Georgia-Pacific’s Packaging division supplies paperboard materials worldwide, which are transformed into various products including boxes, paper plates, and cups. Credit: T. Schneider via Shutterstock.

The industry cloud company Infor has announced a significant development in its partnership with Georgia-Pacific’s Packaging and Cellulose business.

The company has successfully rolled out Infor’s CloudSuite solution, powered by its core M3 ERP system.

This initiative aims to enhance business processes and provide an improved customer experience.

In the first phase of this rollout, Infor’s multi-tenant cloud solution, which includes supply chain planning, enterprise performance management (epm), factory track and yard management, has been integrated as the core technology platform for Georgia-Pacific‘s mill-based businesses.

This deployment encompasses four large pulp mills operating 24/7 without any disruptions to scheduled production.

Additionally, international offices in Switzerland, Uruguay, China and the Atlanta, Georgia headquarters, which collectively serve customers in more than 90 countries and partner with 24 international and 33 domestic external warehouses, have also been included in this transition.

Georgia-Pacific’s packaging & cellulose business transformation

Georgia-Pacific’s Packaging business is a leading provider of paperboard material worldwide, used in the production of items such as boxes, paper plates and cups.

Its Cellulose business is a top producer of fluff pulp used in products such as diapers and incontinence items, as well as market pulp for paper making.

Georgia-Pacific’s Packaging and Cellulose business executive vice-president Pat Boushka emphasised the long-term partnership with Infor, stating that the transition will consolidate disparate systems and leverage a single core platform to enhance global customer service.

Renee Valgoi, senior vice-president of finance for the business, pointed out the challenge of operating on an ageing set of applications and leveraging different processes and applications.

The move to a common platform will enable the consolidation of key functions and the retirement of more than 90% of legacy applications. Infor’s M3 ERP system will be the new core system, covering order management, customer experience, supply chain and accounting.

Anticipated business benefits

Georgia-Pacific’s Packaging and Cellulose business expects several key benefits from the Infor solution:

  1. Improved business processes: The integration of best practices for order management, customer service, supply chain and accounting, along with support for centres of excellence, will streamline operations.
  2. Enhanced decision-making: A “single source of truth” for the business will support advanced analytics and improved decision-making processes.
  3. Superior customer experience: The introduction of a web-enabled partner portal, advanced sales, services, marketing automation and e-commerce capabilities will provide end-to-end order visibility and predictability in order fulfilment.
  4. Cost savings and scalability: A multi-tenant cloud environment will reduce hardware upgrade and maintenance costs, offer greater flexibility and scalability, reduce system complexity and expedite the adoption of innovations.

Infor president & CTO Soma Somasundaram underscored the significance of this rollout, emphasising Infor’s experience in large-scale deployments and expertise in the process manufacturing industry.

He expressed confidence in delivering continuous value to the business through cloud-based products, services and support.

Phase two of the project will focus on Georgia-Pacific’s Containerboard business, mirroring the size and scope of the initial phase, covering five large, 24/7 operating mills and 70 warehouses.