Products — Epic Data MMS™

Dynamic, Synchronized Warehouse Material
Management Solution

Epic Data’s Material Management System, (MMS) is a comprehensive application that can manage both distribution and production warehousing facilities. Simple product configuration allows the same MMS transaction set to be used to accurately and efficiently fulfill customer and production orders. MMS provides real time visibility, auditing and control of the movement and location of the physical inventory so that warehouse operators have immediate visibility when they need it.

MMS is designed to complement ERP systems. It fully supports the ERP processes and information needed for the financial management of the inventory while delivering a rich set of features that will maximize the operational performance of the warehouse. Capabilities include order picking prioritization, picking route management, wave picking, trigger-based automatic cycle counting and synchronization of order fulfillment to production activities.

MMS is for companies constantly trying to eliminate waste and improve warehouse processes in order to provide 100% accuracy and on time delivery to their customers.

Three key features of MMS:

Dynamic response to change. MMS allows managers to effectively respond to changes in demand, supply, logistics and operational requirements. Users have real-time visibility into current warehouse status and material locations. Users are able to quickly see the impact of unforeseen situations and optimize fulfillment plans given the new reality.

Real-time visibility and integration to production logistics. To keep production lines running smoothly, the flow of materials to the lines must be managed constantly. This means knowing where materials, parts, sub-assemblies, moulds, dies and other production materials are at all times. Whether at an external supplier, a subcontractor, another production plant, a warehouse or at line-side, MMS instantly tells operations and shop floor workers where their parts and materials are.

Unification of push and pull line-side replenishment methods for production. MMS facilitates coordination between Planning, Supply and Demand. Overlying traditional “Push” constructs, MMS’ demand-driven “Pull” injects Kanban pull signals at the point of consumption to link requests from the demand point to the appropriate fulfillment points.

Learn more about Epic Data MMS™

Click for more details about MMS’ capabilities in the following functional areas:

System Architecture

MMS’ flexible architecture offers the following capabilities and benefits:

  • Rapid integration with manufacturing operations management (MOM) and ERP systems, including SAP®
  • Oracle® compliant data base, with built-in data synchronization and validation
  • Windows® Graphic User Interface (GUI) for easy shop-floor use
  • Scalable: hundreds of terminals, multiple plants and locations
  • Support for mission-critical, 24×7 operation: fault-tolerance, redundancy, guaranteed data delivery
  • Easy data extraction to create custom reports in Crystal Reports® or other systems
  • Application can be deployed on a wide range of hardware devices

Epic Data offers a complete range of Professional Services and Customer Support to ensure that customers take full advantage of MMS’ powerful capabilities. Back to top ^

Inbound Logistics and Receiving

First Move Tracked with Integrated Supply Chain Logistics
Epic Data knows that receiving plays an important role in a manufacturer’s quality, cost accounting and inventory turnover. The faster receipts can be processed at the receiving docks, the faster the parts can be available to fulfill demand. Receiving is also the first on-site opportunity to ensure product quality, accurate inventory counts and vendor performance.

With faster receipts in mind, MMS starts its parts and materials tracking before parts arrive at receiving – working with the enterprise procurement system and the suppliers in its supply chain. MMS provides:

  • Support for “suppliers” that are internal or external to company
  • Advance shipment notices for visibility into incoming shipments
  • Integration with ERP purchase orders to quickly match receipts to POs
  • Support and integrated reporting of:
    • partial or alternative shipments
    • errors or deviations from orders
  • Vendor, corporate or industry-compliant labels to standardize and reduce receiving costs.
  • Quick part attribute capture using handheld data collection systems
  • Beginning of parts traceability and product genealogies through:
    • parts audit trail
    • serialization by lot, batch or individual serial number

Flexible Receiving to Speed Parts Availability
MMS supports a manufacturer’s needs to balance the often conflicting goals of JIT inventory deliveries, cost-effective purchasing quantities, efficient materials handling and customer responsiveness. MMS allows receiving and manufacturing warehousing staff to accurately track inventory while dynamically adapting to minimize handling and maximize parts availability. MMS supports:

  • Expedite requests from the production line or customer order management system
  • JIT line-side replenishment requests
  • Cross docking, so you don’t take time to put something away and then re-pick it immediately
  • Partial receipts to make a batch of parts available immediately. For example, receiving personnel can receive, sort, consolidate, inspect and deliver Batch A before starting Batch B of the same incoming shipment
  • Split receipts with partial delivery cross-docked to the production line, and partial delivery to stores Back to top ^

Materials Movement and Demand Fulfillment

A Trail of Visibility and Traceability
A fundamental part of MMS is the move logistics and fulfillment functions, which integrate directly with a manufacturer’s production control and warehouse dispatching systems to make sure that the Right parts get to the Right place at the Right time. Using intelligent, rule-based picking algorithms, MMS directs materials handling staff to the appropriate spot to move the materials quickly and efficiently.

