WhereNet, part of Zebra Enterprise Solutions at Zebra Technologies and the leader in wireless solutions for tracking and managing enterprise assets, announced that a leading international car manufacturer has implemented version 2.0 of its Material Flow: Replenishment solution. A comprehensive real-time manufacturing execution solution that streamlines the entire replenishment process across the enterprise, the Material Flow Replenishment solution seamlessly integrates with existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems enabling industrial manufacturers to reduce inventory and labor costs while increasing throughput and quality.
"After realizing more than 12 percent efficiency gains from implementing the Material Flow Replenishment solution in one part of our factory, we expanded use of the solution so that we now manage 750 parts across a span of more than 1.5 million square feet," said Nathan Pearson, project manager for Material Flow at a leading international automaker in Indiana. "With access to real-time data and analytics-rich reports, we have everything at our fingertips to make intelligent decisions and change business processes on the fly. WhereNet has helped us take our lean manufacturing initiative to a new level."
Designed to support and automate lean manufacturing techniques, the Material Flow solution combines RFID technologies and software to provide manufacturing operations with the facility-wide visibility to centrally manage and control supplier collaboration, internal supply, and facility-wide communication within a single system. For example, Material Flow helps increase the value from ERP software investments such as SAP by leveraging its master data repository. The solution returns real-time execution level information back into the ERP system to improve its error proofing capabilities and data accuracy.
In addition, Material Flow streamlines ERP's demand-driven pull replenishment processes by reducing multiple steps into a single transaction, from start to finish. The solution provides real-time execution information that focuses on delivering the product from external supplier or internal storage to the point-of-use line side with actionable and easy-to-use instructions for plant floor associates.
Built on modern open standards, the Material Flow solution integrates with a broad range of automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) technologies in addition to ERP systems. Material Flow provides actionable, real-time data - from the factory floor to offsite suppliers - that allows every member of the supply chain to quickly respond to changes in inventory, production status, and customer requests. Version 2.0 includes several new features, including advanced analytics capabilities and automatic reporting and alerts.
"Manufacturing environments are in a state of constant change, and manufacturers have typically stockpiled excess inventory to ensure their assembly line never stops," said Tom Bacon, senior vice president, manufacturing, logistics and government business, Zebra Enterprise Solutions. "By integrating AIDC technologies with real-time execution software, our Material Flow Replenishment System eliminates inventory guesswork for manufacturers. We provide an up-to-the-minute, accurate view of consumption-based demand at every assembly line station, bringing a new level of intelligence, automation, and efficiency to the manufacturing supply chain."
For example, the flexible parts replenishment solution tracks the exact time of every part request, automatically prioritizes the requests, and sends instructions to material-handling drivers whose vehicles are equipped with vehicle-mounted Wi-Fi terminals telling them where to pick up and deliver the parts. The system promptly alerts both the manufacturer and suppliers when parts are needed on the assembly line, resulting in a synchronous material flow across the supply chain, reduced inventory, and higher productivity.
Using the WhereNet Material Flow-Replenishment solution, industrial manufacturers can realize a complete return on investment by:
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