Tyco Healthcare Customer Solution

Host System:	IBM AS/400
Host Application:	GEAC (JBA) System/21
Data Capture Hardware:	Symbol PDT6840 (Radio Frequency) barcode scanners
System Location:	Production and Stores
Requirements:	The Tyco Healthcare Group is a large multinational American organisation with a number of locations across Europe and Africa. Tyco recognised that there were serious escalation of material costs across some of the key manufacturing plant. Tyco products are typically high volume items with specialist packaging required by the healthcare industry. Tyco reviewed their material management control processes and identified that they needed to improve control of actual usage by product line. A number of processes were put in place but due to high volumes at certain plants (France, Spain and South Africa) it was decided that a portable data capture system needed to be implemented at these sites. The Lille plant in France was chosen as the first location for the new system.
Solution:	Following a comprehensive selection process Crown Computing was chosen to provide a total solution. The solution consisted of Symbol PDT handheld terminals, Crown Data Collection software and Crown’s unique DC-Connect integration product. DC-Connect provided full integration with the Tyco’s implementation of the BPCS ERP system.
Benefits:	The Crown data collection system has delivered accurate material usage figures for each production line, allowing for enhanced material management controls to be implemented based on actual usage rather than planned information. The solution has resulted in significant saving not only in the reduced cost of our solution compared to the incumbent suppliers offering but the on going savings achieved from a robust system that has proven to be easy to use.
Implementation Process:	Following the successful implementation in Lille, Crown trained up key Tyco resources who would then undertake the rollout programme to the other sites.
Future:	Tyco are considering taking the development level of the DC-Connect product so that they can develop all the additional integration functions. The product is also being reviewed for use in integrating into the GEAC (JBA) System/21 product.