Johannesburg, 11 Oct 2005
Mondi Packaging South Africa has restructured to improve overall business efficiency, while concurrently bringing its warehouse technology systems in line with best practices to support its efforts.
The new technology underpinning its warehouse operation gives the company a single, standardised mobile scanning system integrated directly into its JD Edwards business software, improving stock control and vehicle turnaround times.
"The solution we designed and deployed in conjunction with RangeGate has primarily enabled all group members using JD Edwards to apply the same business rules through a common connection to a shared back-end system that allows us to analyse the service performance, provide a centralised support infrastructure and improve our overall business efficiency through a common vision," says Peter Carr, project manager at MPSA.
The new system has overcome a number of issues with the older technology, delivering business benefits, many of which had a direct impact on the bottom line:
* User-friendly system with good user acceptance;
* Faster information gathering and delivery;
* More accurate data collection;
* Provide centralised support;
* Standardised business rules; and
* A common connection to the enterprise software.
Carr and his team understood that systems in place at the Cartonboard division were inadequate for the new business. They realised that although RangeGate had supplied them with the solution, the paper company had chosen not to go with some of its recommendations at the time of implementation. "We had given cost savings a higher significance and as a result not implemented the correct solution," says Carr.
Mondi Cartonboard had been using Intermec DOS-based mobile scanning devices, which were no longer supported. The business application was based on outdated technology and the division experienced response time and reliability issues.
Mondi`s Corrugated division had used Symbol DOS-based mobile scanning devices with a JD Edwards One World connection, and support for the devices was about to end.
"We were unhappy with the existing systems and we decided to deploy the best possible integrated and standardised system to support our business," says Carr.
That new system is based on RangeGate`s MOBILE-EDGE software and gives the paper company the response times it seeks and delivers the necessary business rules to the warehouse floor, where WAREHOUSE-EDGE, a component of RangeGate`s mobile software suite, is in use.
Warehouse workers now use Symbol MC9060 mobile scanning devices with the Lorax scan engine; Symbol AP4131 access points provide wireless 802.11 connectivity; and Microsoft SQL Server databases on multiple servers provide offline data management and business rules.
"We understood the RangeGate technology and one of the major factors in choosing the company as a supplier was that it is a large business with many reference sites. We have experience working with RangeGate and when we gave the company a second chance it delivered for us," says Carr. "The RangeGate consultant, Nicole Trevisan, understood our business from her previous work with us and that was a major plus. Between her and Bennie le Roux, our responsible business analyst, they developed a good solution for us and the implementation was extremely successful."
Mondi did not dive into the implementation following its design, but ran a pilot project at its Dolphin warehouse in Johannesburg. "We had good support from RangeGate in developing and debugging the system at our test site. By the time we went live in our warehouse environment, a crucial component of our business, the transition was smooth due to the exhaustive testing and debugging," says Carr.
RangeGate supported Mondi during the implementation process. "Although the company does not have unlimited resources, when push came to shove it came to the party and gave us the time we needed to sort out the implementation," says Carr. "I know it is under pressure to deliver for its own business and to be fair its people delivered on their promises and gave us the solution on time."
RangeGate supplied all the hardware, software and services that Mondi required.
"The technology is state-of-the-art and although we had a number of problems, RangeGate has been good at resolving them," says Carr.
Mark Lilje, MD of RangeGate, says: "We had a number of clearly defined project goals at the outset and working in conjunction with the professional team from Mondi we managed to achieve all of these. The system has proven a success due to the right choices being followed through, with dedication from both teams."
The initial objectives, which were achieved, are:
* Common functionality between group members, enabling a supportable backbone;
* Immediate updates of transactions into JD Edwards, with cached updates should connectivity be lost or delayed;
* Transaction confirmations do not exceed three seconds, assuming that LAN and WAN connectivity are not an issue, providing the ability to complete transactions faster and improve turnaround times of vehicles and stock;
* Offline mode is available for all processes, offering radio frequency (RF) or docking station connection. RF is the default; and
* The software is hardware-independent, enabling Mondi to change it at any time.
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