Integrate production and logistics areas in ERP-SYSTEMS

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1 Integrate production and logistics areas in ERP-SYSTEMS Automated food production requires deep IT integration Management Summary Industry everywhere is under pressure to increase productivity: The critical factor is the effectiveness of the processes and efficiency of the resources used. This is only achievable, with regards to profitability, quality, traceability, documentation and logistics, with a high level of automation and intelligent, IT supported communications processes in production facilities in all industry sectors. ERP systems play a major role in accomplishing this when they support all business processes, without exception. The SLA Connector (SC) enables this a universal, standardized platform for the integration of modern automation and communications technology and peripherals. Custom solutions not integration 1 Who hasn t seen them, productive areas in a company, that exist outside the ERP solution and are controlled and administered by special solutions? Quantities or findings, working time and version numbers that are calculated in a spreadsheet? Scales, printers, barcode scanners that don t communicate directly with the ERP system and lead to a duplication of effort and maintenance effort? These small, makeshift solutions make the daily work routine harder. In other places, complete production lines don t allow themselves to be controlled appropriately to the workload; partially finished goods are stored without regard to quality parameters; delivery notes and accompanying documents not automatically generated and dispatched. Speed is lost out of the production process at these locations, waste and duplication of effort and unnecessary sources of error occur and disturb the normal operation.

2 Missing Hardware drivers INTERFACES AS CAUSE If you follow these imperfections back to their source, you often hear the word interfaces. Missing interfaces between different software solutions lead to duplicate data retention; the driver for printers or other peripheral devices are missing; data format between systems are incompatible or network connections cannot be set-up. Interface problems can have a myriad of causes. Sometimes the manufacturers don t want their software or hardware to openly communicate with other solutions from other providers. Other times it is old hardware or new software where the drivers do not exist. There are always technological limits, when it comes to joining systems together, often heterogeneous interfaces are developed, which hinder the communication between products from different competitors in a market. Even when everything functions as expected, individual devices and components the direct connection of some devices to the ERP system are not possible: a local, proprietary driver for each device is required. That makes central administration more difficult, as well as access to individual resources. The normal API architecture does not allow for central management, the flexible replacement of devices or the complete integration from third party systems. 2

3 Anyone who wants deep integration of their ERP system with components like automation technology, programmable logic controllers (PLC), scales, pricing machines and scientific measuring equipment, RFID technology and barcode scanners; they should look for a universal, standardized solution for their API problems. Only then can industrial companies achieve the highest standards in productivity, traceability, transparency and security. Universal Interface THE With their universal Connector the SLA has created a standardized platform for diverse interfaces, with integrated drivers for all supported devices. The standardized interface supports RFC, HTTP/SOAP and TCP/IP protocols, additional protocols can be added as required. This brings a range of benefits for the end user and his or her IT support. It allows for defective devices to be replaced within minutes, without the need to install new drivers and it doesn t even matter if the replacement hardware is from the same manufacturer or is a more powerful successor. Autonomous devices can send their data in real time. If the ERP system is currently busy, the Connector looks after the buffering of the data. This offers great advantages for scenarios using remote datacenters or for SaaS solutions. The expandable, modular design makes the integration of new devices, add-ins and device drivers easier. Central administration and configuration is another large benefit of the Connector, as is resilience. Through the sharing of resources all of the data is available to several applications or users at the same time. The Connector works as a service, which can be installed as either a virtual or physical server. The system requires very few resources: the system has a recommended specification of a multi-core processor, 4GB RAM and around 20GB storage under Windows or Linux. 3

4 Highest IT requirements SLA SPECIALISTS FOR SAP IN THE INDUSTRY Describing how the Connector works is best done through an example out of the food industry. The specialists at the SLA originally developed the standard interface for this market. Using this as the technical foundation they model and implement the processes and dialogs in the production and logistics areas of the slaughter, deboning and processing of meat. To achieve this they need to integrate specialized industrial peripheral such as Fat-O-Meter (FOM), AutoFOM and scales, RFID technologies, programmable logic controllers (PLC), scanners, label printers and pricing machines. Hundreds of devices from the leading manufacturers are supported and can be easily connected or swapped out in a few minutes. RFID Integration EXAMPLE: SLAUGHTER COMPANY One of the SLA s special strengths lies in the complete integration of modern slaughter lines with the industry modules of the market leading ERP system from SAP. The first quality data is captured at the delivery ramp, master data is automatically transferred, linked to a slaughter number. Meat hooks with integrated RFID transponders are used for traceability and to identify the exact location of a carcass at any given time during the production process. Data from the AutoFOM, Fat-O-Meter (FOM) and the scales are saved against the slaughter number. Veterinary inspection, biological findings and other process data are entered into the system by line workers through user friendly touch dialogs displayed on SLA s own P69K certified industry PCs. After the weighing the software in the background automatically calculates the internal grade which can be manually altered if necessary. A direct integration to SAP stock control allows for the transfer of the carcasses as quantities and weights. 4

