Centric Software® is excited to unveil a success story featuring its customer Starpro. Centric Software provides the most innovative enterprise solutions to plan, formulate, develop, procure, manufacture and sell consumer goods products in food & beverage, grocery, fashion and multi-category retail to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals.
Hangzhou Starpro Starch Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the PMI Group founded in 2006, is a comprehensive enterprise specializing in the R&D, production and sales of modified starch. With over 1,800 customers across eight major industries, it offers over 1,000 application solutions and 500 products. Headquartered in Asia, Starpro operates nine factories and 12 production lines in Hangzhou, Tianjin and Thailand, serving clients in China, Japan and Russia, including notable companies like Master Kong, PepsiCo and Kraft.
As Starpro’s success rapidly expanded, its R&D team realized that existing manual processes could no longer support the increasing number of projects. It became evident that digitalizing the R&D process was essential for enhancing efficiency, ensuring product quality and meeting customer demands. Li Chenhong, Director of R&D at Starpro adds, “Different systems had different material codes and data dimensions, making it very difficult to connect data across systems. Without standardized data, data-driven decision-making is impossible.” Recognizing the need for change, Starpro initiated preparations for a PLM project in August 2021.
Eight months after launching Centric PLM™, Starpro transformed its R&D management into a more systematic and efficient process. The company established a closed-loop data management system, leading to a 20% increase in R&D efficiency and improved product success rates. Additionally, Starpro achieved two-way traceability for both raw materials and finished products. Most importantly, this agile and precise approach to R&D has significantly enhanced customer satisfaction.
Li remarks on the dedication of the Centric team throughout the process, “We share many of the same values, learning from each other’s work methods. The collaboration has been both enjoyable and effective.”
