18 METTLER TOLEDO IndMagazine 2/2005

Good teamwork: Weight data and SAP solutions

The changeover of all the company’s processes to a new host system also requiredchanges in the packing area of GROHE's logistics centre in Hemer, the Sauerland.For the seamless transfer of weight values recorded at the packaging table to SAPthey chose the MT BalCo solution by METTLER TOLEDO.

has two stages, firstly, articles are pickedfrom the reserve warehouse for a particu-lar quantity of delivery tickets andgrouped into one mail shipment. Second-ly, the delivery tickets in each mail ship-ment are sorted in sequence and preparedfor delivery. Buffer conveyors move theindividual product cartons around thecarousel to the packing stations. As soonas an order is completed, a traffic lightsystems turns to green, giving the OK forthe operators at the packing table. Accu-rate control of this process is critical to thesupply chain as stoppages prevent shippersfrom collecting customer orders.

How do the weight values reach thehost system?The launch of SAP prompted Grohe toengage the support of the engineeringdepartment at METTLER TOLEDO, with

All products manufactured at the compa-nies five sites in Germany are centrallystored at this facility and then shipped todestinations around the world. The grouphas a total of nine production facilitiesmanufacturing high quality bathroomand kitchen fixtures, showers and acces-sories. For large-scale projects such assports facilities and hotels the groupalso offer waters services planning. About5,800 employees generate a turnover of890 million Euros per year, with 80 percent of this via the export market.

Optimised material flow technologysatisfies special customer require-mentsThe technology allows Hemer to meetgrowing demand for flexibility and speed.Seamless processes for order picking andpacking are particularly important - satis-

fied customers mean long-term loyalty.Optimisation in this area has allowedadaptation and expansion for new chal-lenges.

Grohe Water Technology AG supplies itsexclusively wholesale customers usingexternal shippers. The facility consists offour packing lines and five packing sta-tions where operators work a two shift sys-tem. Each operator packs many tonnes perday with one customer order weighing asmuch as twenty tonnes. With customersresisting locally held inventory demandfor smaller batches to produce hasincreased signifiantly.

The broad range of articles and everdecreasing delivery times led to the deci-sion to automate postal delivery packets ofup to 31.5kg. This order picking process

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19METTLER TOLEDO IndMagazine 2/2005

the objective of integrating all the exist-ing balances used at the facility. Cus-tomisation was necessary to ensure thatweight data flowed directly to the hostsystem and was correctly processed. Themanagers of the project at METTLERTOLEDO recommended MTBalCo. The“BAlance COnnection” links the bal-ances with the SAP packing table solu-tion and the software transfers theweight values directly to SAP. Manualdata entry has become a thing of thepast, packing operators create pick or-ders and operate the scale exclusivelythrough the SAP interface. With MTBalCo working in the background as atask notification programme.

MT project management views itself as aresponsible partner providing supportand advice not only in the launch andimplementation phases but after sales aswell. “The great thing is that we nowhave a contact partner for all questionsabout software and balances below theSAP system. That simplifies processesenormously," says Erwin Speizer, head oftechnology and projects at Grohe. Ordersare planned and collected in the SAPbatch run, whilst order picking in thecomputer directs the products of respec-tive orders to the packing lines.

Small packages are automatically rout-ed to the packing stations, ultimatelybound for parcel services. Large ordersweighing over 31.5kg are loaded into

skeleton boxes and delivered to the pack-ing tables by forklift. Operators open thepacking mask with the correspondingorder on the PC. The target weight of theentire order (net weight) is determinedthrough the master article file and thepacker selects the carton size and beginsto fill it. The current weight is perma-nently recorded as the carton travels overa roller type weigh conveyor. The opera-tor determines the cumulative weight onthe large, easy to read, ID7 Big Weight®,terminal. As soon as the order isprocessed, the operator compares thecurrent weight at the terminal with thetarget weight on the PC. Major devia-tions immediately indicate an error, anyinconsistency is corrected immediatelywithout having to remove the packagefrom the material flow.

When the last carton has been sealed,the weight data is sent to the host systemvia MT BalCo thereby closing the orderin SAP. The weight, date and serial num-ber of each item remains stored in thealibi memory of the ID7 terminal there-by satisfying all legal requirements. Atthe end of the belt, another barcodereader sorts the packages by destination(within Germany, EU or export), anddirects them to the dispatch point.

Spreizer, who has been in responsible foroptimising a variety of different process-es at Grohe over many years, summaris-es the project . “We have a good working

relationship with METTLER TOLEDOand benefit from their conscientious,user-oriented service. For us operationalsafety is important. You can’t imaginewhat happens when processes areblocked by a system failure. With MTBalCo, we have a certified, proven soft-ware solution that supplies the correctdata to our host SAP structures. Weensure our processes are consistent with-out spending a lot on configuration andmaintenance, and if necessary futureexpansion can be achieved without fur-ther large investment."

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