The family-owned company Fritz Stiefel Industrie-Vertretungen GmbH was founded in 1962 by Fritz Stiefel and is now managed in the second generation by his sons Gerd and Rainer Stiefel. The company’s four locations in Germany and Switzerland offer products and services in the area of hydraulics and pneumatics.
Thanks to automatic replenishment management with the L-mobile RFID Kanban rack, Fritz Stiefel Industrie-Vertretungen GmbH replaces a complex and error-prone process with a lean and transparent process. Its automatic integration into the Infor ERP system also helps to reduce process costs. This facilitates easy handling of orders as well as the associated control loops in production—in real time. This means that no time is lost in the supply of materials, such as production downtimes or long order processing times.
“The reduced error rate and rapid responsiveness are key factors that influenced our decision to opt for the RFID Kanban rack,” says Marcell Singer, CFO of Fritz Stiefel Industrie-Vertretungen GmbH. “This, coupled with the highly satisfactory initial discussions, were the decisive factors for entering into collaboration with L-mobile.”
How can the ideal integration of warehouse management and production be achieved? By integrating production data collection with our digital warehouse management solution, all cross-functional activities are seamlessly represented without changes in media. The additional integration of the E-Kanban solution enables the design of fully digital and networked production processes.
| ERP system | Product | Devices |
|---|---|---|
| INFOR LN | L-mobile E-Kanban RFID in conjunction with LAN, W-LAN or 3G mobile communications | Kathrein |
Fritz Stiefel Industrievertretungen GmbH is a manufacturer and logistics service provider of products and their services in the area of hydraulic and pneumatic components. The Waiblingen-based company’s customers include companies from the automotive and mechanical engineering sectors, as well as special machinery manufacturers.
The company is regularly faced with the challenge of mastering the delivery of products to its customers. It offers its customers a Kanban rack solution with barcode scanner for small and medium-sized parts. However, there were recurring gaps in the timing of parts removal, as well as discrepancies in the timing of empty box placement in the collection area, and the retrieval of empty containers by the Stiefel logistics team. This is why Fritz Stiefel Industrie-Vertretungen GmbH was looking for a more efficient Kanban rack solution.
The goal: Dismantle the prevailing multi-bin system and replace it with a faster process, a reliable RFID Kanban rack system.
Are you planning your first steps towards paperless production? In our Digital Factory, you will experience firsthand the seamless integration of cutting-edge technologies and smart solutions within the warehouse and production— from order receipt to assembly at the lot size 1 work station to RFID-supported shipping.
In order to optimize the existing processes, Fritz Stiefel GmbH decided to develop an RFID solution together with L-mobile. The top shelf of the Kanban rack is equipped with RFID antennas. These detect the RFID tags located on the small load carriers themselves. The RFID reader, which is also attached, detects the transponder and forwards the information to the ERP system. The RFID tags attached to the small load carrier are identified in the ERP system. If a load carrier is empty, it is placed on the RFID rack shelf. The order for the missing parts is triggered in real time through the RFID tag and recorded in the Infor ERP system. This triggers replenishment for the next delivery cycle.
Depending on the requirements of Fritz Stiefel GmbH’s customers, the E-Kanban solution from L-mobile comes in two forms: In one version of the system, the small load carriers remain exclusively with the customers and are recorded at an RFID shelf with sensor technology. In a second version, the empty small load carriers are delivered to one of the Fritz Stiefel Industrie-Vertretungen GmbH locations and recorded in a central, RFID-supported empty box recording system. They trigger a new order there.
Download the case study now.
Mastering time-efficient material supply—automatically and without errors. In collaboration with Fritz Stiefel GmbH, we have successfully developed a reliable RFID solution. In our brief and concise case study, you can find out how the replenishment management works and what added value it offers for our customer.
How important are functioning replenishment processes for a company? What are the stumbling blocks in traditional replenishment management? And what added value do digital replenishment processes provide?
We discuss these and other questions in the Industry 4.0 podcast with Marcell Singer, CFO of Fritz Stiefel GmbH. It also provides an overview of the various E-Kanban solutions and an insight into the functionality of Kanban racks.
