Solution Profile: Manufacturer of color and additive concentrates for plastics industry Reduction in overhead inventory Significant boost in productivity SCE Provider: HighJump Software, Inc.

Techmer PM, a Tennessee-based designer and producer of color and additive concentrates for the plastics industry, was founded in 1981 to supply technical expertise and manufacturing capability that would reliably add value to their customers' products. Although Techmer's scope of operations is a closely guarded secret, the company has more than 500 employees working in four main production facilities.

Challenge
When increased production demands strained the efficiency of such mission-critical tasks as receiving, put-away, picking, shipping and cycle counting, Techmer sought an automated alternative to its antiquated, spreadsheet-based warehouse management system (WMS). Techmer's primary objective for the new system was to decrease the time needed to locate various raw materials stored throughout their four warehouses.

Solution
"We selected an affordable, easily configurable WMS," said Rick Tipton, Materials Manager at Techmer. "The package included a Web interface functionality that no one else had, providing us with an important link to the Intranet."

Implementation
Techmer's WMS installation featured a bar code scanning process combined with real-time execution and visibility. A key success factor for the three-month implementation was the tools-based approach, which enabled easy configuration. The WMS gave us immediate real-time data access across the enterprise - which enabled material handers to efficiently perform their assigned tasks. In a short time, we cut material location and delivery times in half," Rick Tipton, Techmer PM.

Results
More accurate inventory reporting, improved control optimization of warehouse resources and a significant boost in productivity are just a few of the immediate benefits Techmer realized. "The ability to quickly track, locate and pull orders accurately is not only a big cost savings, it also improves customer service and is a confidence booster for employees," says Tipton.

is a Proud Member of the SCE Product Section of Material Handling Industry of America