Motorola and RedLine help Sunsweet drive inventory accuracy and

CASE STUDY
Motorola and RedLine help Sunsweet
drive inventory accuracy and efficiency
with SAP WMS
“Sunsweet has always been forward-thinking, and one
example is that we are continually re-engineering to
improve our environment. With the help of Motorola and
RedLine, we’ve implemented a wireless infrastructure
that supports our SAP warehouse management module
and also serves as the backbone for all of our wireless
laptop needs at our headquarters location.”
— Harold Upton, Vice President of Strategic Business Processes,
Sunsweet Growers
Organization overview: Sunsweet Growers, Inc.
Sunsweet Growers manufactures dried fruit and juice products and distributes
them worldwide. With nearly nine decades of business experience, the
grower-owned marketing cooperative is among the most recognized brands
in the U.S. One way Sunsweet has earned its prominent rank in an intensely
competitive industry is by successfully applying technology to enhance
efficiency. In 2007, Managing Automation® magazine honored Sunsweet
with the “Progressive Manufacturing 50” award in the Supply Network
Mastery category.
The challenge: Enhancing inventory accuracy and warehouse efficiency
When Sunsweet first implemented its SAP® ERP solution, the company
deployed SAP inventory management to replace legacy systems. After
experiencing the benefits of this application for several years, Sunsweet
made plans to expand the solution to include the SAP warehouse
management module.
“We were tracking finished goods in quantity, but not by storage location.
As a result, we had some inventory discrepancies and inefficiencies in
finding and pulling products for shipment,” said Harold Upton, Vice President
of Strategic Business Processes, Sunsweet Growers.
Sunsweet decided to fine-tune these processes, and the company chose the
finished goods environment at its Yuba City headquarters as the first phase
of the project.
1 CASE STUDY: Motorola and RedLine help Sunsweet drive inventory accuracy and efficiency with SAP WMS
Customer profile
Company
Sunsweet Growers, Inc.
Location
Yuba City, California (USA)
Industry
Manufacturer and distributor
of fruit and juice products
Motorola products
• Motorola MC9090
mobile computers
• Motorola VC5090
vehicle-mounted mobile
computers
• Motorola LS3408-ER scanners
• Motorola WS5100
wireless switches
Applications
• Wireless system and mobile
computers integrated with the
SAP warehouse management
module and also providing a LAN
for corporate wireless laptops
Partner
• RedLine Solutions, Inc.
Benefits
• Increased inventory accuracy
and efficiency
• 10 percent labor savings
• Achievement of ROI
approximately nine months
from installation
• Increased visibility into real-time
production
• Reduced truck-load time.
“We already owned SAP, so that software was in
place. We needed to implement the new module,
and we began to look for the best solution for the
hardware and wireless communications pieces of
the project,” Upton said.
The solution: Motorola wireless environment
and mobile computers
In selecting the computing hardware and wireless
components for the new warehouse solution,
Sunsweet’s first criteria were proven reliability and
strong partnerships within the SAP environment,
according to Upton.
“Durability was key, and we also have some
pretty unique warehouse requirements,” he said.
“For example, moisture is an issue because in
addition to finished goods we have a production
facility that generates a tremendous amount of
steam. Of course, cost was also high on our list,”
Upton added.
Sunsweet narrowed the list and made a choice
that met its requirements: an end-to-end Motorola
wireless environment including Motorola rugged
MC9090 mobile computers, Motorola VC5090
vehicle-mounted mobile computers, Motorola
LS3408-ER scanners, Motorola WS5100 wireless
switches and AP300 access ports.
During its product investigations, the Sunsweet
team had met with representatives of several
system integrators including Motorola Business
Partner, RedLine Solutions. Ultimately, Sunsweet
selected RedLine to perform the implementation,
including site surveys and hardware staging due to
their expertise and strong references.
