Press Release

15^th December 2015

DataSwitch a vital instrument for helping BKW halve reordering times

One of the UK’s leading instrumentation engineers has slashed the time it takes on stock reordering by 50% after implementing DataSwitch from K3 Syspro. 

BKW Instruments is a leading supplier, manufacturer, and distributor of instrumentation solutions across a number of industries including water, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, oil and gas, energy, HVAC and more. The business is a long standing customer of K3 Syspro, having first implemented a SYSPRO Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution from the business over twenty years ago. When the business sought a solution to help automate its complex reordering processes, K3 Syspro was the obvious first port of call. 

BKW’s previous warehouse management system was labour intensive and operated in a reactive nature. The task of re-ordering stock was time consuming and relied entirely on human input, which also left it open to human error.

Mike Honeyford, Operations Director at BKW Instruments explains the difficulties the company was previously encountering. He says: “Our previous re-ordering system didn’t encompass a restock trigger, and as a result the task of re-ordering was done on an ‘as and when’ basis. There was no process to follow and this meant items ran the risk of being reordered multiple times, or not at all. 

“Our previous reorder process was only triggered when the last stock item had been used. This meant that the system relied on employees to notify the procurement department when an item had become out of stock. What would follow in the old process, was multiple administration tasks to manage reordering through manual methods, resulting in a large paper trail. Purchase orders were created manually, before being sent to our procurement department, where they were manually checked before being inputted onto the system and processed. With DataSwitch, we are saving on paper usage and have slashed the time it takes to carry out this process by 50%. 

In order to create a more proactive reordering process and automate the task, BKW approached K3 Syspro for a solution. K3 Syspro implemented DataSwitch across the entire business, integrating it with the company’s existing SYSPRO ERP solution, and also with a number of the company’s existing third party applications.  DataSwitch is a powerful data manipulation and systems integration tool, which leverages the Internet of Things to automate processes and information. The solution is developed and maintained by K3 Syspro itself. 

Since implementing DataSwitch, BKW has been able to automate a number of its stock replenishment processes, resulting in considerable time savings. One such saving comes from the automation of stock replenishment for low value, high volume items. Using DataSwitch, and the company’s existing barcode scanners, BKW has created automated stock triggers to ensure stock is reordered ahead of time. 

This is carried out by scanning a barcode, which then creates a bin note, and a purchase order within DataSwitch. These purchase orders are then consolidated overnight using DataSwitch, which utilises a number of existing factors such as previous order quantities and supplier costs. The purchase orders are then automatically sent from DataSwitch to K3 Reports, which sends a copy of the purchase order via an email distribution list, for full traceability.

BKW is not only using DataSwitch for the supply and distribution arm of the business. It also keeps stock of a number of components that are manufactured in house. BKW has been able to expand its use of barcodes, further utilising DataSwitch to streamline the company’s processes. BKW is able to use barcode scanners to trigger the creation of a Job for each component. This is distributed via email and received by the manufacturing department each morning. Again, K3 reports is instrumental in the production of jobs, providing full traceability of all purchase orders which are emailed using Crystal Reports. 

“The way we use DataSwitch for our own manufacturing arm is very similar to the way we use it when dealing with third party suppliers and distributors. However, instead of a PO, SYSPRO creates a unique works order, to manufacture a specific item or part. Again, K3 Reports is used here to produce copies of works orders which are then automatically sent to the correct department. This provides us with full traceability of our operations and access to real time reports so we see where we can make our processes even leaner.”

-ENDS-

About K3 Syspro

K3 Syspro employs over 90 people at its Manchester head office and its branches throughout the UK and Ireland. The company offers solutions in enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management, advanced planning and scheduling, warehouse management, human resources and e-business. SYSPRO is used by some 15,000 sites in over 60 countries. K3 Syspro is a division of K3 Business Technology Group, a global leader in providing next-generation enterprise software for businesses in the retail, manufacturing and distribution sectors. With more than 3,000 customer installations in over 30 countries, K3 is recognised as a safe, innovative and reliable provider of world-class solutions, backed by world-class service.

For further information, please contact:-

Editorial – Sarah Winterbottom, Marketing Manager, K3 Syspro on 0161 876 4498, or John Edden, Bridge PR & Media Services on 024 76 520025, or e-mail john@bridgepr.co.uk.