Tokai Optecs, a Belgian-Japanese joint venture, offers a comprehensive range of customised lenses. The close collaboration between Tokai Optecs and Tokai Optical Japan promotes the continuous development of new materials, designs, treatments and high-tech manufacturing processes.
With customers in countries like Belgium, subsidiaries in the UK, Italy and the Emirates and distributors in almost all countries of the EMEA region, Tokai Optecs has to produce and deliver in and to a wide region; say from Tienen to Johannesburg. So, that is the reason why this must be done at speed. To guarantee this speed and to determine the production sequence, Tokai relies on software written by Sonical by TWS.
The Challenge
With different international distributors, it is not always easy to keep a good overview. Consumers also like to see their ordered products delivered quickly. Someone who orders glasses for his/her glasses on a Saturday expects a quick follow-up.
“Successful international business does not mean that what works in Belgium can simply be copied. Producers and processes have to be adapted to the requirements of the market in question. This means that, on a regular basis, a lot of exceptions or adjustments have to be added within our standard automation program. Our software is a living thing, so to speak. This is partly possible because there is always someone from Sonical by TWS present in our own offices.” says Kurt Leuridan, CEO of Tokai Optecs.
9th position worldwide
“The software from Sonical by TWS offers us a lot of advantages. One example is the automation of priority in our production. When an optician orders lenses from Tokai, Sonical by TWS reads this out through the software. Our workers in the factory immediately see which items need to be handled first. In this way, production is pulled into priority.”
“The automation and the flexibility to implement exceptions per country are the reasons why we score so well with Tokai in a market that is very competitive. We are in 9th position worldwide to be exact. A lot of competitors went to China, because they can produce more cheaply there. The fact that we continue to produce from Belgium and Japan, which are anything but low-cost countries, is thanks to this extensive automation. And we are extremely proud of that and Sonical has certainly made an important contribution.”
Never doubted Sonical
"At Tokai we never doubted at any point whether Sonical was the right partner. We soon found that they are enormously accessible and very solution-oriented in their thinking. Yes, organizationally it might be better to choose a larger party, because at the moment we are dependent on one person. But choosing a larger party does not always equate to a better contact person. The speed, flexibility and accessibility of Sonical are definitely huge pluses and makes Tokai a very satisfied customer."
Sonical is enormously pleased to be able to support Tokai Optecs in their growth story and in growing towards an efficient work style. Because those who can work efficiently, work better and thus achieve better results. And that is what Sonical likes to work on together with the customer.