FlexGuide in SAP: Global Rollout at Brose

Industry:
Automotive Suppliers, Mechatronics, Manufacturing

Key Technologies:
SAP EWM / ERP, FlexGuide (transport management system),
Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV integration), convoy control

Applications:
Intralogistics, transport control, automated guided vehicle (AGV) management,
forklift and AGV integration

Key Features:
Centrally managed TLS template for global locations, hardware-independent device connectivity, over 50 million generated ride requests

International Rollouts Using Pre-built FlexGuide Templates

The global automotive supplier Brose can centrally control all its industrial trucks in 24 countries from Bamberg, across all time zones and language barriers, thereby optimizing transport routes. This is made possible by the FlexGuide transport management system from Flexus, integrated into SAP .

Europe, Asia, the Americas: At Brose’s headquarters in Bamberg, the continents come together. The SAP system installed here manages the data flows from all 65 locations that the automotive supplier operates in 24 countries. Brose’s global SAP rollout is based on what is known as the “template approach”: A template is a blueprint for the standardized execution of processes and a corresponding set of functions.

With the global template at Brose, processes and functions can be copied quickly and transferred to new locations in the desired combination based on the modular principle, saving an enormous amount of time: “We only need a few days to set up the information technology at a new assembly plant,” reports Michael Müller, Team Leader Material Flow, Information Systems, Brose Group.

Brose is the world’s fourth-largest family-owned automotive supplier. The company develops and manufactures mechatronic systems for vehicle doors and seats, as well as electric motors and electronics for steering, braking, transmissions, and engine cooling, among other applications. Approximately 25,000 employees at 65 locations in 24 countries generate revenue of 5.1 billion euros. Every other new car worldwide is equipped with at least one Brose product.

“Flexus has further developed its open system according to our specifications at
and incorporated our requirements into the product standard at.”
Michael Müller
Team Leader, Material Flow Information Systems
Brose Group

More and more valuable

Over the years, the template had been further developed in many stages. “In 2015, we were still missing a feature for the centralized optimization and control of intralogistics,” Müller recalls. The focus was on scheduling the use of industrial trucks in goods receiving as well as in production supply and waste disposal. The new centralized solution also needed to be able to manage the transport of empties and special runs, while taking into account items not managed in SAP, such as trash containers or empties. In the search for the right provider, the choice fell on Würzburg-based Flexus AG, which was able to deliver a solution integrated with SAP. “Flexus also stood out thanks to its references from the automotive industry and the versatile functions of the FlexGuidetransport and forklift control system, ”emphasizes Müller. Thanks to the ideas and project progress from Brose and all other users,“FlexGuide becomes more valuable and versatile with every upgrade.”

Fast training

Within the Brose Group, the system was first implemented at the Würzburg site, where—since 2016—it has led to a significantly shorter training period for new forklift operators and, as a result, to greater efficiency in transport operations. Employees now receive clear instructions on their forklift terminals and can visualize the routes using a digital map of the plant grounds. In addition, FlexGuide documents every handoff point for pallets and containers—which are often transported in multiple stages—so that irregularities and errors can be quickly resolved even after the fact. The specific points in the process where drivers must scan and confirm can be customized. “In areas with experienced drivers, we can eliminate the need to scan the transported goods multiple times when picking them up and setting them down, thereby increasing productivity,” explains Müller.

In early 2017, Brose began using the second phase of the TLS, which also allows for the control of route trains in various scenarios. For example, the system distinguishes between and supports the transport of large and small load carriers (GLT and KLT), fixed schedules, and shuttle trains. When loading the shuttle trains, the driver receives specific parking space suggestions for the respective containers.

Integrated connector: control over AGVS and narrow-aisle forklifts

FlexGuide also makes life much easier for the operators at Brose’s U.S. facility in Tuscaloosa. The narrow-aisle forklifts used there are connected to the TLS via an interface. This allows each movement command to be transmitted directly to the forklifts and then executed automatically at the push of a button. “The Flexus solution acts as an integrated connector, which means we can operate here without an additional external warehouse management system,” explains Müller. This significantly reduces the complexity of the system.

As a “neutral control system,” FlexGuide can be used to control any type of hardware. At Brose’s facility in Coventry, England, the solution even controls automated guided vehicles (AGVs), and any combination of AGVs and conventional forklifts is possible.

Time zones without scare

Meanwhile, Müller and his team have introduced the solution at seventeen Brose locations in Germany, the UK, the US, China, the Czech Republic, Mexico and Slovakia. “We were even able to solve the time zone problems when executing the worldwide tugger train timetables together with Flexus,” highlights Müller. In this context, international rollouts can also be carried out without any problems. Only in exceptional cases Brose requires help from Flexus, since the system con- sists of precisely defined modules. According to Müller, they can be centrally configured in a “familiar SAP environment.” The same applies to the support that Brose provides with its own employees at all locations, completely independent of Flexus. The automotive supplier is also completely independent when selecting forklift terminals.

“The solution works independently of end devices, so existing devices can continue to be used without any problems,” Müller reports. In addition, the user interfaces designed by Flexus—with large, easy-to-understand buttons—can be operated effortlessly and intuitively via touchscreen at
.

For the locations where the software has been deployed so far, it is also available in Chinese, Spanish, Slovak, Czech, German, and English.

More than 50 million transport tasks

With Flexus’s FlexGuide, Brose has standardized the control systems for all industrial trucks, enabling a global rollout with minimal effort. To date, FlexGuide has generated more than 50 million travel orders. Rollouts to additional locations are already underway.

Learn more about the transport control system for SAP

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