e-Kanban System | Kanban Software | Lean Manufacturing Solutions

Our Italian partner GC&P have organized a free seminar about “Lean Management Software” at the 2nd of December, 2011 in Asolo (Italy).

Of course, also IKS is part of this Lean event. Highlight of the day is a case study of our customer Ingersoll Rand about the implementation of electronic Kanban and the preparation of a required environment. More information you will find here (Document in Italian language).

At the 14th of December, 2011 a Master Class seminar will take place in Asolo. The main topic of the Master Class is ”Lean Management Software”, too.
manufactus will present the e-Kanban system IKS and provide a lot of details regarding the extensive possibilities of the software. Here you will find more information (Document in Italian language).

Here you can download the manufactus newsletter September 2011 as pdf file.

Please subrice our newsletter to get updated about all manufactus news and about all information regarding our e-Kanban solutions!
Please send a short email with your contact data to news@manufactus.com. That’s it!
  
Very interesting news regarding Kanban, Lean Management and Logistic you will find unter www.facebook.com/manufactus.

manufactus is proud to present two new partnerships with Italian Lean and IT specialists.  
The agreement includes the cooperation with Gianesin, Canepari and Partners (short GC&P), which offers consulting services for Lean Manamanent, Kanban and other topics in the area of production, logistics and product innovation. 

GC&P is helping companies to create the required environment to realize a Kanban system. Therefore GC&P offers Lean consutling services as well as required training courses. The company is based in Asolo which is close to Venezia.
  
Additionally manufactus signs an agreement with a company named Neulab which is based in Vicenza. This company works very close together with GC&P and realizes all IT technical requirements of their customers. So Neulab will act in the future as IKS distribution partner and also as partner for IKS software implementation projects.  

The Italian site of a world-wide acting enterprise has implemented the electronic Kanban system IKS for the complete factory. The management team wants to use a complete Pull system for the material flow.

The company is scheduling the different production areas by the IKS Kanban Board and delivers produced components via Kanban to the assembly lines.

Additionally some of the main suppliers are linked via IKS Web-Portal to the Kanban system. This e-Kanban module allows the online access to all required Kanban information via Internet.
The Lean team of the customer has started the roll-out of the Kanban system to reach the objective of a continuous material flow based on real Pull signals. In parallel the team is working on the improvement of some important Lean key factors like lot-size reduction, set-up time reduction, improved shop-floor layout etc. to create the basis for a successful project.

You will find a summary of quotations of some of our customers regarding the e-Kanban system IKS in the download area.

Here you can get the summary also directly!

In our download area you will find the new
e-Kanban case study of GEDIA Spain available!

Gedia is using our electronic Kanban system IKS to support their production environment and to schedule huge pressing machines and the complete welding area via PULL signals. The IKS electronic Kanban board provides great opportunities to manage such shop-floor areas.

Express Möbel GmbH & Co. KG, a division of Nolte Group in Germany that produces furnitures, is now using a Kanban system to manage their finished goods inventory. The company has changed the existing processes from traditional PUSH to a more efficient PULL system.

The manufactus e-Kanban system IKS helps to build the optimal sequence of Kanban orders at the packaging lines via visualization of the inventory at the finished goods warehouse. All Kanban orders are displayed at the IKS electronic Kanban boards. Based on this information the operators know exactly which products have to be packed next. This guarantees a high delivery performance to the final customers.

Some other production lines are still managed via classic manual Kanban boards, but it is planned to use IKS in a second step also at this production areas.

The transformation from PUSH to PULL is an important big step for each company. The management of Express Möbel did this step by the firm conviction to preapre the company for the future!

Addtional informationen to Express Möbel you will find here.

We are collecting interesting and important information, stories, pictures and links on topics like “Lean Production, Toyota Production System, Kanban, e-Kanban etc. etc.” for you. We would like get your comments and hope to start exciting discussions!

If you like the manufactus Facebook page, please click on the “Like me” button below!

Hope to meet you soon on Facebook!

LEISTRITZ Pumpen GmbH located in Nürnberg (Germany) has been one of the companies with the richest tradition in producing screw pumps since 1924.

Since last year, the automotive business unit supports the internal and external Kanban processes by the IKS Small Business Edition.

