Reducing Changeover Time by 40%: A Nutraceutical Case Study

The Challenge

NutraBlend Inc., a mid-size nutraceutical manufacturer based in the Midwest, produces 120 SKUs across 3 production lines covering blending, encapsulation, and packaging. With growing demand and increasing product variety, they faced a familiar problem: changeover time was eating their capacity alive.

Their numbers before TrueAPS told the story:

• Average changeover time: 52 minutes per changeover
• Total changeover hours/week: 38 hours across all lines
• On-time delivery: 82%
• Planning method: Manual (Excel + tribal knowledge)
• Replanning time: 4-6 hours per disruption

The Approach

NutraBlend implemented TrueAPS in three phases over 6 weeks:

Phase 1: Data Integration (Week 1-2)

Connected their Dynamics 365 Business Central ERP to TrueAPS using the native connector. Imported: 120 items with BOMs, 15 work centers with calendar and shift patterns, 450 active sales orders, and — critically — a detailed setup matrix covering changeover times between all product families on each line.

Phase 2: Baseline & Optimization (Week 3-4)

Ran the existing manual schedule through TrueAPS analytics to establish a baseline. Then let the OR-Tools CP-SAT optimizer generate an optimized schedule. The optimizer evaluated over 2 million possible sequences to find the combination that minimized total changeover time while respecting all due dates, material availability, and capacity constraints.

Phase 3: Adoption & Fine-Tuning (Week 5-6)

Production supervisors used the interactive Gantt to review and adjust the optimized schedule. The AI Copilot identified three additional optimization opportunities that the solver missed: splitting one oversized batch, rebalancing load between two encapsulation lines, and shifting a non-critical order to fill a gap on an underutilized line.

The Results

After 8 weeks of operation with TrueAPS:

• Average changeover time: 31 minutes (-40%)
• Total changeover hours/week: 22 hours (-42%)
• On-time delivery: 97% (+15 percentage points)
• Effective capacity gain: 16 hours/week (equivalent to adding half a shift)
• Replanning time: Under 5 minutes
• Annualized cost savings: $340,000 (labor + overtime + expediting)

Key Takeaways

Setup Matrices Are Gold

The single biggest driver of changeover reduction was the detailed setup matrix. Most planners intuitively group similar products, but they cannot evaluate the thousands of possible sequences to find the true optimum. The solver can — and the difference is dramatic.

Speed of Replanning Matters as Much as Plan Quality

NutraBlend experiences an average of 3 disruptions per week (machine issues, material delays, rush orders). Before TrueAPS, each disruption triggered hours of manual replanning. Now, the system reschedules in under a minute. This speed means the plan stays feasible and the shop floor stays on track.

Planners Become Strategists

The lead planner at NutraBlend now spends her time on capacity analysis, scenario planning, and continuous improvement — not on firefighting. Her job satisfaction has increased, and the company has eliminated a key single-point-of-failure risk.

What is Next for NutraBlend

NutraBlend is now implementing the S&OP module to integrate demand forecasting with their production planning, and exploring the AI Copilot's predictive maintenance recommendations to further reduce unplanned downtime.