1 | Challenge:
Specific OEM factory supply of motive power batteries
For several years now, the share of motive power batteries ordered to the original equipment manufacturer has been increasing. More and more, batteries are being installed directly into the matching forklift truck and sold as a unit to the end customer. This trend is leading to many requirements and changes at HOPPECKE.
This approach has many advantages for the OEM, because in addition to achieving higher factory utilisation, the production processes in the factory can also be optimised. Furthermore, the installation of the battery in the vehicles facilitates transport within production, as the forklifts can move around by using their own energy source and do not have to be transported with an additional aid. This reduced handling effort in the assembly and logistics areas can result in considerable cost savings.
In order to meet a factory delivery, the battery supplier must precisely fulfil and implement the requirements specified by the OEM for the battery and the charger. In addition, it is important for the OEM to create a high level of transparency in the status of their orders. Because only if the specified delivery date of the batteries is met can the production processes be aligned with it and the assembly processes in the factory be ensured without interruption.
Therefore, the OEM demands automated transmission and processing of its orders. Compliance with contractually regulated delivery times is also required from the battery supplier by the OEM, so that production planning is always ensured. In addition, this takes the procurement times of bought-in materials into account.
The original equipment manufacturers also have clear requirements for the battery supplier in terms of shipping and product labels, shipping notifications and packaging regulations. In addition, the supplier must be able to take sequential deliveries into account.
The last major aspect is to follow and implement the quality requirements in terms of required production release procedures (PPAP: Production Part Approval Process), auditing and other features. These requirements can vary in scope depending upon the OEM.
2 | Solution:
Efficient supply chains due to precise specifications and requirements
In recent years, the departments involved in the process at HOPPECKE have focused on the different requirements of the OEMs. In order to systematically anchor these customer requirements with regard to battery and charger design, the characteristics such as vehicle, tray, minimum weight requirements, DC connector are clearly stored in SAP against the respective OEM. The equipment features of the products are now configured automatically, so that only a customer reference has to be entered during order entry.
To ensure that order transmission is as trouble-free and error-free as possible, HOPPECKE has developed a secure process for processing the various incoming orders by means of EDI interfaces and SAP maintenance.
The processing and implementation of logistics requirements, such as packaging and shipping labels, are fulfilled in the HOPPECKE logistics centre. Here, the products are picked accordingly and, if necessary, packed and labelled according to the customer's specifications.
In addition to the official shipping labels, which are generally required, some customers use other labels to simplify the receipt and storage of goods. In connection with the processes in the logistics centre, there is of course also the compliance with delivery times and delivery to the original equipment factory in the correct sequence. In order to keep to these times, production planning at HOPPECKE is carried out in advance by means of transmitted quantity and deadline forecasts. The procurement of bought-in materials is also planned and organised as early as possible. Chargers produced at the HOPPECKE plant in Zwickau must also be scheduled in good time and delivered to the logistics centre on an order-related basis.
In order to meet the quality requirements of the original equipment manufacturers, HOPPECKE operates a quality management system certified to DIN EN ISO 9001. Within this framework, compliance with the process sequences is checked by internal and external audits. In addition, the implementation of customer requirements is regularly verified and documented by the PPAP process. In product-related quality assurance agreements, the quality targets are contractually agreed with the upstream suppliers and customers.
All steps are necessary to ensure an efficient and error-free supply chain for the original equipment manufacturer.
3 | Key Benefits:
- Error-free and automated order processing sequencing
- Adherence to required delivery dates
- Simplified product configuration according to customer specifications
- Tested and certified production processes
- Customised delivery schedule of batteries and chargers