All Kanban movements are tracked by radio-frequency barcode readers. This results in a high visualization of current inventory and creates automatic Kanban signals. Additionally our electronic Kanban Boards are used to display all Kanban orders directly at the shop-floor in a simple and effective way.

The customers plans the extended usage of the IKS system as soon as the Kanban system will be used for additional areas and products.

More information about LEISTRITZ Group you will find here.

Leanpro S.A. de C.V in Mexico and GARMIR LLC in the USA are the new North American partners of manufactus.
Since 2006 Leanpro and Garmir have been working with customers helping them in the design and implementation of lean operations. One of the core competencies is the design and implementation of Material Flow Strategies (MFS) based onKanban systems.
The alliance with Leanpro enables manufactus to have a local partner on the Mexican and US market. Additionally manufactus can provide his new partner the required tools to move forward into electronic Kanban systems with the backup of a strong technical team.  

More information about Leanpro you will find under http://www.leanpro.org/

The site of Gebrüder Dingerkus GmbH in Barcelona (Spain) uses the e-Kanban system IKS to manage and schedule the fabrication areas via Pull system. The installation of a pure manual Kanban environment was not possible because of the existing machine intensive processes. So Gedia Spain decided to use the electronic Kanban system of manufactus.

One core element is the electronic IKS Kanban Board which visualizes all Kanban orders in real-time in a dynamic way. The e-Kanban board replaces also all kind of manual Kanban boards. Based on this new process it is possible to realize a very flexible creation of work orders based on real consumption and pull signals.
Due to the processes which have been implemented during this extensive pilot project, an inventory reduction by 28% has been realized for the Kanban parts in the first step.
Based on the very positive results and experiences, Gedia plans to introduce Kanban also for other factories of the group.

manufactus has agreed a partnership with Maestro Academy A/S, headquartered in Farsoe (Denmark). Our new strong partner is specialized in the area of consulting, training and education.
Maestro Academy is part of the Maestro Group and the business is focused mostly on Scandinavia and UK. In detail the company offers know-how transfer in the field of Lean Production, Six Sigma, Kanban and Demand Driven Enterprise.

Additional informationen about Maestro Academy you will find here.

The Italian plant of a huge international enterprise is using the IKS Enterprise Edition to manage the complete production scheduling process via electronic Kanban. The management of the customer has forced a fast reorganisation from Push to Pull. Based on this objective manufactus has implemented IKS in one week, inclusive “Going Live”.

The customer is using our electronic Kanban Boards to visualize all Kanban production orders directly at the shop-floor. The next step will be the integration of some external suppliers into the Kanban process. Therefore the IKS Web-Portal is the perfect choice.
Because of the high number of articles and components (there are thousands of them), the team is working on the continuous Kanban roll-out for new production lines and product groups.

The IKS Small Business Edition (short IKS SBE) which is part of the IKS portfolio since a couple of weeks, has determined a high interest on the market. 
The reason is simple: IKS SBE offers the low priced opportunity to start with “electronic Kanban”.

Now also small companies gets the chance to manage specific production areas via e-Kanban. But also medium sized companies can use IKS SBE to start with e-Kanban without a high investment.
The IKS Small Business Edition is only limited in the number of scanning-stations (max. 3) and so it offers all IKS benefits from the beginning. An upgrade to the IKS Classic Edition can be realized without any problems anytime.

If you are starting an extented “Lean project” it makes maybe sense to use the services of an highly experienced consultant to reach the maximum of benefits.
But if you want to start with a Kanban system in a small pilot area first, the processes are normally easy and clear. So they can be managed by your internal employees. Anyhow specific (Kanban) questions will come up from time to time.

We offer our support and experience from many projects in within a so called KANBAN COACHING an.

This means that a manufactus expert will guide your Kanban team in regular terms or only on demand to work on specific tasks. We only work when the customer team is calling us and we help to reach the objectives.

We offer this KANBAN COACHING with 3, 5 or 8 days. Call us!

Form today on we offer a new e-Kanban package which has been designed especially for small companies and small Kanban areas. The name of this Kanban package is IKS Small Business Edition.

