"easyMITS" - The instrument in your own hand

Elsta Mosdorfer

Location

Styria

Technologies used

Barcodes and easyMITS Connectivity-Software

Devices used

Mobile Computers

Elsta Mosdorfer has been successfully active in the areas of electrical power distribution and industrial control and automation technology since 1972. In the warehouse of the innovative electrical engineering company, the complex processes could now be optimised with the help of mobile data capture devices and the "easyMITS" software from Barcotec.

Elsta Mosdorfer Mitarbeiter mit mobilem Computer

Order picking made simple

With about 90 employees, Elsta Mosdorfer develops and manufactures cabinet systems for the global energy industry. In Kaindorf/Sulm and Trumau, glass-fibre reinforced enclosures, cable distribution cabinets with accessories, meter distribution cabinets as well as complete systems that meet the highest quality requirements are produced. Since 2010, charging stations for electric cars and e-bikes have also been manufactured in Kaindorf/Sulm.

For example, if such a charging station is to be produced, the picking process is accompanied by the new data capture solution from Barcotec. All the individual parts required for production are barcoded and waiting in the warehouse to be used. As soon as the charging station is to be built, "easyMITS" fetches the production order via wireless LAN to the mobile terminal of an Elsta Mosdorfer employee. The production order is a parts list of the articles to be picked.

The employee collects the articles that appear on the mobile device and confirms the removal from the warehouse by scanning the respective barcodes. If the terminal shows that all the required items have been collected, all the parts go to the transfer warehouse where they are picked up by production for assembly.

The big differenceElsta Mosdorfer can decide for herself which information is shown to the employee on the display of the device during this process and how exactly the scans affect the ERP system Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Navision). They work with the software "easyMITS", which defines the connection between the scanning activities and the bookings in the ERP system and allows them to design the display surface as they wish.

Logistics Manager at Elsta Mosdofer, explains step by step: "First we determine what we want to achieve with a process, for example the rebooking of an item as soon as it is scanned. Then we decide which fields or information should be visible for this on the mobile device. And finally, we connect these fields with our ERP system, we define which action on the mobile device should have which effect in Navision."

"The great thing is that we don't have to programme all these decisions, we just have to configure them," Johannes Resch, IT Manager at Elsta Mosdorfer, is pleased to say, "that makes a very big difference!" - A difference that Barcotec consciously places a lot of emphasis on, as Alexander Rainsberger, Managing Director of Barcotec, explains: "With our "easyMITS" configurator, our customers can easily decide for themselves what their masks should look like and what connections there are to the ERP system. The great advantages are simplicity and flexibility. The processes can be easily adapted to the individual needs of a company. Later changes are also easy to make, without great programming skills or external help. We don't make our customers dependent on us, but give them the tool themselves."

And this tool shows its effect, as Harg confirms: "The configurator is very clear, it is quick to learn how to change processes with it. It was easy and comfortable to create the desired masks." Resch then used SQL statements to store the connections of the processes to the ERP system.

Elsta Mosdorfer Mitarbeiter auf Gabelstapler mit mobilem Computer

Honestly IndispensableThe Skorpio from the manufacturer Datalogic was chosen as the mobile terminal. In a short test phase, the devices had already convinced with their outstanding scanning performance. The numeric keypad, a large display and WLAN capability were particularly important in the selection of the terminals. "The fact that we can transmit online via wireless LAN means that the booking appears immediately in our merchandise management system," says Harg, pleased with his now up-to-date data.

Before we made our decision, we showed the Skorpio to our staff. Already at that time and then also in real operation, the terminals were accepted very quickly. We realised after a short time how indispensable the mobile terminals had become. Our employees know exactly how much support the mobile devices with "easyMITS" give them.

"I can always get in touch with our Barcotec supervisor if I need anything. At Barcotec, I'm not an anonymous customer but know the project staff quite well by now," Resch smiles, "Our cooperation couldn't be better, the support has always worked very well and when we need help, we get it promptly from Barcotec!"

Elsta Mosdorfer would also not want to do without Barcotec as a partner any more. For the company, it is important in a partner that there is a contact person who is also always available.

Advantages without endThe concrete advantages of the barcode solution with "easyMITS" are obvious to Elsta Mosdorfer: the automation brought enormous savings in time and money shortly after implementation. The data status in the ERP system is more accurate than ever - on the one hand due to the elimination of error sources in manual lists, and on the other hand due to the real-time bookings, which are made promptly in the ERP system thanks to the online transfers of all activities.

At the moment, many important warehouse processes have been implemented with "easyMITS", but by no means all of them. In addition to order picking, transfer and correction bookings as well as stocktaking are currently carried out with the mobile solution. In the future, the system will be continuously expanded: Goods receipt and dispatch will be put into operation in the next few weeks, while permanent inventory is already being planned. So further time and cost savings will not be long in coming!