Supply Chain 4.0 Implementation at a Bearing Manufacturing Facility
Company Overview
A leading bearing manufacturer in India, the company operates a factory in Bangalore focused on precision engineering and high-volume production. The facility includes key operations such as raw material stores, heat treatment, and channel production, forming the backbone of its manufacturing process.
Business Challenges
The company faced several operational inefficiencies across its supply chain:
- Lack of real-time material tracking and traceability.
- Manual processes in heat treatment and channel production causing delays and errors.
- Excess inventory and reverse material flow between production stages.
- Difficulty in closing manufacturing orders due to poor material accounting.
- Limited visibility into quality and production data.
IcSoft Solution Implementation
The solution was deployed at the Bangalore factory, with a pilot area covering Raw Material Stores → Heat Treatment → Channel-5. Key components included:
- QR Code Enabled Traceability System
- IcSoft MIS Software
- SQL Database for backend storage
- Master & Configuration-Based Front End for scalability
Functional Highlights
- GRN import and QR code generation
- QR-based tracking from raw material to finished bearings
- Auto parameter setting in furnace PLC
- Real-time production counting and inspection integration
- Pull-based planning for production and material handling
Outcomes and Benefits
Lean Material Flow
- 70% reduction in inventory from Heat Treatment to Channels (500K → 160K)
- 90% reduction in reverse flow to RM stores (260K → 25K)
- Simplified MO closure and material accounting
- Improved delivery reliability through pull planning
- Standardized movements with Kanban sets (40K per set)
Traceability System
- Fast and authenticated traceability from finished bearings to raw material
- Centralized data for flow, quantity, and quality
- Enhanced visibility and control across the supply chain
Objectives
The goal was to build and deploy a robust Supply Chain 4.0 system to:
- Enable Lean Material Flow using E-Kanban.
- Implement Material Traceability through QR codes.
- Integrate Data Acquisition and Machine Interface for real-time monitoring.