Our „lowest“ version of the e-Kanban system IKS includes the complete Basic System which can be used to define internal as well as external Kanban loops. Only the number of scanning stations is limited up to three. So we are able to offer a low-cost e-Kanban package for small companies or “e-Kanban beginners”.

The IKS Small Business Edition includes:

• Complete Kanban Management functionality
• Printing of Kanban cards
• Scanning of Kanban movements
• Extensive visualisation and reporting
• Data transfer from/to Host system
• Linking of external suppliers via email and fax

Version 1.0 of the new IKS Analyzer module is now available. This add-on module of the manufactus e-Kanban system IKS will replace the existing Diagnostic Module. The tool will offer many opportunities to analyzer your Kanban system in detail.

With the IKS Analyzer it is possible to improve your Kanban system continuously and to reduce the inventory levels and lead-times !

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a good start into a successful year 2010!!

Your manufactus Team

Reinbold GmbH & Co.KG located in Emmendingen (Germany) is using our e-Kanban starter tool “Smart Kanban Plus” to support the existing Kanban processes. Reinbold is specialized on manufacturing highly designed equipment for physiotherapy. Some months ago the company has started the implementation of a manual Kanban system.

By using the eKanban starter tool of manufactus, the company will increase the transparency of the current Kanban situation and will work with fast signaling processes to reduce a lot of manual handling efforts.
The detailed analysis of the Kanban system is planned as a next step. Thereby it is planned to reduce the existing inventory levels and to improve the delivery performance for all Kanban parts.

One of the leading manufacturer of sanitary fittings uses our e-Kanban starter tool ”Smart Kanban Plus” to support the internal Kanban environment.

Main objective of the company is the support of the existing Kanban system by capturing the Kanban movements via barcode readers. Based on this new scanning process the Kanban visualization will be increased and can be managed in a more efficient way. Additionally the complete Kanban calculation has been checked and re-worked during the project phase.

Smart Kanban Plus will replace the existing tool and the customer can extend the Kanban starter tool to our professional e-Kanban system IKS with a minimum of additional work.

A main benefit of an e-Kanban system is the visualization and analysis of current and historical inventory levels and lead-times. Due to the capturing of the Kanban movements via barcode readers these important information will be collected and saved.

Today the IKS Diagnostic Module offers the opportunity to analyze historical data in a graphical way. By the results the Kanban Analyst is able to optimize the inventory continuously and to monitor the lead-times.

The new IKS Analyzer module will offer all these benefits as well. But this new IKS add-on will also offer additional new functions to get all important information of your Kanban system in seconds. The first version will be available soon and will be evaluated by some of our customers. So we can gurantee some great improvements based on the user’s input.

• You recognize potential of improvement for your Kanban system?
• You think about a roll-out of your Kanban system?
• You want to know how your Kanban processes can be improved by an electronic Kanban system?
• You want to discuss your requirements with some Kanban experts and you want to develop practical solutions?

We show you the room for improvements of your Kanban system in our e-Kanban workshop “Analysis”!
This workshop creates the basis to take the right decision for the future!

Please contact us for further information of our e-Kanban workshop!

Together with the team of GEA AWP Prenzlau (Germany) the shortly started IKS project has been closed successfully!

Our electronic Kanban system will be used for the support of internal Kanban loops in the first phase. But it is planned to link also external suppliers via PULL processes and to set-up an intercompany Kanban system in the second phase.

The implementation of our electronic Kanban system IKS takes normally not longer than 2-3 months !!

Even larger projects where it is necessary to implement different customer requirements (which is absolutely untypical) will normally be closed in less than 3 months.
The pure IKS implementation and the training of the core team will traditionally be realized in only one single project week !!!

Our customers always benefit from the wide range of already available functions to support the existing Kanban system, so that there is no need for time and cost consuming implementations.
The IKS functions are starting with a simple and efficient management of all Kanban data, offers a great visualization and ends in supporting of specific processes, like the handling of demand peaks.

By the fast & cost efficient implementation of our eKanban system we prevent the existing ressources of our customers and we enable the team to start the continuous improvement directly. This forces a fast ROI and was demonstrated also in our past projects.

We have extended our range of services.

