From the sensor to the ERP
- Simpler processes
- More throughput in production
- Fewer material bottlenecks
- Lower personnel costs
- Less waste
- Integration into existing infrastructures
The future of Industry 4.0: integration and digitisation of the supply chain
Nadine Rahman and Björn Dunkel underline the key role of the digitalisation of the supply chain.
They talk about Supply Chain 4.0 where advanced analytics, automated decision-making, and the use of cloud-connected sensors come to meet the new demands of a flexible and ever-changing market.
Use Case
Replenishment control for acid and caustic tanks
In the filling plant, the reusable glass and aluminium containers are checked for damage and cleaned before filling. The cleaning is done fully automatically in a bottle washing system.
Among other things, hot caustic is used for cleaning, which is pumped from tanks to the washing plant. It must be ensured that production does not come to a standstill due to used-up hot liquor. A level sensor permanently measures the level in the tank (1).
The measured values are transferred to the IoT platform and checked against a defined minimum quantity. If the level falls below the minimum quantity, an event is triggered by the IoT platform and transferred to SFI (2). The event is mapped to an SAP business object in SFI, which is required for the automatic creation of the purchase requisition (BANF).
(3). After the order has been placed, the supplier (4) delivers the goods and the process is completed. In this case, intelligent and easy-to-integrate hardware and software digitises the process, prevents production downtimes and allows the responsible employees to concentrate on their value-adding activities.
Shop Floor Integration (SFI): the connection to SAP ERP
Intelligent automation of subsequent processes
With moneo, ifm has created a bridge between sensors and information technology. The sensor data from the production level is processed and prepared as an information basis for decisions. The events generated are used to enhance and improve supply chain processes.
SFI is a solution natively integrated in SAP which is supplied with prepared information by moneo in real time. If necessary, maintenance is automatically alerted and the necessary orders or documents are generated in the SAP system. Maintenance is scheduled in good time and supplies are available just-in-time for a smooth production process.
