product Lifecycle Management Systems (PLM)
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms
Applicable Industries
- Consumer Goods
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
- Product Research & Development
- Quality Assurance
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
ACCO Brands is a leading global provider of consumer goods, known for brands such as Swingline and Kensington. The company focuses on innovation and collaboration to enhance product quality and speed time to market. ACCO Brands operates on a large scale, with a significant presence in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company sought to improve its product life cycle management (PLM) processes to support its aggressive growth strategy. By adopting advanced PLM solutions, ACCO aimed to streamline its operations, reduce costs, and enhance product quality, ultimately achieving faster time to market and better collaboration for innovation.
The Challenge
ACCO Brands aimed to improve innovation, collaboration, and standardize product life cycle management (PLM) to speed time to market, reduce costs, and enhance product quality. The company identified several areas for improvement, including product change processes, document collaboration, and supplier corrective actions. The product change process took an average of two months for final approval, and document collaboration was hindered by separate document management systems for each major supplier. This led to inconsistent versions, miscommunications, mistakes, and lost time. Corrective actions were also slow, relying on phone calls and emails, making it difficult to implement closed-loop corrections quickly.
The Solution
ACCO Brands adopted the Aras Innovator Solution Suite, an enterprise PLM solution from Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Aras. The solution was chosen for its low cost, faster deployment time, and flexibility. Aras Innovator provided a single version of the truth for data, enabling better global collaboration. The solution runs on Windows Server 2008 and Microsoft SQL Server 2005, with an enterprise service-oriented architecture based on the Microsoft .NET Framework. The web-based user interface allows ACCO to collaborate with suppliers worldwide, streamlining processes such as product changes and supplier corrective actions. The centralized location for product management eliminates the need for FTP and email, ensuring that all personnel work from the same controlled files.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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