#Cordless, Beep-Free Rugged Scanners Track Kitchen Furniture.

Cordless, Beep-Free Rugged Scanners Track Kitchen Furniture, Appliances & Parts

DMG recently opened a new warehouse where they store kitchen furniture, cabinets, appliances and parts for European businesses. DMG adopted a ruggedized scanning solution which allowed them to track their inventory throughout the entire warehouse.

DMG Selects Datalogic’s PowerScan™ PM8300 Industrial Bar Code Readers to Equip New Warehouse

Overview

DMG (De Mandemakers Groep) recently opened a new warehouse in Haven Zeven (Waalwijk, The Netherlands). The new facility is 43,000 square meters wide with a 15,000 square meter office area.

DMG primarily purchases, stores and sends kitchen furniture, cabinets, appliances and parts for well-known European home stores. Mandemakers Keukens, Brugman Keukens & Badkamers, Keukenconcurrent, Wooning Keuken & Badkamers, Montel, sanders Meubelstad and Piet Klerkx are several known examples of DMG’s extensive customers database.

The Challenge

At DMG’s new warehouse, there are thousands of kitchen equipment and parts to control. To optimize logistics operations, the warehouse has 50 loading docks, which increases their efficiency, yet requires sufficient equipment for each dock.

DMG contacted Vierpool, a Datalogic Quality Partner, to study their scanning equipment needs. DMG specifically needed a new solution to track and trace incoming and outgoing goods and improve stock management using bar codes and bar code readers.

When Vierpool received the request from Peter van Leijden and van der Snoek of DMG, they preformed a complete audit of all processes to understand and identify DMG’s real needs and provide them with the appropriate bar code scanning solution.

The Solution

The main criteria for DMG’s selection was the ruggedness and reliability of the bar code reader. In the past, Vierpool had provided DMG with Datalogic’s Dragon™ handheld readers, but to meet the needs of the new facility, they were required to update their hardware. DMG’s objective was to understand the complete merchandise flow and status in real-time throughout the warehouse facilities. The Dragon bar code readers were previously connected to computers on the shop floor.

The new scanners were required to have a display, operate throughout the facility, and provide the user confirmation of good-read feedback. It was also very important that the system work autonomously, without depending on a computer in the warehouse.

“DMG quickly decided upon Datalogic’s PowerScan™ PM8300 rugged handheld reader,” said Wim Gerrits, Key Account Manager Auto-ID Vierpool. “PowerScan PM8300 is part of a new generation of industrial handheld readers, replacing the Dragon. It is available in a corded model, linked to a computer, or a wireless narrow-band model, specifically Datalogic’s STAR Cordless System™. This system enables faultless and continuous roaming in the whole area.”

This industrial reader is available with or without the display and keypad, yet the display gives valuable information to the operation on the tasks previously performed. Furthermore, DMG wanted a silent scanning solution, which was provided by the reader, which featured Datalogic’s exclusive 3GL™ (3 Green Lights) technology, providing good-read feedback without a beep.

The Results

Once DMG selected the Datalogic PowerScan and the Datalogic STAR Cordless System, Vierpool began an RF study of the entire warehouse site. The first step in this study was to determine how many access points were needed and where they would have to be placed to ensure perfect coverage in all this area. After the study, it was determined that 13 access points were needed in the warehouse due to its size.

At the same time that the RF study was taking place, DMG’s IT team worked with Vierpool to complete a new software interface and programming update so that the new system would work seamlessly with DMG’s existing ERP system. The new system was very quickly installed and since operations began, hundreds of kitchens and equipment have already been scanned!

Customer

DMG (De Mandemakers Groep)