Zebra Technologies has produced an out-of-the- box Material Flow Wireless Replenishment Starter Kit for companies in Europe. Replacing traditional, paper-based kanban and push systems, the automated kit supports lean replenishment, says the company.
The manufacturing refill system provides real-time visibility on the plant floor to enable rapid reaction to changes in inventory, production status and customer requests. The kit includes all the necessary hardware, software and services.
With Material Flow, a worker on the line can make a replenishment request by pushing one of the wireless request buttons; the kit’s server processes the request and the material handler then delivers the required part.
Zebra says kit its is an adaptation from large-scale manufacturing and billed as being ideal for small-tomedium size enterprises looking to implement real-time locating systems (RTLS) for the fi rst time, or for pilot tests at larger manufacturers.
According to Zebra, average benefits include: a 10% reduction in on-hand inventory; a 20% reduction in labour costs; and a 5-10% improvement in asset utilisation.