Page 82 - MetalForming October 2014

Going Mobile:
Next-Generation Materials Management
With the development of mobile technologies integrated with ERP software, mobile materials management (M3) gives manufacturers unprecedented levels of speed, visibility and control.
BY ADAM GRABOWSKI
During the past few decades, ongoing technological innova- tion–including ERP soft- ware–has enabled manufacturers to lean their production processes and compete more effectively in global markets. For many companies, how- ever, materials management remains a slow, inefficient process rife with human error and mostly driven by his- torical rather than real-time data.
Consider inventory management, where ERP software has streamlined the inventory-tracking process to a large degree by moving it from a paper file folder to a digital database. But if your inventory isn’t next to the com- puter, you still have to write it down on a piece of paper, walk over to the com- puter and manually enter the data into the system. This takes time and opens the door to the mistakes that inevitably
Adam Grabowski is director of market- ing and communications for Global Shop Solutions, The Woodlands, TX: 888/851-1248, www.globalshopsolu- tions.com.
By using barcode technology, a user can enter data faster and more accurately than using manual methods. Wireless barcode scanners in particular will help manufacturers increase productivity and efficiency.
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occur with hand-written data. And unless you shut down operations every time you count a piece of inventory or conduct a bin-to-bin transfer, the data always lags one step behind what’s actually happening on the shop floor.
With the development of mobile technologies, materials management has entered the 21st century. By inte- grating barcode-scanning technology, handheld printing and mobile-device technologies, ERP software has rede- fined the way companies perform materials management. From physi- cal inventory to shipments, purchase- order receipts, inventory transfers and more, mobile materials management (M3) gives manufacturers unprece- dented levels of speed, visibility and control.
Imagine knowing where every piece of raw material resides in your plant, and being able to locate it instantly. Envision moving inventory from one bin to another while accurately docu- menting the entire transaction right there on the shop floor in real time, or printing move tickets anywhere on the
shop floor as you assign and pull parts to work in progress (WIP). With M3 all of these activities are quickly and eas- ily accomplished, and then wirelessly recorded and managed in the ERP sys- tem to ensure data accuracy and integrity.
Barcoding on Steroids
Lean materials management starts with barcoding incoming parts and raw materials, as well as all types of inventory. M3 puts new muscle into the barcoding process by transforming it from a stationary to a mobile activi- ty, allowing companies to streamline material transactions, improve inven- tory accuracy and take faster physical inventory and cycle counts.
Whether receiving incoming raw materials, counting inventory in the warehouse or transferring parts on the shop floor, the person handling the material simply scans the barcoded label and the mobile system records the transaction. Not only does this eliminate the data-entry errors that occur when tracking barcoded labels