As an business that generates trillions of {dollars} in gross sales and employs tens of millions globally, the chemical business is ubiquitous in terms of merchandise and know-how. Adapting to the ever-increasing competitors, ever-evolving regulatory setting, and ever-changing buyer wants has turn out to be an apparent problem for any chemical enterprise. Irrespective of how established a chemical firm is, a well-organized stock monitoring system is irreplaceable for its success.
A number one participant within the world chemical business that has operations in 36 international locations and produces 6 kinds of chemical compounds not too long ago remodeled its stock monitoring operations right into a digital monitoring system to maintain up. Allow us to take a look at their transformation story.
The Challenges They Confronted
This chemical firm was utilizing returnable containers within the type of ISO and tonner tanks to soundly retailer and transport liquid and gaseous chemical compounds to their clients. This meant that they endured a reverse logistics operation of the returnable belongings from their buyer and distributor websites around the globe again to their factories, giving rise to the next challenges:
Problem #1
Lack of Management over Tank Stock
The corporate had 23,000 belongings to watch unfold throughout 210 buyer services. That they had numerous tonner tanks of their database, however they didn’t know their precise areas. As soon as a tank was delivered, they’d a number of distributors that distributed them in particular areas. Due to this fact, they’d no concept whether or not a tank can be mendacity of their facility, in a buyer’s facility, or with a marketing consultant/distributor. Moreover, tanks have been getting unintentionally exchanged with different chemical firm’s chemical tanks on the consumer location which weren’t at all times of the identical high quality as theirs. This compelled them to purchase new high-quality tanks each time a tank was exchanged, which elevated capital expenditure.
Problem #2
Lack of ability to Orchestrate Dispatches/Retrievals Effectively
Inside their very own areas, there have been a number of processes (just like the biennial audit of tanks), throughout which, the tanks couldn’t be despatched to the purchasers. This compelled them to manually reconcile the information whereas dispatching. Because the knowledge primarily based on which tanks have been to be dispatched was ready by the provision chain (SC) division, the loading division needed to seize knowledge manually within the loading space, which was then given again to the SC division, who would choose up the tanks and ship them again to the loading division. This created knowledge voids inside departments affecting efficient collaboration and orchestration.
Problem #3
Guide Logistics Information Entry
When the loading division acquired an inventory of tank stock that they needed to load onto vehicles, they’d no concept the place the tanks have been as a result of they didn’t know the precise location inside the warehouse. That they had over 2,000 stuffed tanks at their facility at any time limit. So, each time a truck docked for loading, they needed to manually seek for the tanks listed within the bill inside a big warehouse or yard to load onto the truck.
Problem #4
Incomplete Tank Information
Because the empty and stuffed tank areas have been positioned close by, a stuffed tank typically discovered itself mistakenly saved within the empty tank location. There was no technique to hold monitor of the empty/full standing of tanks mendacity at buyer areas. This elevated the chance of extra tanks getting caught at buyer areas, which induced dispatch delays, disruption of producing processes, and poor buyer expertise. It was additionally inflicting overstocking of tanks, which locked up their working capital. They wanted a system to know the tank standing — whether or not it was empty/stuffed — other than the tank’s location at buyer areas.
Problem #5
Underutilization of Automobile Capability
With out correct knowledge concerning the location of tanks, vehicles weren’t getting used to their most capability. As an example, when a truck went to select up empty tanks from one buyer, and so they had solely two empty tanks, the truck would solely carry two tanks from a buyer location to their very own facility though it had the capability to backhaul extra from one other buyer location close by.
These challenges led to a labor-intensive, inefficient provide chain operation across the administration of tank stock.
They Evaluated RFID to Clear up It, However to No Avail
The chemical firm tried fixing it utilizing RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags, which concerned computerized scanning of the tonner tanks. The issue with RFID nevertheless was the in depth infrastructure it required and the shortage of accuracy. The heavy infrastructure necessities of RFID within the type of readers, antennas, LAN, and Wi-Fi additional restricted its use outdoors their very own services. Furthermore, putting in this infrastructure throughout 210 buyer services even with out accounting for the upkeep facet, would have taken years.
