Virospack, the company that produces dropper packs for high-end cosmetics, based in Barcelona, has reached an agreement with the software provider IFS to use their IFS Cloud solution. This will assist with optimising their production and material traceability, as well as reinforcing their environmental commitment.

The production of dropper packs may seem simple and, in fact, just three pieces make up the majority of droppers. The Spanish company Virospack has made droppers its business for the past 65 years. Virospack employs 500 people who design and produce high-end cosmetic packs for well-known international brands such as Estée Lauder, Lancôme, Dior, Guerlain and Vichy, among others.

However, there are numerous challenges facing the production of these droppers, from optimising the design and managing the materials used in production, to the development of increasingly sustainable products, which reduce their environmental impact.

This is one of the reasons that has spurred Virospack to reach an agreement with the Swedish business software provider IFS to integrate the IFS Cloud solution, which will be implemented in its entirety, including the HR, Finance, Business Intelligence, Project Management, CRM, Quality, Logistics, and Purchasing modules.

“Companies can use our software to measure how sustainable they are. Thanks to IFS Cloud, Virospack will have multiple parameters that will allow it to reduce its carbon footprint”, highlighted the IFS Country Manager for Spain and Portugal, Juan González, in an interview with Europa Press given to mark the beginning of this collaboration with the Barcelona-based company.

TECHNOLOGY AS A LEVER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

Technology and digitalisation are an increasing reality for companies, with 52% of companies affirming that they will increase their spending on digital transformation, according to an IFS study. However, in addition to improving efficiency, this may also be a lever for environmental change.

Although servers consume electricity, the impact on energy consumption can be reduced by using central servers, in addition to other benefits, such as avoiding the use of paper.

In line with this, Virospack is looking to further improve its current environmental commitments. The Badalona-based company already has the ISO 14001 certificate for environmental management systems and uses 100% renewable energy at source at all of its facilities, 100% certified wood and recycles 80% of hazardous waste.

As part of the collaboration agreement, both companies will work together over the next 12 months to develop tools adapted to Virospack's operation. It is expected that IFS's solutions will begin to be used in December 2022 as a result of this strategic agreement, and their implementation will begin this December.

This is according to Virospack's Service Manager, Montserrat Florencio, who explained that there will be a “complete integration of all the transactions” of IFS Cloud. Antalis Consulting Services, an IFS partner, will also be involved in this implementation, providing their experience in production.

TRACEABILITY AND EFFICIENCY

Another cornerstone of the agreement focuses on efficiency, which can be improved thanks to the use of the IFS Cloud solution, launched in March to replace IFS Applications. It allows customers to manage all of their products in a unified way, on a single API-based platform designed for the cloud, which can be run from anywhere.

According to IFS's Country Manager, the company stands out from other business software providers as it provides a “single solution”. It brings three products together in one platform: the company's ERP ( i.e. Enterprise Resource Planning), field management, and fixed asset management. This integration may result in improved efficiency and avoid integration problems.

Montserrat Florencio said:

“The improvements in efficiency will result from improved interdepartmental communications, providing the benefit of more streamlined flows and greater efficiency”

In Virospack's case, traceability was another aspect that warranted the agreement with IFS. This affects both the environmental commitment -it allows the carbon footprint of each product to be traced- and other aspects, such as the materials used or even the fact that documents can be accessed with a single click.

Virospack's Service Manager attests:

“Better traceability will increase our efficiency. We are already working in this area, but it is difficult to obtain data as we have to use different programs, applications and tools” 

INNOVATION AS A RESPONSE TO COVID

The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic put a strain on many manufacturing sectors, such as in the case of semiconductors, and the global industry is already suffering from the shortage of processors. However, Virospack managed to obtain a growth in sales of more than 20% in 2020 compared to the previous year.

The company that specialises in dropper packs has highlighted its commitment to innovation, with its agreement to use IFS's ERP, but also with a parallel project to create a new automated warehouse, which will be launched simultaneously.

Florencio added:

“Innovation is not something that is improvised, it is not just for the production, design and industrialisation of a product, we also look to provide the company with technological innovation that allows us to improve our current processes”

“The arrival of the pandemic benefited us, despite its impact”, agreed González, who highlighted the efforts of companies to provide their employees with professional software tools. “Software companies have to commit to making the employee's life easier”, he concluded.