From now on we offer extensive services to optimize your business processes. Our portfolio includes:

• Analysis and consulting to implement an electronic Kanban system. Therefore we offer our specific e-Kanban workshops!
• Classic consulting to improve your business processes. This includes the analysis of your existing processes, implementation of all required principles to realize a Lean environment training of the teams and continuous improvement activities.

Contact us to discuss your requirements and objectives. We will prepare the best package for your perfect solution!

The new version of the IKS supplier portal which is called “Web-Interface” is now available!

Due to the input and requirements of our customers, the IKS add-on has been improved continuously.

The Kanban orders for a supplier can be displayed in real-time in a better way but now there are also different possibilities to work in an interactive way. For example the supplier can enter messages for the customer to signal critical situations and other important notes.

Please contact us to get more information!

manufactus has started a new huge IKS project in Germany. After the first pilot site runs succesfully, a roll-out to other sites is planned.

Different types of Kanban are used at this site of the customer:

• Internal Production Kanban with support of electronic Kanban boards
• Withdrawal Kanban to replenish the material for the assembly lines
• Supplier Kanban
• Intercompany Kanban with other customer sites (via Terminal Server environment)

Additionally a complete new functionality will be implemented to support the management of supermarkets where the Kanbans are stored randomly.
Please let us know if you need more information.

The new version 2.0 of the IKS PDA Module is now available!
  
The PDA Module is part of the IKS package. The application offers the possibility to get all required Kanban information displayed directly on the screen of a Mobile Terminal (PDA).

The PDA Module enables all employees in the area of production and logistics (but also the management) to use a simple and very flexible tool to get all required information and to achieve a very high flexibility.

beyerdynamic GmbH & Co.KG located in Heilbronn (near Stuttgart, Germany) has decided to upgrade from the Kanban tool “Smart Kanban” which has been used in the past to the Basic Package of the IKS system.

The upgrade on IKS happens without any problems and very fast due to the modular architecture of the manufactus Kanban solutions.

The beyerdynamic Kanban team has used Smart Kanban for managing the existing Kanban loops and printing of Kanban cards in the past. The team recognized the higher potential of the professional e-Kanban system IKS. So they decided to upgrade the system.

By using IKS, beyerdynamic wants to link more external suppliers to the Kanban system. Additionally the internal Kanban loops will be supported and improved in a more efficient way.

A new and improved version of Smart Kanban Plus will be available soon!
The Smart Kanban Plus update will include a component to simulate the inventory level based on the used Kanban parameters. Hereby the Kanban loops can be calculated in an exact way directly at the beginning. Based on the simulated results the average range can be calculated as well as the possible savings which can be reached by the Kanban introduction.

Please contact us for a free test license key of the current Smart Kanban Plus version!

In order to start or to move your existing Kanban system to an electronic solution, we offer our e-Kanban Starter Package SMART KANBAN PLUS for a testperiod of 30 days for free!

During this time period, we can support you creating an environment for testing via telephone, email or remote-controlled. Additionally if you wish on-site support (for instance 2-5 days), we can also offer this to you for special price conditions.

Please contact us for a free Testlicense and to receive additional information!

The new version 2.0 of the electronic Lean Performance Management System (eLPMS) is now available. The eLPMS system is completely web-based and helps to reduce production down times and to improve your OEE.

Please contact us for additional information!

Dynapac located in the North of Germany uses the manufactus e-Kanban system IKS to manage their Kanban loops to external suppliers and other Dynapac locations.

The company defines standard processes for their Kanban call-offs and creates the basis to analyze their inventory levels and delivery lead times. IKS guarantees a very high visualization of the complete Kanban situation and reduces the error rate to a minimum. This is the basis to optimize the Kanban parameters and Kanban processes continuously.

By an automated link between IKS and the existing MRP system the processes of booking material at the goods receiving area will be simplified and the manual activites will be reduced dramatically.

manufactus has extended the Smart Kanban Product Range by a new solution:

SMART KANBAN PLUS

SMART KANBAN PLUS is a perfect eKanban starter package and absolute easy to use.

All Smart Kanban packages offers the following benefits for your company:

• Easy installation, this means no on-site support required
• Connection of the existing ERP system possible without any problems
• Very fast time for system implementation
• Easy to use modules, means also on-site training is not required
• All packages can be extended to our professional eKanban solution IKS (Integrated Kanban System), means the software can be upgraded continuously
• If you need our help, we can support you directly via remote control

The new SMART KANBAN PLUS package is a logical extension of our Smart Kanban product series.

