Centric Software® is pleased to announce that China-based PMI Group, a food ingredient and packaging supplier, has selected Centric PLM™ to build a unified digital R&D management platform for its packaging group. Centric Software provides the most innovative enterprise solutions to design, develop, formulate, source, comply, buy, make, package, market and sell consumer goods products in food & beverage, grocery and multi-category retail to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals.
PMI Group is a renowned enterprise specializing in the design and manufacture of packaging, materials, ingredients and is also an alliance partner of Master Kong. As part of Ting Hsin International Group’s supply chain ecosystem, PMI operates across eight business divisions, including packaging, grain & oil, starch and freeze-dried food processing, with a total of 36 subsidiaries.
The association between Centric Software and PMI Group began in 2022 with a successful project involving Starpro, PMI’s raw materials business division. Building on this success, PMI is now expanding the partnership to all its packaging businesses, including three key packaging manufacturers: TingZheng, HeSheng and BingXin.
As the wave of Industry 4.0 accelerates worldwide, enterprises are undergoing a comprehensive shift from automation to intelligence. With AI-powered industrial transformation on the rise, digitalization has become essential to strengthening core competitiveness. PMI Group is proactively embracing technological change and is well-prepared for this digital transformation journey.
PMI Group wanted a unified digital R&D management platform to standardize product data, capture product knowledge and empower R&D to deliver greater business value.
Mr. Shen Bin, Director of PMI’s IT Department, remarks, “This project underwent more than a year of evaluation and planning. Thanks to the full support of the Group’s leadership, it is now officially launched. Centric stood out in a highly competitive selection process, demonstrating professional expertise that earned our trust. This project is one of the most significant investments of the year for PMI’s packaging divisions and a key step in our digital transformation.”
Mr. Huang Ruixiu, Director of PMI’s Central R&D Institute, states, “The Central R&D Institute was established in 2023, guided by the Group’s top strategic framework OPPIS (Organization, People, Process, Information System, Skills). Having mapped out our processes, we are now entering the information system phase, which requires building our own R&D information system.” He emphasizes the current challenges of data fragmentation and information silos across the Group, highlighting the urgent need to centralize data management and unlock value from raw data to actionable insights.
The groundwork for PMI’s packaging PLM project began in 2023 under the group’s digital transformation strategy. PMI formed a dedicated team comprised of IT and the three packaging divisions to set requirements and scope and drive the project forward. After executive approval, the timeline was 10 to 11 months.
Regarding expectations, Director Huang Ruixiu comments, “Facing increasing competition in the Chinese market, PMI must accelerate technological innovation, with R&D digitalization being the foundation. This PLM project marks an important starting point. Since Master Kong is also a Centric customer, we look forward to future system integration to achieve synchronized product and packaging development, enhancing R&D efficiency and maximizing system synergies.”
Chris Groves, CEO of Centric Software says, “We are proud that PMI Group has chosen to extend its partnership with us. It marks a solid step forward in PMI Group’s R&D digital transformation journey. PMI is set to implement a smarter, more efficient R&D management system, injecting new momentum into product development.”
