Houston Johnson
System Summary:
Houston-Johnson, Inc. (HJI) is a Louisville-based, minority-owned and
ISO 9001-2000 certified enterprise. Founded in 1987, Houston Johnson
provides logistic services to the largest automotive manufacturers,
parts suppliers and intermodal companies as a Tier 1 or Tier 2 supplier.
These services include sequencing, modular assembly, kitting and rework
operations with automotive suppliers and consumer products. Approximately
$500 million worth of parts and materials flow through the HJI facilities
annually.
As a leader in Third Party Logistics, HJI’s mission is to provide
customers with customized solutions through integrated logistics and
warehousing services. To support this commitment, HJI has an on-going
pledge to improve services through the use of technology and innovation.
Key Issues:
The processes in place at HJI were manual and paper driven resulting in:
- Increased time required for picking
- Inaccurate sequencing resulting in
- Quality Rejects
- Inability to know exactly what was in stock and where at any given moment
- Increased employee training time
Additionally, HJI desired value added services to compliment their growing business:
- Visibility to orders and products by the customer
- Scalability for growing operations
- Configurable support for new business development
ASAP Solution:
- Developed supplier interface with built in redundancy and alerts
- Designed paperless RF picking, sequencing, and shipping modules to ensure accuracy for Just-In-Time delivery
- Provided web-based customer access to view inventory levels and order status
- Created an automated interface into the accounting system
- Generated reports providing operators and supervisors detailed visibility on productivity
- Exacta® Warehouse Managment Software (WMS)
Key Results:
- Ford recieved their components on time and in the right sequence
- ASAP's solution decreased operator training time by over 50%
- Decreased pick time by 50%
- Quality rejects were effectively eliminated
Current Process with Exacta®:
HJI receives electronic transmission for Just-In-Time product lines.
Exacta® WMS validates the data and signals to operators if any
problem occurs (such as missed transmissions or downed communication
lines).
Exacta WMS groups the electronic transmissions to create orders.
The operator uses an RF handheld to determine the next order
and associate the picking to an individual rack. The RF handheld
directs the operator to each pick location in the most direct route
available. The picks are grouped by location and the position on
the rack is presented to the operator.
Upon completing the picks, labels are automatically printed
for each product on the rack. Operators apply the labels and
then begin sequence confirmation. The RF handheld directs the operator
to scan each product and rotation ID in order, recording each
scan for confirmation. After each product is properly scanned, a
packing list for the rack is automatically printed.
Racks are loaded onto trucks for delivery to the assembly line.
The operators enter the truck number and rack numbers into
the web-based shipping program. The program confirms the order of
the racks and prints a bill of lading for the truck.
