MENTOR WORLDWIDE

Increasing Visibility and Accuracy Throughout the Product Lifecycle

Complex manual business processes made meeting stringent regulatory requirements difficult for Mentor Worldwide LLC, a leading supplier of saline and silicone breast implants and other products for the global aesthetic medicine market.

The company’s implant products are Class I, Class II, and Class III medical devices tracked to comply with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations. Mentor documents the movement of each implant through a complex consignment sales process to the doctor who uses it.

Challenge

Mentor needed an automated data capture solution that would easily integrate with their installation of JD Edwards EnterpriseOne to generate serialized labeling, automate complex manual processes and meet rigorous validation requirements. That’s why Mentor chose Cloud Inventory® to optimize their business processes.

Solution

Cloud Inventory provided pre-built applications for accurately tracking inventory, assets, and time using RFID and barcode technology, as well as pre-built integration with JD Edwards to provide access to real-time data.

“The Cloud Inventory applications we use have been validated and documented,” said Fred Schulte, Information Technology Manager for Manufacturing and Distribution, Mentor Worldwide LLC. “Cloud Inventory saved us many hours of effort in fulfilling this requirement.”

Cloud Inventory’s codeless, rapid development platform enabled project managers to quickly tailor the pre-built mobile apps to meet Mentor’s unique business requirements and allowed Mentor staff to easily modify and enhance apps as needed. Cloud Inventory provided Mentor the self-sufficiency to meet their current and future needs.

“Working with Cloud Inventory was a very positive experience,” said Fred Schulte, Information Technology Manager for Manufacturing and Distribution, Mentor Corporation. “Cloud Inventory consultants took the time to understand our company and our business processes to tailor apps to meet our specific needs.”

Cloud Inventory mobile apps generate unique, non-repeating serial numbers for the product classes that require them.

“The unique serial number enables us to access the product’s entire history. It is linked to data in our enterprise application that enables us to track a number of variables, from sterilization date and lot number to consignment, sales, and billing history,” Schulte said.

Cloud Inventory automated transaction processes in Mentor’s consignment sales channel.

“Consignment inventory isn’t invoiced until it is used. Automating manual processes simplifies our tracking and billing processes,” Schulte said. “Now we can bill more quickly and accurately.”

In addition to requirements for product labeling and tracking certain products, Mentor must also validate software and apps with extensive documentation. Cloud Inventory preserved Mentor’s investment in an existing labeling system and more than 500 templates, which helped Mentor simplify validation of the labeling system.

“The Cloud Inventory applications we use have been validated and documented,” Schulte said. “Cloud Inventory saved us many hours of effort in fulfilling this requirement.”

Results

“Barcode scans of the serial number using Cloud Inventory are critical to our ability to streamline many of our in-house business processes,” Schulte said. With Cloud Inventory, Mentor has achieved several key business benefits:

  • Increased Productivity: Tasks that previously took about 15 minutes when processed manually now take only about 3 minutes. Mentor can also process returns in a short period of time.

  • Reduced Labor Expense: Improved processes and productivity enabled Mentor to reassign six full-time employees in its consignment bill department, and one full-time employee in return.

  • Improved Cash Flow: Automated processes enable Mentor to issue invoices and credits more quickly than ever before.

  • Maintained Regulatory Compliance: By preserving existing label templates and therefore simplifying the validation of the labeling system, Mentor saved many hours of effort in maintaining regulatory compliance.

  • Positioned for Global Business Processes: Cloud Inventory’s unicode functionality positions Mentor to use common business processes and serial number functionality in all its locations worldwide, regardless of users’ preferred language.

 

Industry

Life Sciences

ERP: JD EnterpriseOne

Highlights

  • Previously manual tasks that took about 15 minutes now take about 3 minutes

  • Faster returns processing

  • Improved cash flow

  • Maintained regulatory compliance

  • Optimal positioning for global business processes

  • Reduced labor expenses as a result of seven full-time employee reassignments