The challenge
With over 180 years of experience, a reputation for unrelenting product innovation, and a dedication to its customers, Zumbiel Packaging is driven by its motto: ‘It’s not the big that eats the small; it’s the fast that eats the slow.’
That is why it has put its trust in eProductivity Software (ePS) to help solve specific pain points caused by a ‘spider web’ of technology sprawl. These challenges included inefficiencies caused by an overreliance on manual scheduling, a lack of comprehensive and accurate business performance reporting, and wasted time manually reconciling multiple data sets.
Key benefits
Increased productivity and efficiency
Enhanced decision-making through data transparency
Reduced lead times giving a competitive edge
Executive Summary: A Culture Transformed by Clarity
Two years after a landmark technological go-live, Zumbiel Packaging has fundamentally transformed its operational DNA. By replacing a fragmented technology landscape with an integrated business management platform from eProductivity Software (ePS), the company has shifted from reactive problem-solving to proactive, data-driven strategic management. The creation of a "single source of truth" has unlocked remarkable outcomes: a new, multi-million-dollar revenue stream, a proactive management culture, and a resilient foundation for future growth. The investment is unequivocally considered the best strategic move for the company, providing the stability and clarity required to navigate a dynamic market.
“Everybody agrees that it was the right change. We've picked the right software and partner in ePS. We made the right decisions... I am confident we made the right choice. This was the best move for our company.”
Barbara Powell, Director of Information Technology at Zumbiel Packaging
Activating Intelligence: Revolutionizing Management and Performance Metrics
The transition from fragmented data to a unified repository was the foundational first step. The second, and equally transformative step was activating data through ePS’ Business Intelligence module. This capability moved Zumbiel beyond simple data availability to accurate application of data, fundamentally reshaping management practices, performance measurement, and the organization's culture of accountability.
Transforming the KPI Review Process
The impact of the BI platform is best illustrated by the radical transformation of the company's KPI review process. Before ePS, Zumbiel operated on a classic reactive management cycle. The leadership team would convene a 1.5-hour weekly meeting to review performance data compiled manually. Because information was not readily accessible, the meeting itself was often the first time managers saw the results, frequently leading to what Powell calls a "big surprise at what all the numbers were."
The new paradigm is one of proactive, continuous management. The BI dashboards now update twice a day, providing a near real-time view of the business. Managers are now "expected to go in and look at the charts on their own time," Powell explains, and they arrive at the monthly meeting "prepared with answers as opposed to coming and seeing what shows up." This represents a profound shift. The conversation is no longer about discovering information but about interpreting it.
Eradicating Subjectivity in Performance Measurement
This new culture of data-driven accountability is supported by a more sophisticated, objective approach to performance measurement. Previously, Zumbiel measured shop floor performance primarily in terms of simple quantities, such as cartons produced per hour. This metric was inherently flawed and highly subjective. Partnering with ePS has allowed Zumbiel to eradicate this ambiguity. The company now tracks performance using a more nuanced and normalized metric: MSF (thousand square feet) per machine, per hour, and per employee. This KPI measures the total surface area of board processed, effectively neutralizing the variable of carton size and providing an accurate, apples-to-apples comparison of efficiency across different jobs and shifts.
The Engine of Growth: Enabling a $2 Million Digital Business Model
Zumbiel has successfully leveraged ePS’ capabilities to enter the fast-growing market for short-run digital printing, primarily serving clients such as craft breweries who require smaller, more frequent orders. This strategic diversification has proven highly successful, creating a new business line that now generates approximately "$2 million in sales a year”, according to Powell.
Crucially, this entire venture would have been impossible with the company's previous systems. The old, fragmented infrastructure could not deliver the speed, agility, and real-time visibility needed to manage a high volume of small, fast-turn jobs profitably.
Streamlining the Operator Experience
Beyond error prevention, the integrated data collection system has dramatically simplified and streamlined the daily workflow for shop floor personnel. In the past, operators faced a fragmented, multi-system environment that was both time-consuming and error-prone. As Powell describes the old process: "On our old system, scheduling was on paper, right? So at the beginning of each shift, the shop floor team had to print a paper report with barcodes they needed to scan to transfer information between systems. They would have to log in to the labeling software and either scan or key in their job number and line number to access the product information needed for what they were going to run. It was very segmented in terms of how you do a copy change, how you make sure that you have all of the right information, your labels are going to be correct, you have the correct WIP for the product that you're going to run."
With ePS’ integrated platform, this complexity has been eliminated. All necessary information - job tickets, artwork proofs, material specifications, and labeling data - is now delivered through a single, unified interface. The system's integration ensures that "it won't let you log the incorrect WIP into the job that you've checked into. I have all of our labeling queued off of the job that they're logged into, so they get the correct case labels and pallet labels for what they're running."
Powell notes that while there was initial resistance to change, the operators have embraced the new system: "I haven't heard anything that wasn't positive from the operators themselves in a while." The integrated nature of shop-floor data collection has transformed operations from a series of disconnected, manual tasks into a streamlined, error-resistant workflow.
