COVER STORY » MATERIAL
COVER STORY » MATERIAL MANAGEMENTSource: ASMPTAutomated material flow optimization in the Intelligent FactoryInventory transparencythat pays off14 EPP Europe » 05 | 2025
With AMRs that are seamlesslyintegrated into the existingsoftware and hardware landscape,material gets delivered to thelines reliably and on timeAT A GLANCEASMPT explains howits material managementsoftware ensures theright material is available inthe right quantity, at theright time, and in theright place formanufacturers.If you want to utilize your manufacturingequipment to the fullest and avoid materialoverstocks and waste, you needprecise real-time data on stock quantities,storage locations and current demandalong the line. The only way youcan maximize the return on your investmentis by linking this information andputting it to use in an intelligent manner.Everyone knows that production equipment deliversits maximum performance only if it runscontinuously at full load. But achieving this in reallife is anything but easy. One crucial factor is thesupply of material, which in modern electronics factoriesinvolves much more than simply transportingit from the warehouse to the machine. Componentstend to be spread over many locations, most line-adjacentbuffers have limited capacities, and consumptionon the line fluctuates. In addition, there are material-relatedaspects such as expiration dates andmoisture sensitivity. The multitude of these factorsmakes optimizing the material flow a complex puzzlethat is almost impossible to manage manually, especiallyin a high-mix/low-volume environment. Toautomate and computerize the process, a two-stagesystem has proven to be useful.When analyzing the material flow, two basic aspectscan be distinguished:• The “from where” – i.e., the exact inventory data:Which package or reel with which material is locatedwhere?• The “where to” – i.e., the equally exact demanddata: Which material is needed where and inwhat quantity?Any software solution that wants to successfullymanage and optimize the material flow must be ableto answer these fundamental questions quickly andreliably. ASMPT has implemented both of these basicfunctions in its seamlessly integrated Factory MaterialManager and WORKS Logistics applications.EPP Europe » 05 | 2025 15