Today at the Yuba City facilities, there are 20 VC5090
mobile computers mounted on forklifts and five
additional MC9090 mobile computers carried by
management to monitor problems, check inventory,
and perform cycle counts, among other tasks. There
are 40 Motorola wireless access points and both a
primary and a redundant wireless switch.
The Motorola implementation was “smooth and
painless,” according to Upton. “The Motorola
equipment has been very reliable, and there were
no problems during the temperature extremes this
summer. We have Motorola support for the devices,
but we haven’t had to use it yet,” he noted.
The capabilities of Motorola’s LS3408-ER extended
range scanner are very important to Sunsweet.
“Some drivers are scanning labels that are 20 to 30
feet up and also back another 20 or 30 feet,” said
Upton. “The range of the Motorola equipment is
really good, and so is the flexibility: when a driver
pulls a pallet off the line, now the label may be less
2 CASE STUDY: Motorola and RedLine help Sunsweet drive inventory accuracy and efficiency with SAP WMS
than two feet away. They need to scan accurately
at both extremes, and the Motorola equipment is
handing that very well,” he explained.
The benefits: Inventory visibility, labor savings,
and enhanced quality control
“At a recent board meeting, LaMont Feske, director
of shipping and receiving, made a presentation with
highlights of how the system is working. The overall
report is that it’s outstanding,” Upton said. “The
learning curve has been small, and the personnel
using the Motorola equipment every day are excited
about it,” he added.
Sunsweet had a project objective of 10-percent labor
savings, which was achieved almost immediately,
according to Upton. “With that alone, we’d have a
two-year ROI at Yuba City, but with the additional
savings we’re on target for realizing, an ROI in about
nine months,” said Upton.
The new system is definitely increasing inventory
efficiency, Upton noted, and the visibility on a pallet
level has made the quality system more efficient as
well. “We’ve gone from production being reported
at the end of the shift to production being reported
as it comes off of the line, scanned in real time.
The supervisors and upper management have more
visibility into how well are individual lines producing
on a daily basis, and shipments are going out as
quickly as possible,” he explained.
As Sunsweet makes plans to expand the same
Motorola wireless infrastructure to its other facilities,
word of mouth is spreading. “The people element is
really pushing us forward. The teams here who are
using the new system are giving strong testimonials
to their counterparts at our Fleetwood, Pennsylvania
facility, which is the second phase of this project,”
said Upton. “The beneficiaries of the new systems
are anticipating and driving the projects,” he added.
For Sunsweet, the benefits of the Motorola
solution include:
• Targeting achievement of ROI approximately nine
months from installation
• Gaining labor savings of approximately 10 percent
• Increasing visibility into real-time production
• Reducing truck load time
• Reducing adjustments to monthly finished
goods inventory
Sunsweet has decided to increase the benefits of
the Motorola wireless infrastructure by also using
it as the backbone for wireless laptops. “We’re
setting up virtual LANs and isolating office traffic
from warehouse traffic for security and routing
purposes,” said Upton. “We’ll take that same
infrastructure throughout the organization not only at
our headquarters in Yuba City but also at our facilities
in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, and other Sunsweet
facilities as the project expands,” he concluded.
Additional resources
For more information, visit www.motorola.com.
About Redline Solutions
RedLine Solutions is an accomplished mobile solution
enabler for members of the warehousing and
agriculture supply chain. RedLine Solutions sells and
integrates Motorola wireless infrastructure and mobile
computers into ERP systems to provide a real-time
interface for product movements, picking/staging,
and shipments. With the help of RedLine Solutions,
members of the produce supply chain can streamline
internal processes, increase efficiency, and meet
food safety regulations and best practices. For more
information, visit www.redlinesolutions.com
3 CASE STUDY: Motorola and RedLine help Sunsweet drive inventory accuracy and efficiency with SAP WMS
motorola.com
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4 CASE STUDY: Motorola and RedLine help Sunsweet drive inventory accuracy and efficiency with SAP WMS