To compete in today’s build-to-order, just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing environment, plants must make every effort to reduce costs, increase efficiency and meet changing customer demand. Carrying excess inventory wastes money, space, and time. Miscalculating inventory requirements hurts a manufacturer’s bottom line and damages customer relationships. When stock of a high-value part unexpectedly runs out, equipment goes idle, production schedules slip and the consequences cascade through every link in the supply chain.

Managers constantly weigh the risks of carrying too much or not enough inventory, and they are pressed to make business-critical decisions with only incomplete or old data. Finding the right balance is an ongoing challenge. Many manufacturers strive to establish best practices for lean manufacturing.

What if you could view real-time inventory movement through your facility? Our WIP Throughput solution helps factories increase their lean production by utilising lean manufacturing RTLS (real-time location systems.) Workers spend more time building-and never run short on materials. Equipment operates on schedule and at full capacity leading to cycle time reductions, and overall production improvements.

JIT hubs provide instant, systematic replenishment. Lean manufacturing RTLS provide visibility to synchronise inventory levels with production schedules drives initiatives that enable a lean, agile supply chain. And with precise data to pinpoint exactly where processes under-perform, decision makers target improvement projects with certainty.

How WIP Throughput solutions work

The Extronics Advance WIP Throughput solution places an active RFID tag on all direct goods and components, such as parts carriers, portable storage racks and WIP subassemblies. The tags send regular, short bursts over the Wi-Fi network containing location, status and condition information. Using the MobileView software from workstations or mobile devices, workers and supervisors search for needed parts and visualise their locations on a facility map. This automated process can cut average search time to less than 1 minute and provides instant update on manufacturing line progress.

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