Select Harvests Solves PLC Integration with RF-SMART Automation
Customer Company Size
Large Corporate
Region
- Pacific
Country
- Australia
Product
- RF-SMART Automation
- JD Edwards
- Print Suite Bridge
Tech Stack
- PLC Integration
- Mobile Transactions
- Dynamic Picking
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Productivity Improvements
- Customer Satisfaction
- Digital Expertise
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
- Functional Applications - Inventory Management Systems
- Functional Applications - Remote Monitoring & Control Systems
Applicable Industries
- Food & Beverage
- Agriculture
Applicable Functions
- Process Manufacturing
- Warehouse & Inventory Management
Use Cases
- Inventory Management
- Predictive Maintenance
- Warehouse Automation
Services
- System Integration
- Software Design & Engineering Services
About The Customer
Select Harvests is one of Australia’s largest almond growers and the country’s leading manufacturer, processor, and marketer of nut products. They also export products globally. A corporate initiative to update to a universally implemented ERP prompted the selection of JD Edwards. Needing a way to integrate their existing automation technology – primarily PLCs – Select Harvests looked to RF-SMART. The company has a significant presence in the food and beverage industry, particularly in the agriculture sector, and is known for its extensive operations and large-scale production capabilities. With a focus on efficiency and innovation, Select Harvests continually seeks to improve its processes and maintain its competitive edge in the market.
The Challenge
Before implementing JD Edwards and RF-SMART, Select Harvests automatically recorded product as it arrived in their facility across weighbridges. Production receipts were then generated out of PLCs, and all data was integrated into their production floor as stock moved through their facility. However, the addition of JD Edwards posed a challenge: either replace all automation with systems that would integrate to JDE, or find a way to integrate the existing systems into JDE. In searching for a solution, the team at Select Harvests compared several options, but it was RF-SMART that allowed them to move forward with their JDE implementation and continue using their automation machines. “The value of RF-SMART is that it provides both the automation and data acquisition that we were looking to combine,” said Peter Holman, Group IT Manager. “It simplified the business problem of getting data into JD Edwards.”
The Solution
As machine integration was a requirement for go-live, Select Harvests found that implementing RF-SMART was a much simpler project to tackle. “What’s nice about RF-SMART is that we just had to connect it to what’s on our shop floor. There was no in-depth analysis required as to how to handle the data,” Peter said. “It was easy, and it worked.” RF-SMART now receives transactions as they come across the weighbridges. In fact, whether weighing stock as it comes into the plant, handling material issues, or creating work orders in the processing facility, all transactions run through RF-SMART Automation. “Without the automation module, we would be doing manual completions against the work orders in JD Edwards, which would be very difficult to keep up, or we would have to create our own interface,” said Peter. “With RF-SMART, we acquired an entire set of mobile transactions that support our processes.” Aside from the Automation Module, Select Harvests is running RF-SMART at their primary processing and packing facility to control the movement of inventory. Since Select Harvests uses process manufacturing, RF-SMART provides work order completions for by-products and co-products. Using mobile transactions for purchase order receiving, inventory transfers and picking, RF-SMART is allowing Select Harvests to create operational efficiencies.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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