Page 244 - DMGT523_LOGISTICS_AND_SUPPLY_CHAIN_MANAGEMENT

Unit 10: Packaging and Material Handling

been implemented. The system can now handle 50 percent more throughput at 220 moves Notes
an hour, and uptime is now 98 percent. Today, the ASRS houses more than 28,000 SKUs in
its 10 80-foot high, 500-foot long aisles. An S/RM is dedicated to each aisle, handling both
receiving and picking functions. The entire ASRS system is controlled by a series of PCs
networked to an RSl6000 computer. The mainframe decides which products are needed for
the day’s manufacturing and builds a list of materials. An SIRM is instructed to travel to an
individual location where parts are stored. Photo eyes direct the S/RM to the exact location
of the desired SKU, and an extractor removes the load. The SRM then delivers the part to
a pickup deposit station at the front of the aisle, placing the pallet on a slipsheet. A
conveyor delivers the unit to the manufacturing workstation. Previously, controllers for
the conveyor that replenishes the front of the ASIRS and the conveyor that outputs to
production worked independently and required separate control rooms.
After the upgrade, both operate from the same PLCs, eliminating one control room and
the need for operators in two locations. Monitoring and reporting functions have also
been greatly improved. Installing the new ASIRS system was not an easy task. As an
essential component of the plant’s production process, the ASRS needed to continue to
store and retrieve inventory throughout the entire retrofit process. The crew had to meet
a tight schedule to perform that day’s installation work, do required testing and verification,
and then be ready to switch it all back over for full production the next day. The upgrade
on the S/RM was performed aisle by aisle, with the first aisle taking 7 days for its upgrade
and 3 days each for the remaining nine aisles.

All 4800 feet of floor rails that guide the SRMs were also replaced with new thermite
welded epoxy-grouted rails designed to prevent deterioration. The original safety concerns
have now vanished. Gone too are obsolete and proprietary parts, as all components are
state-of-the-art and Y2K compliant and readily available from a variety of suppliers.
Question

Analyse the case and write down the case facts.
Source: David Maloney, “ASIRS Upgrade Puts Big Blue in the Black,” Modern Modelling handling. 54, no.
4 (April 1999). pp. 40–41.

10.4 Summary

 Packaging refers to a container in which the product reaches the end use consumer.

 Packaging plays a very important role in the marketing of a product; it is a part of the
augmented product.
 The logistics of execution of the export order suggests that once the goods have been
procured and processed or manufactured for the purpose of export, then the exporter
should turn to the issues relating to labeling and packaging.
 There are various types of materials available for packaging of the goods which are paper,
plastics, wood, cardboard etc.
 Polyethylene film has two main varieties of consumer packaging namely, low density
polyethylene (PE-LD) film and high-density polyethylene (PE-HD).
 Paper based materials are used as wrapping, as paperboard cartons or corrugated fibreboard
boxes.

 There are three main types of packaging that combine paperboard and plastic materials –
Skin Packaging, Blister Packaging and Plastic Bags with a Paperboard Card.

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