Smart Kanban Plus includes all software modules and functions auf our classic Smart Kanban software. But it includes addtionally the opportunity to track the Kanban movements via barcode reader. Therefore one scanning station is available in the standard package but additional scanning stations can be also linked. By using the Kanban Monitor you can visualize the complete Kanban situation and you will get a very high transparency about your current inventory levels and Kanban orders.

By the release of this new software package we are offering a good and economic Kanban starter solution for each type of customer, beginning by small and medium sized companies up to big enterprises!!

If you have more complex Kanban processes in place and you need a real professional Kanban support system, you can choose our perfected electronic Kanban system IKS (Integrated Kanban System). IKS can realize a wide range of Kanban sceanrios because it has been developed and continuously improved based on innovative special requirements of our customers!!

Scholl Concepts GmbH, located near Stuttgart (Germany), has decided to implement a pull system for internal parts as well as for purchased components. Due to the high number of products and also based on some special requirements, the constraints of manual Kanban were not acceptable for the team.

The Kanban team decides not to start with a manual Kanban system but to use our e-Kanban system IKS from the beginning. The main objectives were the management of all Kanban information and the support of the existing processes in a save and easy way. The new electronic Kanban system will help Scholl Concepts also to improve inventory levels and (supplier) lead times.

Since SMART KANBAN has been released as a low cost Kanban starter package at the end of 2007, a lot of companies have decided to use the tool to implement a manual Kanban system and to support the existing Kanban processes.

Due to the great response of all the customers it seems to be clear that SMART KANBAN is a perfect alternative solution against self-developed Access databases or Excel Spreadsheets Kanban solutions. SMART KANBAN offers a lot of benefits at the implementation phase of manual Kanban and also for the daily Kanban management. 

Ask us for a free testlicense key to see the benefits of this simple and powerful Kanban tool!

With SMART KANBAN the collected Kanban data can be loaded into the Kanban Manager in a fast and easy way. After loading the data you are ready to print the cards at once. All Kanban loops can be managed in an easy way and Kanban levels can be re-calculated for operations inside this standard software tool. The daily work will be much easier and a lot of time for Kanban Management will be saved.

The most interesting part comes now for you: 

SMART KANBAN is already the first step on your way to a “real” eKanban system like our worldwide very successfully used IKS !!! If you are interested in the power of our electronic Kanban system, we would be glad to offer you our support within our workshop “IKS - Way to electronic Kanban”.

The complete manufactus team wishes a Merry Christmas and a good start into a successful New Year!

An updated version of our tool SMART KANBAN is available now. Based on the realized improvements the Kanban data can be loaded easier and the Kanban loops can be created faster than before.

Look and see! Ask us for a free testlicense key!

Your company wants to implement a classical manual Kanban System and is searching for an easy and economic solution to define the Kanban loops, to calculate the correct number of Kanbans and to print Kanban cards easy and fast? 

We are offering exactly the right solution for you! SMART KANBAN

“Smart Kanban” is a simple and low-cost tool to enable an easy introduction of a manual Kanban system and to reduce implementation time to a minimum. Additionally you are creating the pre-stage for a real electronic Kanban system later on.

Please contact us for further information and for a free software download inclusive free test license of two weeks!

The IKS customer Maschinenfabrik Gerd Mosca AG uses the new IKS Web-Interface to capture Kanban movements directly at an external location. In the past it was not possible because there was no connection to the existing IKS system.

From now on the empty Kanbans can be scanned via barcode reader at the external location and all information will be tranfered via Internet to Mosca AG. These Kanban information starts the delievery of all used materials back to the external location. Therefore the IKS Web-Interface ensures an easy and fast information flow and stables the Kanban process.

The manufactus Newsletter of July, 2007 is available for downloading.

The newsletter will be distributed quarterly. If you want to receive it in regular terms, please send a short email including your contact data to contact@manufactus.com.

