Lye baked goods are produced at the Swiss company Brezelkönig GmbH & Co KG in Emmenbrücke (LU). In order to professionally implement compliance with food industry regulations, such as ensuring traceability and monitoring best-before dates, the complete process from purchasing to sales was mapped in order processing with the help of DENSO's Handheld Terminal BHT-1200.

The day-to-day business of supplying currently 25 stores and external deep-freeze warehouses results in high turnover rates of putaways, picking and stock movements. The product variety of the deliveries is also very broad. Every day, around six tons of raw material are received and delivered in an unrefrigerated, refrigerated or frozen state, as well as the lye pastries produced.

Based on the requirements profile, implementation variants were discussed with DENSO's partner Spirig Systems GmbH and the processes were analyzed in detail. This resulted in an implementation concept with all the required processes. The solution was introduced step by step: First purchasing, then the integration of production, warehouse and sales.

Objective The entire logistics process was to be linked to the ERP solution used, and master data such as articles, warehouse information and prices was to be maintained and evaluated in a central system. The cash register systems of the stores should be able to be linked to the ERP software and the traceability of the products should be guaranteed at all times. The complete warehousing, production and sales process was to be supported by means of mobile data capture, and the central functions of mobile data capture and logistics were to be mapped in an automated IT system. Spirig Systems GmbH recommended one of DENSO's top devices for mobile data capture: the BHT-1200 handheld terminal. Solution description

Purchasing All article master data required for mobile data entry, such as article numbers, descriptions, batches or warehouse information, is regularly exported automatically from the ERP system's order processing to the BHT-1200. Purchase orders are entered from a so-called order book with the DENSO device. This order is then processed in the purchasing module of the ERP system and sent to the supplier as a fax printout. The delivered goods are checked with the help of the BHT-1200. In doing so, it records the delivery quantity as well as the best-before date and automatically generates the internal batch number for products that are subject to batch management. The delivery quantity can be distributed to several boxes per product. The program user determines the definitive storage location by entering the storage code and stores the crate with the product. The purchase order is converted to a supplier invoice, supplemented with purchase costs and posted to accounts payable. On the server, software services monitor and control the permanent communication between the ERP software and the BHT-1200 via WLAN. This means that the back office and logistics always have the latest data at their disposal.

Stock transfers and inventory The stock transfer function is used universally. This applies both to the transfer of raw materials to production and to the transfer of products from warehouse to warehouse. Boxes, batch and non-batch products, produced goods or third-party products can be recorded.

Production The ERP software is connected to a special recipe control software. The usual production process is triggered by the production manager entering the quantity to be produced into the baking plan. The recipe control system calculates the raw material required per dough (target quantities). The raw material requirement is then transferred to a special production warehouse and the goods are produced. The recipe control system reports the effectively consumed quantities (actual quantities) back to the software so that the stock levels and batches are accounted for. A scale with an integrated barcode scanner checks the goods packed for the store area for their correct weight and simultaneously registers the respective box number, which is used as part of the internal batch number during storage. The products manufactured for the retail area are marked by labels with EAN128 barcode. After checking the weight, the internal batch number is generated from the production data contained in the code. The retail products are transferred to the external frozen warehouses and from there they are distributed to the end customers by a logistics partner. With the help of an AbaView report, the scrap is calculated each evening on the basis of the target quantity according to recipe control and the effectively stored quantity.

Sales The stores enter their orders for pretzels, beverages and toppings daily via the store cash registers. All store orders are collected on the POS server and then prepared for import into the order processing software. These are displayed as pending orders. A file is then automatically created from the flow control system, which is loaded onto the BHT-1200 Teminals from DENSO as a packing slip.

Benefits of the solution For Brezelkönig, the combination of the BHT-1200 and the ERP software results in several advantages. Automatic batch management ensures traceability. In addition, all data is stored electronically, making it possible to see at the touch of a button who has purchased how much of what, and for what. By standardizing processes, errors are minimized and employees are trained more quickly. The ease of use saves a lot of time, which increases motivation and ensures quality. Warehouses can also be optimally utilized and there is less waste, which means direct cost savings. Time is also saved in logistics, where automated order processing prevents duplicate entries. If there is a central article master and also a variable product range, products can be easily blocked or released for purchase or sale. Last but not least, sales prices can be managed centrally and transferred to the cash registers.