Home
  Users
  MH Glossary
  Material Handling Info
  How to Get Started
  Daifuku America
Material Handling Information - Case Studies - Rohm
   
Case Studies - Electronics Industry Application
Rohm
Click on any thumbnail for a larger image
Application
  • Rohm Electronics North American Distribution Center -- Nashville, TN.
  • Growing demand for integrated circuits and related components.
  • Piecemeal expansion, with a central distribution center and two remote warehouses.
  • Less than 30 days' stock of 25,000 part numbers on hand at any given time.
Key Customer Benefits
  • One 27,000-sq. ft. distribution center stores, picks, and ships more inventory than previously handled by the three operations combined.
  • Increases productivity 25%.
  • Shipping volume per employee exceeds 560 million parts annually.
  • Supports First-In, First-Out (FIFO) order picking
  • Prevents lost or misplaced parts.
  • Eliminates two remote warehouses.
Material Flow Requirements
  • Increase storage capacity using less floor space.
  • Consolidate all distribution in one facility.
  • Streamline the order-picking process.
  • Integrate material flow hardware and software with existing host computer.
Material Flow Hardware
  • Five-aisle mini load automated buffer with 8,280 storage locations.
  • Six Sorting Transfer Vehicles (STV) on a loop system.
  • Four U-shaped pick workstations.
  • Automated receiving conveyor system including six powered-roller aisle conveyors, a high speed lifter, and a stacker/de-stacker for trays.
Computer Control System
  • Real-time inventory control system with a real-time connection to Rohm's host computer.
Material Flow Process

Input
  • Each carton of parts arrives with a bar code label that is scanned on receipt.
  • Label information is fed directly to the inventory control software.
  • Most cartons are manually loaded onto a conveyor that carries them to a staging station.
  • At the staging station, each carton is automatically pushed onto an individual tray.
  • Custom-sized trays provide a consistent footprint and ensure proper handling in the mini load, eliminating the need to transfer parts into totes.
  • The tray is transferred to an STV, which delivers it to the designated aisle of the mini load.
  • The mini load's Storage/Retrieval (S/R) machine stores the tray in the location determined by the control software.
Output
  • Cartons are retrieved by the S/R machine, and dropped off at the end of the aisle for pickup by STVs.
  • STVs deliver cartons to spur conveyors that feed the pick/pack workstations.
  • Order-picking from the conventional rack area is controlled by Radio Frequency (RF) terminals.
  • After order verification by the inventory control system, cartons are sealed and labeled for shipment.
Guest Survey