Afternoon on the board supplier's portal
The planner has next week's jobs. Each needs sheets of a particular grade and flute, in a size that depends on the box style, the machine it runs on and the trim you allow. The planner works each one out, checks whether an existing order can be topped up, groups them to reach the corrugator's minimum run, and types the lot into the board supplier's portal.
Confirmations come back by email, some with different delivery dates than asked. Deliveries arrive and are checked against paper. When a job's quantity changes, the sheet order has to be found and changed too, and sometimes it is not.
Board ordering is rebuilt for every job
Your MIS knows the jobs and may calculate board requirements, but the step from requirement to an order the supplier accepts is often manual. Suppliers have their own portals, minimums and lead times. Grouping small requirements into economical orders is a skill held by a planner, and it is done again every day.
- Sheet sizes are recalculated by hand from the job spec.
- Small requirements are grouped by the planner from memory.
- Orders are retyped into the supplier's portal or email.
- Confirmations with changed dates are not linked back to jobs.
- Quantity changes on jobs are not carried to the board order.
Where the cost shows up
Wrong or late board stops jobs on the floor and upsets the schedule. Over ordering to be safe leaves sheets that sit in the warehouse, get damaged and are hard to use elsewhere. Planner time is spent typing rather than planning. And when a delivery is short, it may not be noticed until the job is on the machine.
Supplier relationships suffer as well. Frequent amendments, small top up orders and chasing emails make you a harder customer to serve, and when board is tight across the market, the converters who order cleanly are often the ones whose orders are looked after first.
Board ordering we build
- Planned jobs are read from your MIS with their style, dimensions, grade, flute and quantity.
- Sheet sizes and quantities are calculated using your own rules for trim, machine and waste allowances, and the planner can override any of them.
- Requirements are grouped by grade, flute and delivery date, and combined where that meets the supplier's minimums, with each job's share tracked.
- Orders are sent to the supplier in their format, whether by EDI, their portal's import or a structured email, after a planner approves them.
- Supplier confirmations are read and matched to the orders, and any change to date or quantity is flagged against the affected jobs.
- Deliveries are booked in against the order, shortfalls are highlighted, and changes to job quantities prompt an amendment to the open board order.
| Step | Manual now | With board ordering |
|---|---|---|
| Sheet calculation | Per job, by hand | Your rules, applied automatically |
| Grouping for minimums | Planner's memory | Grouped with each job's share |
| Placing the order | Typed into portal | Sent in supplier's format |
| Confirmations | Read in email | Matched, changes flagged |
| Deliveries | Checked on paper | Booked in, shortfalls shown |
Board on time, planners planning
Board arrives for the jobs that need it, in the sizes they need. The planner reviews and approves orders instead of building them. Changed dates are seen in time to reshuffle the schedule. And stock of unused sheets drops over time because ordering matches demand rather than caution.
Is board ordering eating your planner's day?
- Sheet orders are typed into a supplier portal.
- Board confirmations with changed dates are missed.
- Jobs have stopped because board was wrong or late.
- Surplus sheets pile up in the warehouse.
- Only one planner knows how to group board orders well.