The ACTYLUS™ Smart Bin Solution, from Apex Supply Chain Technologies®, automates inventory replenishment and manages stock to increase productivity and decrease costs for companies and the distributors handling their vendor managed inventory (VMI) programs.
The replenishment process is usually manual, requiring trips to count bins before refilling them. This inefficient process drains distributor productivity and is prone to inaccuracy. This increases the risk of a stock-out, which, in turn, often triggers emergency reordering that results in disruptions to the distributor’s operating flow and costly rush delivery charges. And if a stock-out results in a missed production deadline, costly fines can be assessed for the company as well as their suppliers.
“Distributors are challenged to differentiate themselves in a distinct and measurable way,” says Kent Savage, Founder and CEO of Apex Supply Chain Technologies. “The long-standing claims of ‘good service, good pricing’ are not enough today as customers are demanding more. ACTYLUS provides frictionless availability of critical parts, supplies and components. The operational impact this has frees them up to increase their level of service to customers.”
Smart Bin Automation Eliminates Manual Replenishment Issues
ACTYLUS eliminates the need for manual counting, flags, labels and cards used in traditional Kanban bin systems. The smart bins send automated alerts and reorder notifications to distributors when a bin’s preset limits are detected.
This prevents stock-outs which eliminates the need for distributor counting trips and emergency reorders. The hard and soft costs required to replenish bins and Kanban programs are reduced by boosting worker productivity, reducing the need for additional safety stock and allowing the distributor to discover additional opportunities to grow their business
ACTYLUS can be flexibly configured to store and monitor any item traditionally stored in bins, from fasteners and small electrical components to mission-critical stock feed and even sub-assemblies for use in bench-top assembly cells.
ACTYLUS is unique in that each bin and its contents is brightly lit with interior LED lights to ensure item selection is fast and accurate. Separate bin status lights change from white to red when pre-set limits are reached to notify workers of each bin’s inventory status. ACTYLUS is available in a range of bin and shelf configurations to accommodate any application.
Real-Time Inventory Visibility with the Apex Trajectory Cloud Platform
ACTYLUS is powered by the Apex Trajectory Cloud™, a secure analytics and inventory replenishment platform that consolidates smart bin data in real time to give distributors, and their customers, 24/7 visibility into inventory while automatically sending reorder information to the distributor’s ERP system. Stock levels alerts and reordering rules can be checked and managed online anytime and anywhere from a smartphone, tablet or computer.
To learn more about the ACTYLUS Smart Bin System, visit //www.apexsupplychain.com/Actylus.
Apex Supply Chain Technologies is the world’s leading provider of automated dispensing systems for use in a variety of applications and industries. Our devices track billions of transactions to help tens of thousands of customers worldwide manage, track and control their inventory and assets. With world headquarters in Mason, Ohio, Apex has offices in Australia, Germany, Poland, the UK and Latin America.