SAP Direct Printing and OPAL LABELMANAGEMENT at SFC KOENIG
Swiss company SFC KOENIG AG has used OPAL LABELMANAGEMENT™ and the SAP Direct Printing solution to integrate its key suppliers into the printing process and now avoids relabelling at goods receipt.
About SFC KOENIG AG
SFC KOENIG AG is a globally leading supplier of high-quality, specific applications in the fields of sealing technology and flow control. With more than 40 years of experience, solution-oriented know-how and unique development and consulting expertise, SFC KOENIG stands for the highest reliability in the automotive and transport, aerospace, mechanical and plant engineering, precision engineering and medical technology sectors.
The SFC KOENIG Group is headquartered in Switzerland and has subsidiaries in Germany, the USA and China.
Further information at www.sfckoenig.com.
This is how it works! Supplier integration in labelling Faster, better, error-free: with this goal in mind, SFC Koenig AG, a specialist in sealing and flow components, optimised its goods receipt processes. The focus was on the labels used by its suppliers, which had to be replaced with the company's own labels before storage. This process cost time and money without contributing to the value creation of the products.
Do it right, first time! Identification and traceability are the cornerstones of an efficient supply chain. Too many supply chains are burdened with relabelling processes that make them slow, error-prone and expensive. One approach is to make relabelling more efficient; a better approach is to do without relabelling altogether!
How? By having the supplier print the correct label - but this is exactly where the risk lies of merely shifting the effort within the supply chain instead of genuinely eliminating it. SFC KOENIG AG pulled it off and eliminated the effort for itself and its suppliers, in three days!
An efficient supply chain in three days
Building on OPAL LABELMANAGEMENT™, which had already been set up at SFC KOENIG AG within one month back in 2017, it was very easy for OPAL to offer its customer and its suppliers a solution for the problematic process.
The solution is an IoT printer located at the supplier's site that is able to print SFC Koenig AG's labels. The only prerequisites are an internet connection, a compatible printer and the »SAP Direct Printing« solution.
Thanks to the secure communication between the printer and OPAL LABELMANAGEMENT™, suppliers can now access »their« data directly from SFC KOENIG's SAP® system and start label printing. As a rule, all it takes is scanning a delivery note or entering the order number together with the required quantity on the printer display.
What is SAP Direct Printing? The solution was created through the cooperation of OPAL and SATO. SATO is an innovative printer manufacturer that has equipped its latest printer generation with an application interface (API). At SATO this is called AEP technology (Application Enabled Printing). It allows AutoID integrators such as OPAL to run a program on the printer.
»SAP Direct Printing« is the program that establishes the connection on the printer to the print transactions at SFC KOENIG. Complex interfaces and customer terminals for label printing become superfluous. With the application, label printing in SAP can be handled directly on the printer display.
Compatible printers from SATO - SATO CT4-LX, SATO CL4-NX and SATOFX3
More about the SATO CT4-LX
More about the SATO CL4NX Plus
More about the SATO FX3-LX
SFC KOENIG's conclusion on the Direct Printing solution
The »SAP Direct Printing« solution not only eliminates labour-intensive relabelling at goods receipt, SFC KOENIG has also become considerably more flexible. Thanks to the central SAP® database, every desired change to a label is made available immediately across the entire supplier network, so that suppliers' labels are always up to date. SFC KOENIG AG also benefits from the centralisation of user administration and the documentation of all activities. This gives the company a complete overview of the connected suppliers and a full printing history.
Because the print job is entered on the printer itself and users no longer depend on additional computer terminals, SFC KOENIG AG does not rule out integrating the solution into its internal logistics and production processes as well.