Smoothing out kinks in the supply chain
November 1st 2005

To assist the production of the BMW 3 Series at the Munich Plant, SyncroSupply controls the movements of approximately 140 trucks per day and directs them to and from the loading points.

The problem to resolve was that due to the increasing number of deliveries by truck the traffic situation within the plant was growing critical. After having been registered at the goods receiving point, the drivers moved the trucks directly to their loading points - not knowing if they would arrive there in the right order, nor if the loading point would be free.

The SyncroSupply system from SyncroTESS offers a solution to this kind of problem. SyncroSupply synchronizes the external supply and the internal needs, it harmonises the truck deliveries with the capacities of the loading points within the plant area and with the current needs of production.

Now when the truck arrives at the plant the employee has all the necessary data so that the truck has just to be registered as 'having arrived'. After this registration a communications kit is handed to the driver that consists of a pager and a transponder. Instructions to the driver are automatically transmitted from the system to the driver's pager. The driver is asked to stay at a waiting zone, if the loading point is still occupied, if a higher priority is attributed to another truck or if the truck is early for its slot. When it is the truck's turn, the pager beeps and the truck's loading point is displayed. After unloading the driver returns the pager and the transponder before leaving.

SyncroSupply optimizes the supply of material on the basis of long and medium term plans and current data. It synchronises capacities and ensures smooth running of the supply chain.

Inform, the supplier of this system is holding a seminar on Manufacturing Logistics and Synchronised Supply Chain on 8th December. For more information: www.inform-ac.co.uk/seminar.htm

More articles from Inform GMBH: