VPK Packaging Group NV constantly strives to optimize and adjust its processes to an ever-changing market. The assessment and adjustment of these processes is called “Business Process Reengineering” (BPR). One of the first steps in this process was the implementation of SAP.

This process focuses on six priorities:

1. standardising, rationalising, streamlining and simplifying data, procedures, business processes, administration and reporting, with a view to further professionalization of our staff
2. compliance with external requirements: as a listed company, we recognise our external obligations to our shareholders including, reporting according to IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) among others
3. our customers and customer service: besides the added value of the packaging product itself, as a service organisation we recognise the added value of an excellent service level for our customers; with a stable backbone for FLI®, we create not only a competitive advantage, but mainly deliver the intended added value for our customers
4. “new economy” is also a major challenge and an opportunity for the future in its market segment
5. as a lean and mean organisation, further cost efficiency and cost control measures are of vital importance; the BPR project will mainly involve further streamlining and optimization of the group’s financial processes
6. all operational entities go through the same process, so that we are able to exploit group synergies to the full, in terms not only of content but also of project cost

Our ICT governance, promoting among others standard solutions offered by ICT, and the tailor-made project methodology accurately followed for large projects, ensure a guaranteed professional support of BPR.

The result of this relentless approach is that all the group’s operational entities are now connected to the SAP system for managing their accounting and financial reporting. Controlling and other financial services also make extensive use of the centralized SAP system.

The paper segment uses SAP for years now, and the “Mills Solution” is the seeming standard solution within the paper & pulp industry. All operational units within the specialties segment also run on SAP. During the implementation all processes have been strongly uniformized at an international level. Within the corrugated board segment SAP is currently running in Belgium, Poland and Romania. The implementation in the Dutch branch is scheduled for 2011. The internal competence acquired in the meanwhile ensures that we are ready to connect also other units to the central SAP system.

The Business Reengineering project is not limited to the implementation of SAP. VPK Packaging Group NV wishes to continuously optimize its working procedures in other areas too. Independently from the ERP system (Enterprise Resource Planning) budgets are continuously made available for streamlining and improving the production and logistics processes.

This translates into projects with names such as OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness), Lean Manufacturing, MPS (Master Production Schedule), S&OP (Sales and Operations Planning), Transport Optimisation, Self Billing, …