Customized re-usable transport assets are a feature of many manufacturing supply chains to ensure that components reach assembly lines in correct condition and orientation to allow quick and unimpeded assembly. In many instances such transport assets have limited availability due to their high cost.
To ensure uninterrupted assembly / production the movement of these assets within the supply chain must be carefully managed. Assembly can be hampered not by lack of components but due to the unavailability of re-usable transport assets in the correct place to allow transportation.
The solution uses RFID enablement of the assets to track and trace components between suppliers and assembly sites and to give complete visibility within the supply chain to ensure continuous assembly line production.
The solution uses the hardware/software combination of the In-Vehicle Computer (IVC), providing reader control and GPRS communications, together with the Mobile Data Link Controller for the receiving end of the GPRS link. The data collected by the DLC is forward to an Asset Management database which can be hosted or a standalone solution. This in turn provides real-time web-based reports of asset locations and numbers.
Problems addressed by this solution:
This solution allows manufacturing and assembly operations to optimize the availability of high value re-usable transport assets whilst ensuring they are in the correct place within the supply chain to avoid any hold up in the manufacturing and assembly process. The use of RFID ensures that no manual resources are employed in the collection of location data and that automated management by exception can generate necessary alerts.