Spicer Off-Highway Systems drives production with IBS
How does a manufacturer of products and systems for vehicles move into a higher gear of productivity? For Spicer Off-Highway Systems, an integrated ERP solution with IBS Dynamic Warehouse Management software provided the power.
Company background
US-based Dana Corporation is a global leader in the design, engineering and manufacture of value-added products and systems for automotive, commercial and off-highway vehicles. The corporation includes some 330 companies located in 32 countries, employing 59,000 people.
Spicer Off-Highway Systems, based in Brugge, Belgium, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dana Corporation. The Spicer Group serves its customers through facilities and research and development operations in the US, Belgium, Brazil, China, India, Italy and the UK.
The Belgian operation is responsible for the development and production of power-shift transmissions and electronic control systems for off-road vehicles. Typical products are units for cranes and multi-terrain forklifts that are used in major earthmoving and mining operations. Customers include JI Case, Kalmar, Liebherr, JLG, Manitou, Caterpillar, Hyundai, Samsung and Daewoo.
Spicer's Belgian operation employs 540 people and expects sales in excess of EUR 100 million in 2004.
Business issues
Spicer needed to grow, and the biggest bottleneck was warehouse management. The old system caused numerous problems. Sometimes parts arrived at the wrong locations or disappeared completely. It was often difficult to establish which parts were needed, where they were located and in which quantity.
Spicer decided to implement a new system that would combine a job shop environment and production cells, placed alongside two work-in-progress (WIP) warehouses. Finished products could then be brought to the assembly lines on demand.
One of the main objectives for Spicer was integration with its existing systems.
The proposed new solution needed to be completely incorporated into the company's current logistics system. Moreover, Spicer wanted to optimize the capacity of locations in its warehouses and make the best possible use of its existing equipment, consisting of two stacker cranes and AGVs.
To add to these benefits, Spicer needed a system that could work autonomously, with 100 percent reliability. It had to be flexible to accommodate future changes and enhancements.
Furthermore, the new solution had to be simple and user-friendly, with seamless links to Spicer's existing production facility.
Thanks to IBS Dynamic Warehouse Management, our shop floor throughput increased with 40% without the need to change hardware in the automated warehouses.
Hubert Lepoudre
Manufacturing Manager
Spicer Off-Highway Systems
Solution and capabilities
After considering a number of suppliers, Spicer decided that IBS Dynamic Warehouse Management software offered the right solution and provided the best fit for the company's objectives.
IBS Dynamic Warehouse Management is a highly advanced stand-alone warehouse management system. Its complete range of functional capabilities offers a flexible interface for both automatic material handling equipment and administrative business systems. The standard system includes palletizing receipt and storage of stock, picking, retrieval and dispatch.
IBS Dynamic Warehouse Management opens up a multitude of possibilities for Spicer to configure its stock-keeping units (SKUs), which are stored in locations and moved by resources, through the execution of simple tasks.
When it comes to receiving, IBS Dynamic Warehouse Management takes care of inventory creation, quality inspection and put-away in Spicer's warehouse (WIP and finished products). The solution also supports several put-away strategies, dependent on the characteristics of the SKUs, logistics units and locations available in the warehouse. For Spicer, the cross-docking capability is critical when goods arrive in the warehouse on a just-in-time basis.
IBS Dynamic Warehouse Management's outbound activities include picking for Assembly, packing, shipping and work order management. The system ensures accurate inventory and resource utilization, and all transactions are monitored to ensure full traceability with the option to produce statistics on activities.
Benefits and value
Spicer is very happy with its choice of IBS.
The concept of job shop environment and production cells, which is seen as a 'workshop within a workshop', has encouraged better team spirit among the workforce and has dramatically improved quality control.
IBS Dynamic Warehouse Management's integration with Spicer's existing system has meant that parts no longer arrive at the wrong locations or, even worse, fail to arrive at all. The optimization of runtimes has resulted in cranes being far more effective, resulting in reduced operational costs and increased productivity.
The fact that the IBS solution can work with complete autonomy is a huge benefit to Spicer, as it ensures a high degree of reliability. IBS was able to make optimal use of Spicer's existing infrastructure and, with an eye on the future, has also satisfied the company's main objective – an environment for growth.
IBS Dynamic Warehousement Management has led to a considerable improvement in job satisfaction for the people who use the system at Spicer. As a result, the company is expecting a 30-40 percent increase in throughput. With IBS software installed, Spicer is on the right track.
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