SPOTLIGHT: Bulk Procurement Automation Reduces Risk for Business Beyond Usual
June 9, 2021
BY CIRCUIT DESIGN CORP.
COVID-19 makes an easy case for automation but the benefits extend well beyond mitigating risk during a pandemic. When it comes to bulk procurement of feedstock for pulp and paper mills, ethanol plants and pellet producers, Circuit Design Corp.’s Bulk Procurement and Logistics System (BPAL) offers a solution that removes risk from the raw material supply chain and creates long-term benefits that extend beyond the present moment.
It’s no secret that automating manual processes generates cost-saving benefits by reducing human resource allocations, lowering the occurrence of human error and building real-time operational and administrative efficiencies. CDCorp’s BPAL System was designed not only to deliver these benefits but also to address and remove pain points specific to bulk procurement. “The BPAL System was born out of a clearly articulated need for increased efficiency across the raw material supply chain,” says Jay Shatilla, President of CDCorp. “We’ve enhanced and expanded its features over the last 10 years in direct consultation with supply chain managers to understand and improve the day-to-day experience of people operating in this field.”
BPAL integrates hardware and software systems to reduce manual participation in bulk feedstock delivery while providing real-time remote management and administrative control functions. Through automated sequencing of entry and exit access control, traffic monitoring, inbound and outbound weigh scale registration, sample control, quality analysis, and delivery point control BPAL reduces the risk of human error and maximizes operational efficiency during delivery.
On the administrative side, BPAL’s user-friendly interface provides remote access to real-time reporting and information transfer, vendor, payment, contract management and feedstock delivery transaction reporting from all connected devices.
Published in July 2021 issue of Ethanol Producer Magazine
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