Plexus Online - College Park Case StudyCollege Park Industries & Plexus Systems Partnership Software technology in prosthetic productionAbout College Park Industries College Park Industries, based in Fraser, Michigan, is a leader in prosthetic foot manufacturing. The company markets the most anatomically correct prosthetic feet available today. College Park Industries was incorporated in 1988 upon completion of the first TruStep Foot prototype, designed and built by David L. Robinson. Nearly 20 years later, College Park is still committed to the research and development of advanced prosthetic products. With products distributed by an extensive global distribution network of independent dealers, College Park's customers include independent orthotic and prosthetic facilities worldwide. End-users of College Park products are lower limb amputees of all ages who maintain low to high activity levels. Serving a Need When a person undergoes a limb amputation, life takes many new turns. The person needs to learn how to function with a prosthetic leg or foot and, often times, rebuild basic skills. Sometimes the person takes the experience to a higher level and accomplishes things never dreamed before. College Park Industries an attest to success stories of resilient people who transition to lifestyles just as active, or even more active, with a prosthetic foot. The company specializes in prosthetic products to accommodate low and high impact activity, such as extreme sports. The company meets precise requirements to give amputees the most anatomically correct prosthetic foot on the market. The product design is based on the anatomy of a foot – forefoot, heel bone, ankle bone and articulating joints. Softer components mimic the function of ligaments and muscle. Engineering integrates all of the components so they accomplish smooth motions that must occur in a prosthetic foot. A Complex Process The tasks for designing, producing, testing and delivering the prosthetic feet are complex. With five prosthetic foot product lines, there are hundreds of thousands of possible configurations for a finished product. TruStep, the company’s signature product, is one of the most complicated to configure, with about 450,000 potential builds. College Park Industries quickly realized that in order to serve its diverse patient populations, it needed a manufacturing system to achieve the highest level of accuracy and efficiency. So it called Plexus Systems to implement Plexus Online, an award winning on-demand software for the manufacturing enterprise. Plexus Online combines the capabilities of enterprise resource planning (ERP), manufacturing execution systems (MES), supply chain management (SCM), customer relationship management (CRM), shop floor integration and quality management. Based on a Software as a Service (SaaS) model, Plexus Online enables users to closely track and manage the most critical aspects of business and manufacturing operations – anytime, anywhere. How Plexus Online Helps First, Plexus Online helps College Park Industries determine which product configuration best meets the needs of patients. The process begins when a prosthetist orders a foot. Customer service professionals gather the information required to determine the correct build. Using Plexus Online, they work with end-user profiles – existing or new ones -- to view the history or start a new order. The software takes the customer service representatives through a series of screens with questions and answers about the patient. How much does he weigh? What types of activities is he involved in? Is he going to be content walking around the grocery store, or is he jumping out of planes and doing flips on a wakeboard? In addition to capturing patient information, Plexus Online provides serial numbers to fulfill regulatory requirements, sales analysis and warranty information. With 1500 customers, College Park Industries utilizes Plexus Online to sort through complex pricing schemes, including discount structures and individual customer price lists. Once all the required questions are answered, the information is run through an Option Configurator to generate a build sheet, which tells production everything needed to manufacture the foot. College Park builds, inspects and ships feet and components the same day they are ordered. Plexus Online provides College Park Industries with flexibility and customization to accommodate all variables required for every prosthetic foot. Customer Service representatives no longer need to remember all the exceptions and special cases for each patient. Improved Decision Making Plexus Online also integrated all of College Park Industries’ departments, so they can function within the same software system and make decisions based on current, accurate information. The company can monitor sales strategies and customer activity, without waiting for the month-end sheets. They can access information from international distributors. And Plexus Online helps fulfill regulatory requirements that medical device manufacturers need for traceability and internal controls. In the truest partnership, Plexus Systems has in the past been a sponsor of the O&O Extremity Games, which was launched by College Park Industries to showcase patient success. The second annual sports competition helps raise awareness of the ability of amputees. It’s gives athletes -- aged 13 and older -- the opportunity to demonstrate skill, persistence and passion. The O&P Extremity Games hosts eight judged competitions: skateboarding, rock climbing, wakeboarding, BMX biking, kayaking, surfing, skydiving and in-line skating. For more information about College Park Industries, visit www.college-park.com. For more information about Plexus Systems, visit www.plex.com. |
