Case Study: Propper International achieves double-digit productivity gains and real-time shop-floor visibility with Aptean Apparel Shop Floor Control

Propper Boosts Productivity With Real-Time Visibility Through Aptean Apparel Shop Floor Control

Propper International, a longtime U.S. military and law enforcement apparel supplier founded in 1967, operates multiple plants producing boots, uniforms and other tactical gear. Despite deep manufacturing experience, the company faced a productivity plateau driven by manual gum sheets and bundle tickets, biometric clock queues that created five‑minute waits, and time-consuming payroll and WIP reconciliation that left managers working with data two to three days late.

Propper implemented Aptean Apparel Shop Floor Control using Wi‑Fi‑connected tablets, wall monitors and QR‑coded badges and bundles to enable scanning at the workstation and real‑time dashboards. The system eliminated much of the manual paperwork and clock‑line delays, synchronized with ERP for payroll, and delivered measurable gains—sewing operator efficiency rose about 15% while managers gained instant visibility into WIP and bottlenecks, enabling faster corrective action.

Propper

Anderson WardS

VP Global Supply Chain Operations