Balancing Demand Planning & Same-Day Shipping

Calibration Technologies balances increased demand for cold food, medical and pharmaceutical storage in response to the proliferation of COVID-19.

Calibration Technologies Inc. was founded in 2004 with a mission to protect people and property by building the best gas detection systems in the world. Today, the Columbia, MO-based company is a leading manufacturer of gas detection equipment for industrial facilities. CTI specializes in ammonia detection, also providing sensors for other toxic and flammable gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, methane, hydrogen sulfide, chlorine, halocarbons, and many others.

CTI sensors thrive in extreme conditions including extreme temperatures, moisture, chemical spray-downs, and high-pressure washdowns. This makes them popular for a range of uses, including food processing plants, cold storage facilities, rendering plants, power plants, sea vessels, parking garages, ice rinks, chemical plants, pharmaceutical plants, first responders, and more.

CTI’s expertise with sensors makes its solutions particularly popular in cold chain facilities, which are integral to temperature-controlled supply chains serving grocery stores, medical facilities, and pharmaceutical suppliers. To help ensure the on-time delivery of its high-quality sensors—almost always with same-day shipping—CTI relies on its DELMIAworks manufacturing ERP system.

Continuity Despite COVID-19’s Impact on Cold Storage Demand

The demand for more cold food, medical and pharmaceutical storage is growing fast in response to the proliferation of COVID-19, which has spread across 180 nations, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. In particular, CTI is receiving large orders due to the velocity of replenishment for cold foods. CTI’s production operation runs on DELMIAworks to balance this demand with its capacity, keep production on track, and move at optimal efficiency—even as CTI tests every sensor before it is shipped to ensure the highest quality products are delivered to customers.

“The quality that we’re after really only happens when you’re doing it yourself when you have control of the whole process from start to finish,” explained Lajos Kalman, CTI engineering and manufacturing manager. “Because we have a 100% percent control of the product, we get 100% control of the quality.” CTI’s partnership with DELMIAworks also enables the manufacturer to maintain its policy of providing same-day shipping for nearly every order received before noon.

“Our standard philosophy is: you place an order before noon; it ships the same day. And, the exceptions to that are few,” said Brian EuDaly, founder and CEO of CTI. “We have set up our facility and systems so that we have everything we need to build, test and deliver sensors on time.”

Manufacturing ERP Software Enables Agility to Adapt

COVID-19 has created a need to minimize onsite staff while handling the spikes in customer orders. CTI’s DELMIAworks manufacturing ERP system is contributing to the manufacturer’s ability to adapt and keep growing during the pandemic in three key areas.

First, using DELMIAworks, CTI is able to keep production flexible and focused on quality while the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates demand for cold storage systems. As a result, the manufacturer is fulfilling urgent orders for sensors that will be used for keeping much-needed medical and pharmaceutical supplies safe, while also working to alleviate the strain on grocery stores running out of storage space for perishable, high-demand foods including eggs, milk, meats, fruits, and vegetables.

To minimize the potential of COVID-19 exposure, CTI has many of its non-production employees working from home. The move was accomplished in less than a few days using the remote access capabilities of DELMIAworks. Now half of the entire company continuing to do business as usual from home via remote desktops and phones using VOIP.

CTI also relies on DELMIAworks to provide real-time insights and respond quickly to customers. Any member of the CTI team can access production data whether they’re onsite or working remotely using the manufacturing ERP system. With DELMIAworks, the company can continually balance more orders with its current and future stock of materials and still budget in time to test every sensor—ensuring that customers receive the fast service and superior sensors on which they rely.

Conclusion 

CTI is successfully overcoming the challenges COVID-19 created by minimizing on-site staff while handling large spikes in new orders. By relying on their DELMIAworks ERP production planning software to balance large spikes in demand with production capacity,  CTI was able to maintain their policy of providing same-day shipping, despite the increased demand. CTI also relies on DELMIAworks for its remote access capabilities, enabling its non-production employees to conduct business as usual from their homes.