Real-time communication with SAP improves productivity
Portfolio: Automation, Digitalization
Industries: Plant Engineering and Machine Tool Industry
CHALLENGE
The Netzsch Group is a family business in the mechanical engineering and device manufacturing sector with a global ambit. In the Bavarian town of Selb, the company set up a new production facility to manufacture and assemble devices for thermal analysis, expanding its capacity by 60 percent in the process. Because the devices are increasingly designed to suit specific customer requirements, Netzsch structured its processes on a leaner and more efficient basis to accommodate customized production (down to one-off orders), and focus on quality and efficiency. This meant it had to link all its processes together.
IMPLEMENTATION
To implement this project, HEITEC’s IT subsidiary HEISAB installed a SAP Warehouse Management system to provide the best possible support for all logistical processes in the manufacturing area. This automated system flexibly controls all movements of goods, and manages inventories in the warehouse complex. As a result, Netzsch enjoys an even better overview of the entire volume of material in its warehouse and can precisely determine where any given material is located at any time. Previously, almost all parts and components needed to assemble the measuring devices were collected manually from the order picking warehouse to fill manufacturing orders using a picking list created and printed using SAP, a very time-intensive process overall. Now the system is networked with SAP, the manufacturing process has been optimized and the parts are made available, packed, or unpacked in the order in which the assembly operators and electricians need them. The material is now delivered, accurately sorted, to the employees on the order-picking vehicle, and each employee can work on several orders in parallel. They also receive feedback on inventory in the warehouse and production area in real time. If the sequence of manufacturing orders changes at this point, there is no longer any need to continue working through the specified list sequence, since the order sequence is now adjusted in real time.
CUSTOMER BENEFIT
- Stable and clean processes
- Highly accurate inventory and just-in-time supplies to production
- Customized devices are manufactured with the same efficiency as mass production
- Workflow optimization improves performance by approx. 50 percent