5 SAP Connection The careful sorting of the hanging rails in the cool-house based on quality data is possible, as is the connection of the SAP deboning cockpit with the management of the purchasing of prime cuts. Stock movements are booked in SAP process orders just-in-time through modern graphical Adobe Flex or SAP UI5 dialogs using WebSockets. The order management has access to the current stock levels and the delivery data of batches in dispatch can be communicated to the recipient using the EDI interface, meaning that they have the information before the goods arrive. Adobe Flex dialog for an industry PC in the meat production 5

6 High demands little effort EXAMPLE: LARGE HAM PRODUCER A leading ham producer uses the ERP solution from SAP in their production and delivers goods in 23 countries. Through the SLA Connector, which is installed on a PC with a 2 core processor and 2GB RAM, around 80 label printers and 50 scales are controlled and managed. In 40 SLA developed WebDynpro dialogs the required data is exchanged between the ERP system and the process level. The balance of power and resilience are persuasive: around 4 million SAP-RFC requests, 2 million weighings and 4 million printed labels per month. Adobe Flex dialog for an industry PC in the meat production EXAMPLE: LARGE HAM PRODUCER At a well-known sausage and ham producer the SLA optimized various processes in goods receiving, the four production lines and the high bay warehouse with 20,000 container spaces and integrated them into SAP. In goods receiving four individual steps were converted into a single continuous process: with a barcode scanner data such as weight, article number, supplier and batch number are automatically captured and passed to SAP. A wrap-around label is automatically generated as documentation of the process. With the fastening of the label to the goods, they are fully traceable through the processing stations. 6

7 SAP dialogs for touch screens In the deboning area a fully automatic conveyor system for crates was installed, which are fitted with RFID transponders. The data is exchanged between the SLA Connector and SAP in order to control the conveyor system. This allows for an optimized batching, a more efficient process flow for the employees and the actual stock levels can be achieved in SAP. At a further ipoint the pieces of meat for the four processing lines come together. The quality of the ham, chops, rind and fillets are visually assessed and the information entered into a touch terminal. Before this, the quality inspector had to use up to 7 different screens to enter the information into SAP. Today he just needs to fill in a few fields in the SLA dialog. Even the ground and hanging scales have been integrated directly into SAP for over 5 years, thanks to the SLA Connector. The actual weighing data is available in real-time and can be used for further processes within the company. In Goods Receiving an industry PC captures data from the scales and a barcode scanner and presents them in a clearly laid out dialog and transferred to SAP. 7

8 Industry neutral system integration OTHER JOBS THE SAME INTERFACE The connector technology developed by the SLA is suited, through its openness, for applications in many industries and in connection with numerous ERP systems. Besides SAP projects in Microsoft Navision and the cloud based ERP solution PLEX Online have been realized. All processes, interfaces and drivers for the platform are well documented and maintenance can be carried out directly through the Internet. As specialists for the processes in meat processing and other areas of the food industry, the SLA is happy to integrate all processes in production and logistics. Solutions providers and system houses in other industries can also benefit from the advanced technologies of the SLA Connector (SC). : EXCERPT FROM THE LIST OF SUPPORTED DEVICES 8

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10 SLA The aforementioned Connector is a product of the SLA Software Logistik Artland GmbH based in Quakenbruck, Germany. The SLA has been optimizing business and production process in the food industry since Using their extensive industry knowledge, they implement and extend ERP solutions and connect them with all modern peripheral devices, including RFID systems, in the production process. SLA is the market leader in Europe for IT solutions for meat production from slaughter on. A further field of expertise is in internet platforms, such as the Meat Integrity Solution (MIS) and industry portals such as GLOBALG.A.P. as well as Field Sales Apps. A range of industry PCs and software components for third parties rounds out their offerings. SLA s customer include Bedford, Bell, Rügenwalder Mühle, SRZU/Ulmer Fleisch, VION and Westfleisch. Further information can be found at SLA Software Logistik Artland GmbH Friedrichstr. 30 D Quakenbrück Tel: +49 (0) Fax: +49 (0) info@sla.de Concept, original graphics and Layout: 10