Hamburg Port Achieves Positive Results in the First Nine Months
16. November 2021
At the CNA Logistics Forum, the focus was on sustainability and resilience
17. November 2021
Bühler – Franz Haas Waffelmaschinen GmbH, the world market leader in waffle machines, has digitized and completely reorganized its critical warehouse processes at its headquarters in Leobendorf with the Warehouse Execution System ZetesMedea. Within just 8 weeks, productivity was increased by up to 80 percent, leading to a short-term payback. Incoming goods inspections, storage and relocation, order picking, and inventory management are now digitally controlled with a seamless and user-friendly solution. Time-consuming paper-based processes have been replaced with the latest technology.
(Wien/Leobendorf) Bühler – Franz Haas Waffelmaschinen GmbH specializes in machines for the production of confectionery and baked goods, particularly in the area of waffle products, and is the world market leader in this field. The company operates within a global production network of the Bühler Group. At the location in Leobendorf near Vienna, production facilities for waffle and cookie products are developed and manufactured. Across all business areas, Bühler is represented worldwide with 13,165 employees in 140 countries.
Local Service and Support
At Bühler, ZetesMedea has been integrated with the ERP system SAP, enhancing its functionality. In addition to the Warehouse Execution System (WES), the warehouse technology has also been optimized to minimize the travel distances between goods, warehouse office, and printers. Stationary computers and printers have been replaced by 17 mobile workstations equipped with mobile label printers and handhelds from Zebra. The ZetesMedea app runs on the handhelds, guiding warehouse staff safely and accurately through the processes with clear instructions. Zetes provided the hardware pre-configured.
Minimal Training, Rapid Productivity
The intuitive user interface of ZetesMedea reduces the necessary employee training to a minimum, and the practical assistance in the app allows for a significantly more flexible workforce planning – in the interest of both employees and the company.
At Bühler’s incoming goods department, around 450 items are processed daily with ZetesMedea. Another important function of the WES is in relocations, which are regularly required due to chaotic storage to optimize space. “In relocations, ZetesMedea gives us a productivity advantage of 80 percent,” calculated Thomas Krimmer, who is responsible for Supply Chain Management at Bühler. On average, efficiency has increased by at least 20 percent due to the new process. Against this background, the investment in ZetesMedea has already paid off after just a few months.
Easy to Implement and Manage
ZetesMedea also supports Bühler in conducting internal transports or picking the parts needed in production. The pick orders generated by SAP appear with storage location and quantity on the display of the handhelds and are processed step by step by the pickers.
The implementation of ZetesMedea was completed significantly faster than expected, in just eight weeks. “The execution went flawlessly through all project stages. I have rarely experienced a service provider that worked as well and reliably as Zetes,” emphasizes Krimmer.
Photo: © Bühler Group