Our IKS customer International Truck and Engine will use the new IKS Web-Interface to link their external warehouses via Internet.To capture the Kanban movement at the warehouse it is necessary to access the IKS system via Internet, because there is no connection to the LAN and the IKS database. The Kanban orders will be displayed directly at the warehouse. Additionally the responsible employees can print out a picking list that will guide them through the warehouse. The data for the picking list will be loaded directly out of Baan into IKS.

International Truck and Engine is now able to manage their warehouses and to pick the required material very fast and easy.

To link external suppliers via Internet-Kanban, we have developed the new IKS Web-Interface. This add-on of our electronic Kanban System is able to display the available Kanban orders of the external suppliers. The supplier can log in to the system and see all Kanbans that must be delieverd to the customer. Additionally the Kanban cards can be set to another status (eg. in transport) and can print out the Kanban cards to put it to the material.

The customer will benefit from an easy and fast information flow, but also the supplier will benefit from the easy process and a the high visualization of the orders.

Contact us for more information or an online demonstration of the system!

Final version of Lean Assessment Tool available

The final version of our Lean Assessment Tool (LAT) has been released. The new LAT is a web-based tool that can be used to define individual company structure, categories, questions etc. The default structure of our LAT includes some basic pillars of a Lean Production but the software can be used to define every kind of Assessment (like Kanban Assessment etc.).

With help of the LAT our customers are able to define their own production system. We offer you also our support to define the cornerstones!

Catem GmbH & Co. KG is an automotive supplier located in Herxheim, Germany.

The company is using the IKS Kanban system to manage their internal Kanban processes. All products that are shipped from the warehouse will create a new Kanban order directly at the product line. To visualize and prioritize the Kanbans that have to be produced, Catem is using the electronic IKS Kanban Board. Additionally IKS has been linked to the existing ERP system to reduce the effort of booking material.

The first version of the Lean Assessment Tool (LAT) is now available. Together with our partner Lean Alliance and different partner companies we have been developed a prototype of this tool. The objective is to check how “Lean” the different areas are and to visible the highest potentials inside this companies.

The new wireless IKS PDA Module enables our customers to visualize specific IKS information directly at the shop-floor. Additionally PDAs can be used to scan and track Kanbans via barcode. So both functionalities are merged together and increases the flexibility of operators and key personal.
Hansa Metallwerke uses also a specific version of the PDA Module to stable their processes and to book inventory directly into their ERP system.

The new IKS release 3.5.0 is available now. Nearly all modules have been improved in functionality and performance.

Contact us to get more information about our electronic Kanban system IKS!

RFID hardware has been ingrated to our electronic Kanban system IKS at our customer Sunrise Medical UK.

The installed hardware recognizes the RFID tags the are fixed at the Kanban containers and transfers the data to the IKS system. This will change the status of a box and reduces the manual effort at the goods receiving area dramatically.

Hansa Metallwerke AG with headquarter in Stuttgart is one of the leading manufacturer of sanitary fittings in Germany.

Objective of the IKS project is the support of the processes which have been defined to link external suppliers via Kanban. The new Kanban processes have been designed with manufactus to realize all special requirements in the best way.

Main aspects to use IKS are:

• complete visualization of the inventory at production levels
• automatic sending of fax and email reports to external suppliers
• linking of the ERP-system Baan to reduce manual bookings

Now Hansa starts to integrate the external suppliers and additionally the site in Czech Republic into the Kanban system.

manufactus’ electronic Lean Performance Management System has been set up at site A of B.Braun Melsungen AG.

The system is used together with 42” flat screens to display plan and real output data. All downtimes will be collected in the eLPMS to recognize the potentials and to force the continuous imrpovement processes.

Gerd Mosca AG, located in Waldbrunn (Germany) produces strapping machines.

The company will implement a manual Kanban system, supported by IKS. The first step will be the usage of Kanban between the internal warehouse and the assembly area.  IKS will be linked to the existing ERP-system to reduce the manual effort for the administrative employees.

External suppliers should be also included into the Kanban system in the near future.

The company located in Augsburg, Germany, produces embedded computers. They will use IKS to link their pre-supplier of electronic components via Kanban and to get a higher transparency about inventory levels and Kanban orders.

Additionally IKS will help to manage the high amount of available Kanban cards and to reduce the daily effort of the Kanban team.