Why paper mills need dedicated paper mill ERP software
A paper mill turns waste paper or pulp into paper continuously, but sells it in discrete reels and sheets. Fibre is bought by the tonne with moisture and contaminant deductions, the paper machine runs day and night producing jumbo reels, and customers order specific GSM, BF, shade and reel widths. Every order has to fit the machine deckle, and every reel has its own weight and quality record.
Paper mill ERP software connects fibre, machine, reels and orders. DotOne, which we implement for kraft, duplex, writing and printing and tissue mills, records each stage of production, holds stock reel by reel, plans deckles against orders and links it all to GST, e-way bill and costing.
The paper making process, stage by stage in the ERP
We map the ERP to the way your mill runs, with input, output and loss captured at each stage.
Fibre receipt
Waste paper such as OCC, local kraft and mixed grades, or pulp, is received over the weighbridge with grade, supplier, moisture and contamination deductions, so payment and stock use the accepted weight.
Stock preparation
Pulper batches record fibre issued by grade, with chemicals such as sizing agents, starch, fillers and dyes consumed per shift or per tonne of output.
Paper machine
Machine production is recorded per jumbo reel with GSM, BF or other strength values, shade, deckle width and weight. Machine breaks, downtime and broke are logged by shift.
Rewinding and reel numbering
Jumbo reels are slit on the rewinder into customer widths. Each finished reel gets a number, size, weight and quality record, and side trims are booked as broke.
Reel-wise stock by GSM, BF and size
Paper stock is a list of reels, not a single number. The ERP holds every reel with its grade, GSM, BF, shade, width, diameter, weight and production date, and can show stock grouped any way the sales team needs.
- Reel-wise stock by grade, GSM, BF, shade and width.
- Order-wise reels reserved for a customer and free stock available.
- Sheet stock in reams, packets or kg by size and GSM.
- Broke and off-grade reels kept separate for reuse or sale.
- Ageing of reels to show slow-moving sizes.
Reel locations in the godown are managed through warehouse management software.
Deckle planning and order scheduling
Orders for different widths must be combined to fill the machine deckle with as little trim loss as possible. The ERP groups open orders by grade, GSM and BF, proposes width combinations that fit the usable deckle, and shows the expected trim. The planner confirms the combination, and it becomes the rewinder plan for that run.
Grade changes on the machine are sequenced to reduce changeover loss, and the plan shows which orders will be completed in each run. Our production planning software page covers scheduling in more detail.
Reel to sheet conversion
Mills and converters that supply sheets issue reels to the sheet cutter and book output in sheets, reams or packets by size. The ERP converts between reel weight and sheet count using GSM and sheet size, records trim and cutting waste, and links the sheets back to the parent reel. Where cutting or other conversion is done outside, reels move on job work challans tracked through job work software.
Paper mill costing, quality and dispatch
Cost per tonne is built from fibre at accepted weight, chemicals, steam, power, wire and felt wear, labour and broke loss. Management can see cost by grade and GSM and compare it with realised prices. The methods are on our costing software page.
Lab results such as GSM, BF, burst, Cobb and moisture are recorded per reel through quality management software. Dispatch lists reel numbers and weights, and the GST e-invoice and e-way bill are generated from the same document.
What is the best ERP for a paper mill?
Test any paper mill ERP software on your own grades and orders. Ask the vendor to show:
- Weighbridge-linked fibre receipt with moisture deduction.
- Jumbo reel production with GSM, BF and machine downtime.
- Reel-wise finished stock with lab results.
- Deckle planning with expected trim loss.
- Reel to sheet conversion linked to the parent reel.
- Cost per tonne by grade, and e-way bill from dispatch.
Our how to choose ERP software guide has more questions to take into a demo.
