Global manufacturer Renold is investing in new WMS and ERP technology to boost the efficiency of its business
Renold plc is a global manufacturer of industrial chain, coupling and gearbox solutions. The group delivers high precision engineered and power transmission products to a wide range of markets, from cement making and chocolate manufacturing to subway trains and power stations, escalators and quarries.
Renold is currently investing in new technology to drive greater efficiency and accuracy in its processes, replacing its former ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems and also introducing new WMS (warehouse management) systems, worldwide. “There is a great deal of raw material movement in our business and we need to know where our inventory is at any time” explains group business systems director Sarah Cobb, who is driving the change. “Clearly, inventory accuracy underpins any successful systems implementation of this kind: it boosts efficiency when you know exactly where the inventory is located that you need for a given operation. We have a very broad customer base, which is a good thing, but breadth and diversity demand good systems to underpin the business” Sarah Cobb adds.
For historic reasons Renold had a myriad of ERP systems across the group (and a fragmented systems history) but is now moving to a single ERP. It is currently rolling out the Infor M3 ERP system across more than 20 manufacturing, distribution and sales sites including America, South Africa, China, India, Germany and Australia, alongside TouchPath’s ‘TouchWMS’ system, which can be integrated with any ERP. “TouchWMS is a flexible, tried and tested system that does exactly what it says on the tin” Sarah Cobb observes. This is the group’s first foray into WMS, though Cobb does have previous personal experience of TouchWMS – https://touchpath.com/solutions/warehouse-management-systems-wms/
To date the WMS has been well received by Renold users including those in Cardiff, Germany and Switzerland (around 120 employees in total) where the tangible benefits of barcoding – the first WMS application to be implemented across the group – already seemed to have overcome any early user reservations. WMS implementation in India and China is planned for 2018 alongside M3 ERP. Renold’s UK site in Cardiff is already live with both M3 ERP and TouchWMS. Its US site in Tennessee is also live; there the company currently uses SAP, but now integrated with TouchWMS.
“Over time, the role of WMS in Renold will grow, but our first WMS step, all-sites barcoding for all inventory movements is already having a marked and measurable impact on the business”, Sarah Cobb concludes.
