Facing Hardships in the Plastics Industry in Penang, Malaysia

The plastics industry in Penang, Malaysia, is standing at a critical moment locally and globally, both presenting the industry with challenges that are somehow similar to those that exist in other sectors. As global trends bring about stricter environmental regulations, plastic manufacturers are struggling to comply while maintaining efficiency. The fast rate at which regulatory changes occur is not typical of any other industry, which presents challenges to the firms that can be compared to hitting a moving target. In addition, the difficulty of dealing with the expansive pipeline of diverse raw materials, along with the increasing need for green plastics, turns the daily tasks of the industry even more complex. Yet, besides their distinctive attributes, the industry also shares some difficulties with other sectors such as addressing the technological integration issue and dealing with the pressure of fluctuating market demands to be profitable.

Shared and Singular Challenges in the Plastics Sector

There are some instances in the plastics industry that stand out as particularly troublesome. For example, one of the chief issues is the constantly changing regulations, which will require firms to make continual changes to their operations in order to meet the new regulations. This regulatory instability characteristic is one of the toughest challenges that is not as common in other industries. Another solitary blockage is the plastic material’s lifecycle, which is deeply intricate, starting from production to disposal, and thus, requires effective waste management strategies. At the same time, the industry is preoccupied with the global transition trends which necessitate the firms to innovate or to discard their former models completely.

When faced with similar challenges to other industries, like the use of high-tech machinery, Penang’s plastic sector sees the same issues as well. The firms are at a constant race to keep up with the technological development race unless they want to be left behind. Another widely seen challenge in business is the unstable market that drives firms to rethink their pricing strategies and therefore to act dynamically in their financial planning. Obviously, such challenges call for a sustainable model which addresses both the singulars and shared necessities.

Application of ERP Systems within the Plastics Industry

Implementation of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) has become one of the most focused steps by the firms in Penang facing the challenges of plastics production. An ERP system is a process that makes the operations more streamlined, and it is a real-time data provider which promotes better decision-making. In the plastic sector, which is characterized by constant regulation changes, an ERP system such as LAIDFU helps to ensure that enterprises do not drift away from the given framework of rules and regulations by providing a centralized platform to manage the changes in regulations smoothly.

Moreover, the AI application in ERP systems may improve supply chain efficiency significantly. The AI agent-assisted modules automatically balance and evaluate warehouse inventories and procurements in a much more precise way, making an alignment possible which is both architected to the logistics supply chain of the industry and complex interlinks. Additionally, the utility of AI within ERP systems can help in the customization of production works, in conformance to the Needs of both the regulatory bodies and market demands existing without the requirement of expansive reprogramming. In point of fact, ERP systems are also capable in the area of financial management where they can recalibrate the pricing according to the market mood which in turn would enable the firm to be competitive and profitable.

Best Practices for Implementing ERP

For ERP systems, enterprises should adhere to several critical practices to ensure their success. First, it is absolutely necessary to have a clear definition of the business goals; knowing which goals the ERP system should meet will guide its embedding. Secondly, the engagement of the stakeholders is important; involving the entire profile of the organization from the very beginning will ensure that the system will work for the different stakeholders and therefore, it will be bought by them. Last, the prioritization of training investment stands out because the informed team is the key to the ERP‘s success maximization. Thanks to these strategic initiatives, the businesses can very well leverage the ERP system‘s full capabilities in overcoming the problems.

Multiable aiM18 ERP: A Revolutionary Tool for Plastics Companies

• Tailored Algorithm for Ever-changing Regulations: Such compliance is guaranteed through the adaptation of new rules in the most efficient manner.

• Self-Optimizing AI-Supported Logistic Service Provider (LSP) Selection: Logistics in the best state with efficiency and effectiveness.

• Endless Warehouses: Support high operations while not being capacity-bound.
  – Right-level Document Management System: Efficient operations through access control and role-based management.

• AI Powered BOM: AI intellgience management of the BOM leads to resources planning efficiency.

E-Invoicing with Multiable ERP

Multiable brings forward an effective e-invoicing solution that is extended with the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM). It is important to mention that Multiable is the only one in the market offering free e-invoicing API calls for customers who opted for SaaS or software assurance subscriptions compared to other Malaysian software vendors that charge extra. This facility will help to reduce operational costs significantly and in turn, will help to streamline the entire invoicing process in plastics firms in Penang.

What is Multiable ERP?

Multiable ERP is a cloud-native ERP widely adopted by business in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China. With over 6,000 customers in the region, Multiable ERP gains positive feedbacks from customer across different sectors, from manufacturers, distributors, retailers, service providers to NGOs. The renowned no-code approach saves customer a big sum of customization costs and countless hours of implementation man-days.

What is LAIDFU (Let AI Do for You)?

LAIDFU is an AI tool for enterprise to build their own AI agents to perform various business AI tasks.

Proprietary EKP (Enterprise Knowledge Partitioning) technology eases CEO’s concern about trade secret leakage which often occurs in most AI agents / chatbots in the market.

EKP removes the hurdle of business AI adoption by most companies in using sensitive corporate data.

Powered by no-code approach, deployment of LAIDFU incurs far less developers (and development costs) in comparison with other AI tools.

LAIDFU empowers business, with or without an ERP system in place.