Solution to the questions from the case study : Submitted by - Kartikeya Sharma

1. Write a short description of SPEDE technologies including their objectives. For any manufacturing company, much of its cost it incurred for maintaining and managing inventories, not only of finished goods but also of work in progress and raw materials. Since human capability is limited, a well-managed software system is always required to keep track of such things. Spede Technologies is a software and systems company that specializes in providing wireless solutions to manufacturing industry, be it for inventory labeling or control and traceability or shop floor and warehouse automation. Spede Technologies main focus is to help companies make their shop floors and warehouse operations mistake-proof, and streamline their business processes so as to reduce costs, increase efficiency and improve profitability. Spede has been very responsive to the worlds ever growing and changing needs. Since its inception it has looked out for opportunities and have succeeded in delivering the same as and when required. The speedy SPEDE journey is as follows: 1980: In the late 1970's when "micro" computers arrived on the market, there wasn't much business software to run on them - especially for the manufacturing industry. They created a suite of business software that included Inventory Control, Job Management, Accounting, and Sales Lead Management. 1985: They began installing barcode scanners on the shop floor to track Work-in-Process and collect labor data 1993: They developed the SPEDE Material Control System to cope up with the challenges suppliers faced in complying with OEM mandates for accurate product labeling, shipping and ASNs. 2004: They invented the patent-pending SPEDE RF Push-button, a wireless device that can be installed at the production line and configured to print only the correct label for the Part being made at that line which helped the companies to simplify and error-proof the process of labeling Finished Parts.

2005: To eliminate shipping and ASN errors they implemented the first RFID Trailer Loading system in the automotive sector. 2008: They pioneered the use of RFID readers and RF lasers mounted to the crane to identify the coils and pinpoint their precise location.

2. Describe the SPEDE RFID Shipping. The SPEDE RFID system provides real-time control over the trailer loading process, to prevent errors in the customer orders due to : Short shipments Over shipments Shipping the wrong material With the SPEDE material control system combined with RFID technology, one can achieve 100% correct customer shipments. Apart from providing RFID compliance labeling, SPEDE also enables them to leverage their RFID investment to control and streamline internal processes. For example, in case of truck loading, RFID-labeled shipments can be read automatically by mobile or fixed-mount RFID readers, and verified for accuracy to prevent shipping errors. This increases efficiency by eliminating manual scanning, and manual data entry of ASNs and ship transactions apart from ensuring that customer orders are correct. 3. Which modules show direct interfaces with ERP on the SPEDE Plant Diagram? The two modules directly connected to the ERP are the Customer Module Supplier Module

4. What is the importance of a direct interface for these two modules? The direct interface between the ERP and the 2 modules shows the end to end connection of the whole system. Looking at the overall importance the name Enterprise Resource Planning itself tells us that the system is meant to integrate the whole of supply chain in such a manner that the

planning of the raw material requirement as well as the demand forecast can be done by the top level management at the click of a button. All this with one easy to use system is the way to improvise the current production plan and reach levels of production never achieved before that.

5. Comment on the importance customer use of ERP and supplier use of ERP. Customer use of ERP The customer module connects us to the finished product module and which in turn connects us to the work in progress module. The main importance of the system is we can use it for demand forecasting. This process helps us in shipping control and finished goods inventory control. And this control process lead to less inventory management cost and the benefit of which is higher profits and optimized use of resources. Supplier use of EFP The supplier is also a very important and intrinsic part of the ERP as it helps keep a check on the ordering quantity, the cost of ordering and helps us maintain or in fact reduce the cost of raw material used. Also it helps in raw material planning as it connects directly to the raw material module which again connects us to the smaller parts of the supply chain and helps us make the system more proficient.