Suppliers
Picks per day
Faster throughput times
Optimization of picking processes
The initial situation
Varied production
Fendt is the leading high-tech brand in the AGCO Group for agricultural businesses with the highest demands on the quality of machines and services. Customers benefit from innovative technology that increases their performance, efficiency and profitability. Fendt tractors and harvesters are used globally on professional farms and in the non-agricultural sector.
Resource-saving and smart technologies support agricultural businesses and contractors in working sustainably and economically successfully worldwide.
The wheeled tractors of all eleven series are built at the site in Marktoberdorf/Germany and delivered from there worldwide. With over 1,475 customer options, there are several million possible combinations for the assembly of a tractor - so no two tractors are the same.
Sophisticated order picking
In order to cope with this product variance and provide the right parts as required, moving shopping baskets are used during assembly. These shopping baskets contain all the necessary parts for the production of precisely this tractor and are suitably stocked in advance to efficiently support the employees on the assembly line. The associated picking in advance, with up to 250 parts per basket, represents a major challenge for logistics in terms of efficiency and error prevention.
The motivation
In order to optimize processes and ensure the quality of this demanding picking process, an end-to-end digital solution for picking and worker guidance was sought that would enable employees in the so-called "supermarket" to pick the required parts efficiently, paperlessly and with system support - i.e. to take them from the shelf and place them in the shopping cart. The focus of the optimization was to relieve employees through improved processes and the reduction of inefficient, manual activities. These activities included numerous time-consuming processes such as printing out paper lists, manually labeling shelves or the tedious comparison of material numbers and storage locations. Everything had to be optimized as part of the digitalization process in order to reduce the sources of error during order picking and thus prevent possible production interruptions.
The project approach
In order to achieve the desired process optimization, Fendt relied on the introduction of a digital worker guidance system based on the INDUTRAX DIGITALPICKER. With this solution from INDUTRAX, the company was able to digitize the entire picking process and, as a result, both significantly reduce errors and considerably shorten throughput times.
Our solution with INDUTRAX
By integrating the INDUTRAX DIGITALPICKER into the existing system landscape together with the e-label system from SoluM and industrial smartwatches from NIMMSTA, seamless data transfer and updating of real-time information is ensured. For this purpose, the data on production and picking orders is transferred from Fendt's system landscape and supplemented with specific picking instructions and geographical warehouse positions in the supermarket. The digitalization of the picking lists significantly increases the transparency and traceability of the processes: picking times are reduced and processes are completed with a significantly lower number of errors. At the same time, the solution enables well-founded, data-based decisions that further optimize the material flow in the long term.
"Our customers use tractors in very different ways. This results in increasingly diverse requirements and therefore equipment options. These present us
with increasingly complex challenges.
Instead of reducing the variance, we have to learn to master it. With the support of INDUTRAX, we have jointly developed a solution that enables us to manage the picking of the enormous variety of tractor configurations efficiently and error-free. The DIGITALPICKER helps us to optimize the material flow and maintain the high level of flexibility that our sales department needs to meet our customers' requirements."
Florian Demmler
Head of Logistics Tractor Plant, Fendt
The solution design
The introduction of digital worker guidance based on the INDUTRAX DIGITALPICKER includes comprehensive digitalization of the picking processes.
The following technologies and systems are integrated:
Tablet
Digital worker guidance via tablet:
The parts to be picked are displayed on an industrial tablet sorted by area in the form of list and map displays in the DIGITALPICKER's user interface.
Smartwatch
Digital worker guidance via industrial smartwatch:
Employees are notified of individual material requirements and feedback on actions on the NIMMSTA smartwatch via a display, LED light signal or buzzer. The wearable keeps hands free and provides immediate feedback on whether the right part has been picked.
Pick-To-Light Button
Equipping the shelves with e-labels and pick-to-light buttons for electronic display of shelf contents and situational picking requirements:
The LED lights indicate where to pick. The displays under the small load carriers visualize the required number of parts. The employees confirm the picks by pressing a button or using a scanner-supported plausibility check.
E-labels
Equipping the shopping baskets with e-labels to display the contents electronically:
The e-labels enable real-time visualization of the current picking status on the shopping baskets, including the display of missing parts.
The result and the outlook
By introducing the INDUTRAX DIGITALPICKER, Fendt achieved the following results:
- 30-40 percent reduction in throughput times during order picking
- Virtually error-free processes thanks to the integration of wearables and pick-to-light systems
- Real-time information and management of picking trolleys and stock levels
- Faster training phase for new employees thanks to digital management
- Quality improvement in the overall process: rework has been significantly reduced thanks to the almost zero-percent error rate of the picking process
The DIGITALPICKER has proven to be a useful addition to the existing production and logistics systems and enables smooth and efficient digital picking.
In the future, AGCO plans to further advance the digitalization of logistics and implement the INDUTRAX solution in other areas of production.
Key data and facts about the company
Production sites worldwide
Employees in Germany
Selection options
Tractors per day
Florian Manca
Data Manager & Project Manager Tractor Plant, Fendt
Your contact for INDUTRAX
Would you like to find out more about the benefits of digitalization with INDUTRAX in logistics and production? Would you like to know how our tailor-made solutions, such as the INDUTRAX DIGITALPICKER, can reduce errors, optimize processes and relieve your employees? I would be happy to advise you and show you how we can take your processes to a new level with our solutions.
Simply fill out the contact form and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Dr. Andreas Schürzinger
Principal Consultant IoT
