Customer Use Case: Operating resources without clear cost centre allocation

In our new “Use Cases” series we want to regularly present best practice examples from our customers. This time we will show you how our customer solved his problems with operating resources without clear cost centre allocation using TeDaLoS sensors.

The Problem: cross-departmental material consumption, unclear cost centre responsibility
Materials that are required across departments, often even consumed throughout the company, cannot be clearly assigned to one person responsible for procurement and storage.
Example: Copy paper is needed in the production process, in warehouse and shipping logistics, in the office area and often as part of the finished product. So who is responsible for consumption control, storage and replenishment? Responsibility for replenishment is often found in the IT department (since the printing equipment requires paper), or in the administration office (since this is where the envelopes are selected and procured, for example) or in maintenance (as part of the responsibility for facility management).
The same applies to washroom hygiene materials, grit, de-icing and oil absorbing agent, etc. Mostly delivered on pallets, often uncontrolled transferred from pallet to place of consumption. This creates stressed situations of responsibility: the maintenance warehouse should have stock, IT should have replenished and the production department runs into „out of stock“ for paper not being able to print production orders.

This leads to “maverick buying”, which causes even more costs and intransparency. (Definition: Maverick buying is the “procurement outside standardised procurement channels”).
No accurate consumption recording and co chance to act in case of unnatural peaks. Physical annual inventory countings block personnel resources and operations. In times of COVID19 the order point determination by external personnel on site is not desired or prevented. Digital information on orders does not reflect the consumption patterns.

The Solution: TeDaLoS intelligent sensor units
Wireless sensor units are retrofitted to the storage position, e.g. a central stock for palletized goods, but keeps logistics and inbound deliveries untouched. The virtual association of sensor unit to article and storage location is done remotely and can be changed at any time. Training of personnel is not required. The automatic monitoring of content quantities with piece-wise accuracy now makes automatic inventory management possible. The sensor units remain mobile and can be repositioned if necessary. The digital measured values of the current stock level transferred without manual operation and wirelessly to the TeDaLoS cloud software several times a day. The stock level can be viewed online without the procurer having to physically check stock levels and withdrawals on site. The cloud also displays historical charts via smartphone or PC. Defined threshold values trigger online reorder requests.

The Result: Process cost reduction, material availability improvement
The consumption of C-parts and material allocated to „Administrative overheads“ is automatically detected by sensors and stored online as digital information. The purchaser can digitally view the material storage locations distributed within the company. Order needs are recognised at an early stage and collective orders are made easier. Below a self-defined minimum level, an additional alarm notification is sent which contains all important data for reordering. This way, urgent requirements are no longer overlooked. Standard interfaces in IT systems ensure that the theoretical inventory data in Enterprise Resource Planning Systems is adjusted. Intermediate inventory counting is now available online at the push of a button and without manual counting. Manual processes have been reduced, consumption history became transparent. Material availability has been improved through early recognition of demand and procurement costs could clearly be cut.

If you have a similar problem, have a look at our 2-month test packages!