Kanban without the cards

Few Kanban systems are completely free from errors and weak spots: the processing of Kanban cards can be delayed; cards can sometimes be mislaid leading to very little transparency in the operation. The introduction of scanners provides only partial relief to some of these issues, not least of all because often staff will forget to scan leading to incorrect bookings being made and shelves being incorrectly replenished.

With Stocksaver, stock withdrawals no longer have to be scanned and arithmetically calculated stock levels errors are removed. Intelligent sensors on the FIFO racking give total transparency of stock levels and, thanks to the automatic call for replenishment, stock-outs and incorrect stock replenishment is excluded. The objective of the system is to halve the level of stock held line-side by reducing the traditional amount of safety stock being held there. Human errors in calling up for new material or the incorrect filling of shelves is eliminated.

By using Stocksaver, Werma says you can halve the number of FIFO racks and space required on the shop-floor. This can free up valuable floor space for other value adding activities and of course cash flow will be improved through reduced stock. Sensors can be fitted simply and quickly to any FIFO flow racking system to detect the passage of all sizes of commonly used bins. Bin movements and the requests for replenishment are automatically transmitted wirelessly giving a transparency to the stock levels in the FIFO racks. This will enable a significant reduction in the requirement for safety stocks to be held there.