Due to this fact, they began searching for modern options and visibility specialists to implement a dependable stock monitoring system, and that’s when Roambee got here into the image.
And Then Roambee Introduced within the Proper Resolution
Roambee got here in as a whole package deal from sensors to knowledge actionability, enabling them to save lots of effort and time in managing their returnable asset stock higher. It provided them options to the issues they have been trying to repair for years.
Resolution #1
Higher Stock Administration with Actual-time Sensors
With Roambee’s stock monitoring system utilizing infrastructure-less choices like its BeeTrac or utilizing its BeeBeacon-based Bluetooth Low Vitality (BLE) know-how, they have been in a position to get real-time location knowledge with none of the hassles of RFID installations. They have been in a position to bodily find the tonner tanks that have been of their database and handle their stock higher throughout their very own and buyer areas with ease.
Estimated Impression: RFID would have value them $3,000 per location to put in whereas Roambee did it at a fraction of the price because of its infrastructure-light and infrastructure-less know-how choices. Additional, set up and maintenance-related web site visits throughout the 210 buyer areas have been eradicated.
Resolution #2
Actual-time Dispatch/Retrieval Stock Lists
Actual-time location of the stock at their very own facility and at their buyer areas, with out counting on anybody for scanning, allowed this chemical big to handle massive volumes of dispatches and retrievals successfully. Realizing the placement of empty and full tanks at an general site-level enabled them to cut back loading instances.
Estimated Impression: Particular person hours & detention diminished considerably because of 0 situations of looking for inventory previous to loading.
Resolution #3
Computerized Information Seize and Dispatch Analytics
With real-time location and stock lists, they might now segregate the tanks that have been due for high quality checks upfront and ensure that these particular ones weren’t dispatched to a consumer location. With Roambee knowledge they know when the final filling was performed and which tanks cleared the 48-hour monitoring interval, simplifying lengthy and convoluted processes.
Estimated Impression: Throughout the first 3 months of the implementation, there have been no situations of stock mix-ups.
Resolution #4
Actual-time Tank Fill Standing Alerts
Roambee’s real-time location and situation sensing knowledge enabled the estimation of tank standing modifications mechanically even at buyer areas, and if a stuffed tank was nonetheless within the empty tank storage space, the system flagged it. These well timed warnings not solely helped scale back delays in dispatch but in addition helped get rid of doable hazards.
Additional, the brand new stock monitoring system helped create a course of the place the chemical firm might mechanically get an inventory of all of the tanks with high quality checks upcoming inside the subsequent 6 months, and their real-time areas to allow them to control tanks that aren’t quality-checked but. When a tank is to be transported, the rule is to have it stuffed 48 hours in monitoring so that you’re conscious if there may be any leakage or likelihood of leakage.
Estimated Impression: Common dispatch delays had a direct value affect, which the brand new resolution eradicated. It additionally helped optimize tank stock, saving 1000’s of {dollars} in working capital. Moreover, they might doubtlessly endure buyer dissatisfaction and model affect which one can’t place a price on.
Resolution #5
Actual-time Dashboards to Optimize Automobile Utilization
Roambee’s knowledge and dashboards enabled them to verify if there have been empty tanks with different clients at close by services that may very well be picked and loaded within the remaining area out there on a truck. This helped optimize truck capability utilization and save journeys.
Estimated Impression: Even a ten% enchancment in truck utilization reduces your transport value considerably if you find yourself spending tens of millions of {dollars} in simply transport charges.
The Strategic Impression on Enterprise
With Roambee’s tank stock monitoring resolution, the chemical firm was not solely in a position to save guide scanning time and get rid of human errors, however additionally they digitalized their tonner & tank administration with real-time stock areas, empty/stuffed tank alerts, computerized knowledge seize, and helpful analytics.
The answer remodeled the best way this chemical big handled its stock, serving to them make extra knowledgeable and assured selections.
Many chemical enterprises at the moment are realizing the rising significance of digitalizing their stock monitoring programs and specializing in higher, extra correct, and simply accessible knowledge. That is only the start of the transformation of the chemical business utilizing infrastructure-light or infrastructure-free visibility applied sciences.
The good transfer to remain aggressive is to affix the digitalization brigade early and be proactive in lowering prices and errors that would value you massive!
