Francisco Aragon is a Spanish chemical company based in the Murcia region that specializes in ambient products you’ve likely encountered on supermarket shelves. Their portfolio\u2014scented candles, fragrance sticks, insecticides, and aerosols\u2014serves some of Spain’s largest retailers and market leaders. But the company’s reach extends far beyond Spain’s borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What began as a local Spanish operation has transformed into a genuinely global business. Today, Francisco Aragon produces for customers across Europe and is actively expanding into new markets: the USA, South America, and beyond. This isn’t just growth\u2014it’s a fundamental shift in how the company operates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But rapid global expansion comes with a hidden cost. As Francisco Aragon’s market footprint grew, their production planning system couldn’t keep pace. They were experiencing what Miguel Castro, the company’s CIO, describes as an “explosion” of complexity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company faced a critical question: How do you maintain operational control while scaling globally? This is the story of how Francisco Aragon answered that question by transforming their production planning process with Siemens Opcenter APS\u2014and achieved remarkable results in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To understand the complexity of their business, consider this: Francisco Aragon operates two production plants in Spain with more than 35 specialized production lines and manages over 1,000 different SKUs (stock-keeping units). Each production line is specifically designed for particular product topologies, creating a highly constrained and intricate manufacturing environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Francisco Aragon transitioned from a local business model to a global one, they faced mounting operational pressures:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rapid Complexity Growth<\/strong>: The company wasn’t just growing. Expanding from Spain to Europe, the USA, and South America meant managing increasingly diverse customer demands, supply chains, and market conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Business Model Transformation<\/strong>: Traditionally, Francisco Aragon operated on a make-to-stock model. However, as they pursued new customers and markets, they needed to shift toward a make-to-order strategy. This fundamental change required a completely different approach to production planning and scheduling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unstable Production Schedules<\/strong>: Before implementing Opcenter APS, Francisco Aragon struggled with extremely short frozen periods\u2014just 2-4 days. This meant: constant changes to production schedules throughout the day, reduced efficiency on the production floor, stress on employees who had to adapt to continuous modifications and \u2013 overall \u2013 limited visibility into future production needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watch the full interview to see how Francisco Aragon transformed their operations with Opcenter APS.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n