Locations
simultaneous orders
Reduced search times
Optimization of processes on the Shop Floor
The initial situation
EJOT SE & Co KG specializes in technical fastening and joining solutions and works in partnership with customers to develop solutions for their joining and fastening problems. In doing so, EJOT is guided by the use of "intelligent" products to ensure the quality of the connection and to reduce the system costs of the connection.
This philosophy requires a high degree of product variance and places very specific demands on production to ensure high-quality end products. Various fasteners are manufactured to order at global production sites. Production takes place in several stages and often across plants.
Challenging production and logistics processes
In order to meet the increasing demands of modern production, it is important to find the right balance between machine efficiency and optimizing delivery reliability without losing sight of innovative strength. At EJOT, for example, several thousand customer-related orders have to be coordinated simultaneously in different steps and across several plants and subcontractors . Manual and paper-based handling of the countless processes on the shop floor inevitably leads to enormous time losses and many errors in processing and poses major challenges for production and internal logistics.
"Our management decided on a global roll-out because the solution with INDUTRAX software and Quuppa technology worked so well even at our toughest production site in Tambach-Dietharz, a building densely built with metal."
Christoph Peter
HO Operational Excellence Digital at EJOT
The motivation
In order to increase production efficiency, an end-to-end digital solution that tracks production orders automatically and in real time was sought for six production sites. Manual bookings were to be made redundant and search times significantly reduced thanks to mobile apps and the visualization of order movements. The automatic updating of order data and inventories as well as integration with lean manufacturing should enable error-free, faster and optimized production control. This should create seamless transparency and enable better decisions through real-time data and historical information on material flows.
The project approach
To achieve the desired success in optimizing its production processes, EJOT relied on the introduction of a digital worker guidance system based on INDUTRAX PRODUCTTRACKER in addition to SAP PP. With this software solution, production and logistics processes were digitalized and automated - and as a result, errors were significantly reduced and non-value-adding activities significantly shortened.
The solution with INDUTRAX
By integrating the INDUTRAX PRODUCTTRACKER into the existing system landscape with seamless integration to SAP, EJOT was able to ensure seamless collection and visualization of real-time data on production and logistics orders as part of digital production monitoring. The order data is automatically transferred from SAP PP and merged with the position data of the tags from the Quuppa RTLS and the GPS trackers in the INDUTRAX software platform.
Thanks to the reliable preparation of position data using contextual information from the digital shadow of the factory, order movements can be continuously tracked and automatic bookings in SAP can be controlled directly by the application. Using PRODUCTTRACKER's no-code programming tools, managers can intuitively automate events such as shipping notifications or order blocking without programming knowledge, reducing workload and making administrative tasks more efficient.
The result:
- The digitalization of order tracking has enabled EJOT to significantly increase the transparency of its processes.
- By reducing the sources of error, non-value-adding activities such as search times have been significantly reduced.
- The solution supports sound data-based decisions that optimize material flow and enable efficient worker management.
"Previously, our employees had to navigate through the labyrinth of production, which led to delays and wrong decisions. Now, the INDUTRAX system provides a digital map that shows the positions of orders and materials in real time, so you know the direct route to efficiently reach your destination. By flashing the order you are looking for, it is immediately clear where you need to go. This makes it much easier for us to complete our daily tasks!"
Christoph Peter
HO Operational Excellence Digital at EJOT
The solution design
The introduction of digital worker guidance and automation of process documentation based on the INDUTRAX PRODUCTTRACKER application, supplemented by SAP, leads to comprehensive digitalization of production processes and logistics on the Shop Floor.
The following technologies and systems were integrated:
Tablets and desktop PCs
Digital worker guidance through browser interfaces and mobile apps:
Orders to be processed are displayed on various end devices such as tablets, smartphones and desktop PCs in list and map views in the user interfaces of the PRODUCTTRACKER and the INDUTRAX mobile apps. Real-time information on positions and processing status enables workers to act quickly and avoid unnecessary routes and errors.
RTLS Tags &
GPS Tracker
Equipping the containers for order transports for automatic location tracking:
The containers used for order transportation have been equipped with Quuppa-certified BLE tags from BlueUp or GPS trackers from Teltonika, enabling end-to-end transparency for orders in the production process. Pick-to-light functions visually guide employees to the right orders so that they can react quickly and efficiently and avoid unnecessary search times.
RTLS infrastructure
Indoor location tracking with Quuppa RTLS in the building:
The relevant areas within the production halls were equipped with a network of Quuppa RTLS locators, which enable the automatic detection of the locations of BLE tags. Thanks to the seamless integration of this infrastructure into the INDUTRAX software, a high level of reliability of the position information is achieved and the automation of work processes is supported.
SAP S/4 HANA
Automatic data synchronization with the SAP PP production control system:
In exchange with the production planning and control system (SAP PP), employees have direct access to the order master data, such as order prioritizations or the current status. The material movements recorded by the RTLS are used to automatically trigger postings in SAP. This supports optimized process handling, error prevention is promoted and operational decisions can be made more effectively.
The result and the outlook
With the introduction of the INDUTRAX PRODUCTTRACKER, EJOT achieved the following results:
- Optimized overview of the status of orders in production
- Continuous increase in throughput in production
- Search times reduced by 75% thanks to digital order management
- Automatically full transparency of production processes
- Optimal use of resources to increase efficiency
- Avoiding errors through precise order tracking
The PRODUCTTRACKER provides EJOT with a much better overview of the order status and replaces manual documentation steps with an automated solution. By recording process data, non-value-adding working times could be reduced and throughput increased. EJOT plans to roll out PRODUCTTRACKER globally in the future and also integrate data from subcontractors in order to further increase transparency throughout the entire supply chain and realize the goal of "Industry 4.0".
Key data and facts about the company.
Locations worldwide
Turnover
Employees
Orders at the same time
"We initially focused on the digitalization of use cases around finding orders, as this was the biggest pain point for us on the Shop Floor. But this is just the beginning, and we expect to reap huge benefits from location-aware solutions in the future. ... We can use data to assess the quality of our products and make automatic bookings by integrating Location Aware solutions with our ERP system."
Christoph Peter
HO Operational Excellence Digital at EJOT
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 customized solutions and digital tools such as the INDUTRAX PRODUCTTRACKER can increase your efficiency, reduce errors and relieve your employees? I would be happy to advise you and show you how we can take your production to a new level.
Simply fill out the contact form and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Dr. Andreas Schürzinger
Principal Consultant IoT
