PEAK Delivers Real Time SAP Inventory Visibility For York International in US & Mexico Plants … Simultaneously
PEAK Technologies, an RR Donnelley company (NYSE:RRD), worked with York International, one of the largest independent suppliers of heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) equipment in the United States, to implement a second generation radio frequency (RF) system and SAPConsole transactions to provide real time inventory visibility and accurately track material locations. PEAK provided simultaneous installation, training, and support at three of York's residential and light commercial division plants, making it possible for all three sites to go live on the same day as SAP.
York had implemented a first generation RF system that interfaced with a legacy ERP system in its Wichita, Kansas; Norman, Oklahoma; and Apadoca, Mexico facilities. With the company's move to SAP R/3 v.4.7, they contracted with PEAK to upgrade the RF system with the goal of improving transaction efficiency and taking full advantage of SAP's capabilities. York selected PEAK Technologies due to the fact it not only provided SAPConsole transaction development, installation, training, and support but could also assist with defining the SAP configuration of the Warehouse Management (WM) and Production Planning (PP) modules.
"The new RF system automatically captures the location of all material during the putaway operation so replenishers no longer have to spend time searching," said Linda Dexter, Materials Supervisor for York. "The new RF system's seamless integration with SAP means that we know exactly what we have on hand at any instant, making it possible to reduce inventory levels."
PEAK installed an 802.11b RF infrastructure using Cisco wireless access points and LXE MX3X vehicle mount computers. In developing the RF transactions, the PEAK team leveraged the functionality inherent within the SAPConsole development environment whenever possible. Some SAP transactions simply needed to be modified while other transactions did not exist within the SAPConsole offering and had to be developed. Every transaction updates the SAP database in real time, providing enterprise-wide verification and visibility. The implementation of the RF transactions allows York to operate SAP transactions nearly without paper, which provides substantial timesavings and cost reductions.
"SAP and the new SAPConsole RF system have substantially improved warehouse efficiency," Dexter said. "Everyone in the organization, from planners to schedulers to supervisors to purchasing agents, has complete visibility to see exactly what we have and where it is at any given moment in time. This knowledge helps us move material more quickly through the plant, which helps us avoid production downtime while increasing productivity and reducing inventory. The ability of the new system to store the location of material speeds up the replenishment operation by eliminating the time spent previously looking for the right items. PEAK not only configured and installed our wireless system, they made substantial improvements to our SAP configuration, by adding the ability to cross-reference old and new part numbers. They did everything we asked them to and came back to us with additional ideas to improve our operations," Dexter concluded.
"Going live with SAP and RF at the same time at three different facilities is no easy task. The success of this project is a testament to the great working relationship that existed throughout the project between PEAK and York," said Adrian Thomas, president and CEO of PEAK Technologies.
About PEAK Technologies
PEAK Technologies, an RR Donnelley company, is an international provider of automatic identification and data collection (AIDC) systems, enterprise mobility solutions and ongoing service and support. PEAK's primary applications include solutions for warehousing, manufacturing, distribution and field-based operations. PEAK's market leadership and strong financial management provide stability and assurance that solutions are delivered with long-term support. Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland (USA), PEAK Technologies has more than 800 employees with locations throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information, visit www.peaktech.com, e-mail info@peaktech.com, or call PEAK at (888) 275-7325.