Case Study: Thai Summit Auto Parts - Rajkamal Barscan

<strong>Case</strong> <strong>Study</strong>: <strong>Thai</strong> <strong>Summit</strong> <strong>Auto</strong> <strong>Parts</strong><strong>Thai</strong> <strong>Summit</strong> <strong>Auto</strong> <strong>Parts</strong> Industry Co.,Ltd.<strong>Thai</strong> <strong>Summit</strong> <strong>Auto</strong> <strong>Parts</strong> Industry Co., Ltd. and its associated group of companies are one of themajor part manufacturers in <strong>Thai</strong>land for the automotive, motorcycle, electrical appliance andagricultural engine industries.Established in 1977, the <strong>Thai</strong> <strong>Summit</strong> Group comprises of 30 part manufacturing subsidiaries,ranging from press, assembly, plastic injection, plastic blow molding, aluminium die-casting, wiringharness, chassis, stamping dies, assembly jigs and tooling. The company has production bases inSamutprakarn, Laem Chabang, Rayong, Ayudhya, Nakornnayok and Malaysia. The group’s totalsales for 2005 exceeded 20,000 Million Baht, while <strong>Thai</strong> <strong>Summit</strong> <strong>Auto</strong>parts Industry, with its 4000-staff strength, achieved a 2005 turnover of 6,000 Million Baht.SituationTo support its growing business engagements, the <strong>Thai</strong> <strong>Summit</strong> Group knew that it needed a worldclasstracking system for better control and greater visibility of its inventory and raw materials. Thisprompted the company to consider implementing a barcode system to trace, track and collect thedata generated from the finished goods and raw materials it handles daily.Prior to implementing the barcode system, <strong>Thai</strong> <strong>Summit</strong> Group relied heavily on its staff to manuallytrack and collect up to 95% of its business data. However, due to an earlier unpleasant experiencewith a barcode system, the company was initially sceptical about change.After numerous rounds of reviews, <strong>Thai</strong> <strong>Summit</strong> Group selected the Intermec solution, which is ableto rectify the errors caused by manual data entry. It is also expected to help increase productivityand enhance operational efficiencies.Solution<strong>Thai</strong> <strong>Summit</strong> Group implemented Intermec’s Mobile Computer model 730 and Scanner modelVT1800 for its 2-phased Finished Goods and Raw Material Barcode systems.<strong>Thai</strong> <strong>Summit</strong> Group’s Barcode System controls every transaction in the factory including the flow ofraw materials. It can be further divided into three parts, namely Input Process, Work-in Process andOutput Process. Besides the “Work-In Process” program, which is still being designed,implementation of the other programs has been completed.

Input Process or Finished Goods Barcode – This is the first phase of the implementation, asthe value of Finished Goods is ranked the highest among the other processes. For this process, the“product” is placed at inventory stores for sales and divided into seven areas based on producttypes or OEM customers such as Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Toyota and Nissan.<strong>Thai</strong> <strong>Summit</strong>’s operations staffs uses Intermec’s Mobile Computer model 730 to handle theincoming and outgoing of materials from inventory. The reader scans the barcode tags attached tothe containers from the Production Division. The stored material data at the database server isthen transmitted to the Access Point before being updated in the company’s central ERP system.The Intermec Scanner Model VT1800 is also used to ease the installation of product cards at PCDesktops.Output Process or Raw Material Barcode – The Input Process handles incoming raw materialsfrom suppliers. <strong>Thai</strong> <strong>Summit</strong> <strong>Auto</strong> <strong>Parts</strong> uses Intermec Scanner Model VT1800 to scan the DeliveryBarcode Sheets which are attached to suppliers’ tax invoices with every shipment. This data isthen verified against procurement’s purchase orders before being transmitted over the LAN to theERP system.Commenting on the choice of Intermec, Mr. Preecha Phuasuthi , Department Manager, ERPProject, <strong>Thai</strong> <strong>Summit</strong> <strong>Auto</strong>parts Industry Co., Ltd. said “We were looking for barcode readers thatare durable, resilient and able to meet strict factory specifications. Intermec met and passed all ofour stringent requirements. Its Mobile Computer Model 730 is ideal for urgent shipments orproducts that cannot be easily moved, while its Scanner Model VT1800 is ideal for reading thebarcodes in Barcode Delivery Sheets. Both products are user friendly and convenient for ouroperations.”The only hiccup during the implementation was the ability to read and capture data from adistance away. By adjusting the contrast of the barcode printing, <strong>Thai</strong> <strong>Summit</strong> <strong>Auto</strong>parts was ableto overcome the issue.Benefits“The implementation of Intermec’s Barcode Readers helps us minimize human errors. It alsoimproved data accuracy and increased productivity as it eliminates the manual checking process.”said Phuasuthi. Intermec’s solutions also helped to reduce human errors in the data entry process.Pleased with the efficiencies they have gained in their inventory and distribution operations, <strong>Thai</strong><strong>Summit</strong> <strong>Auto</strong> <strong>Parts</strong> plans to extend its barcode system to the other 10 companies under the <strong>Thai</strong><strong>Summit</strong> Group in the near future.