The Kanban shelf goes digital

In manufacturing companies, there are often hundreds or even thousands of parts that are kept in stock at various storage locations in production. With i-Terminal, long search times are finally a thing of the past - in view of rising customer requirements and increasing dynamics and volatility, these aspects are all the more important. From now on, customers will benefit from a digitalized Kanban shelf, the occupancy of which can be called up directly on a separate monitor. The intelligent i-Terminal is therefore primarily an impressive digital information board that manufacturing companies will be able to interact with quickly, easily and directly at the storage location in future.

The system is characterized by a user-friendly interface and combines all functions relating to the Kanban shelf with full transparency. Crucial information at item level and, in particular, the exact location of certain C-parts within the Kanban racks can be called up in just a few seconds. Where is the item you are looking for? How many bins are there for it and are they currently on site or on order? When will the next bins be filled or delivered? At which other storage locations is the required item located?

Simplified search

In combination with a digital shelf label, the i-Display, the search function is made as easy as possible and is also visually supported. Operation is extremely simple: search, select, find and remove. As soon as the customer selects a specific item using the search function on the monitor, the i-Display lights up at the corresponding storage location. The two systems communicate via their own wireless data connection, which means that customers do not have to rely on a separate network.

Instead of using the search function via the monitor, there is also the option of using a connected barcode scanner. By scanning the barcode, you can immediately see on which shelf level and in which bin the item you are looking for is located. This means that i-Terminal scores above all by significantly reducing search times and eliminating unnecessary walking, freeing up time for value-adding activities. Above all, however, maximum transparency is achieved - with all the necessary information at a glance across different storage locations and several Kanban racks. The new i-Terminal is currently being used by selected customers as part of the pilot phase.

Perfect interaction with the i-Display

The i-Display uses an LED signal to show where the goods required for the next work step are located. © Niclas Streib/Würth Industrie Service

As a comprehensive C-Parts partner, Würth Industrie Service attaches great importance to the further development of proven systems. This is also the case with the i-Display. In future, a printed shelf label can be replaced by a digital shelf label that functions completely autonomously at the storage location. By automatically updating the system in the event of fundamental changes to master data or filling status, customers are always up to date.

The i-Terminal makes particular use of the extended "Search" and "Pick" functionalities. The networked systems can not only be used to initiate a search via the i-Terminal - Search - but also specifically for picking using "Pick by Light". In future, the i-Display will use an LED signal to show where the goods required for the next work step are located. Another starting point for optimization is the connection of the customer's merchandise management system to the i-Terminal. Here, pick lists can be transferred from the customer and called up on the i-Terminal so that they can then be picked via the i-Displays. Manual intervention is no longer necessary.

Secure replenishment - Automated

The new i-Terminal achieves maximum efficiency in combination with the intelligent RFID Kanban system solutions from Würth Industrie Service. RFID enables radio-controlled data transmission directly from the customer's production facility to Würth Industrie Service's central warehouse. Thanks to the automated and demand-oriented reordering of production materials, industrial companies benefit from maximum supply and delivery reliability.

The basis for this is always a Kanban container, in the case of Würth Industrie Service the patented Würth small load carrier W-KLT 2.0, which is available in various sizes in accordance with the VDA standard and is equipped with an RFID tag as standard. Each transponder can be identified by a unique number for data security. In the goods issue process, the ID of the container is "married" to the respective goods issue item. The container ID can be read via the various RFID systems and transmitted to the Kanban management system for automated reordering.