Rule-Based Movement Planning
Epic Data maps workflow for each unique MMS implementation, adapting material flow to warehouse and production demands. A virtual river of parts is defined in the workflow, specifying unique part identifiers and their attributes.

MMS’ planning supports:

  • Flexible workflow: batch, single piece or a combination depending on the needs of different materials
  • ERP-driven “push” orders: sales orders, work orders
  • Demand-driven “pull” orders: Kanban tickets, expedite or priority requests

Demand-Driven Fulfillment for Production
MMS generates JIT replenishment requests with a “pull” concept similar to Kanban tickets. When all is going as planned, these replenishment requests keep production lines running smoothly, with just the right amount of line-side inventory for uninterrupted production with minimal WIP inventory.

MMS’ true value is revealed when the unexpected happens. A customer has an urgent request. A supplier delivery is late. A machine breaks down. Operations Managers can intervene to change material flow in response to the dynamically changing manufacturing environment. MMS supports:

  • Expedite requests, within standard process rules
  • Temporary suspension of line-side replenishment
  • Cross-docking to expedite parts to the line
  • Substitutions that will be properly captured in product genealogy

Intelligent Picking
Epic Data implements intelligent picking algorithms within MMS optimized for each manufacturer’s production and warehouse environment. The picking schemes that work most efficiently in manufacturing environments are often different than those used in distribution warehousing. A manufacturer’s picking is typically focused on picking for jobs, production and work orders as efficiently as possible, while fulfillment warehousing operations typically pick to order.

MMS’ unique combination of rule-based material movement capable of being over-ridden to respond to dynamic changes provides manufacturers with agility and efficiency. MMS supports:

  • Batch and wave picking schemes suited to manufacturers, or pick-to-order picking schemes suited to fulfillment warehousing operations, or a combination of both
  • Line-side picking for frequently used small parts
  • Prioritization for faster order completion or optimal efficiency
  • Pick tickets organized by zone
  • Consolidation of orders to minimize trips
  • Variable-sized and load-balanced picks to speed delivery to consolidation area

Proof-of-Delivery
At each step of a part’s movement, proof-of-delivery is tracked through to the final point of consumption in manufacturing. This lays the groundwork for MMS’ parts audit trails and product genealogy, which are compliant with numerous industry requirements for serialization, traceability and quality assurance.
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Inventory and Location Management

Visibility to Reduce Costly Lost Time
MMS provides instantaneous visibility into the location of all parts, materials, and assets such as moulds and dies that are tracked within MMS. Epic Data knows that “missing” and “lost” parts cost manufacturers and warehouses millions of dollars a year in wasted effort, inefficiencies and higher inventory costs.

Most warehouse management systems provide tools to receive, store, and ship items…but lack the detailed, real-time “Material in Motion” tracking and tracing capabilities required to eliminate the waste (time and money) created by lost items.

A part doesn’t have to be lost forever; lost for 30 minutes is enough to create chaos.

The visibility MMS provides shop floor and operations managers dramatically reduces:

  • Items lost in warehouses and on the shop floor
  • Time spent looking for items
  • Time spent re-ordering lost items
  • Time and inventory costs to buffer stock to account for lost items
  • Time spent re-stocking found items
  • Productivity losses from slowing or stopping production or order fulfillment

Integrated Real-Time Inventory Management
MMS’ real-time movement visibility offers a material movement tracking system. Features include:

  • Support for a wide variety of data collection devices, including handheld RF
  • Location information for receipt-in-process (RIP), work-in-process (WIP), and finished goods (FG)
  • Multiple storage location support: internal or external warehouses, storerooms, line-side storage, consolidation areas
  • Detailed storage location descriptions: e.g. “on pallet D, in tote F, at Building A, bay 3 nose cone repair site, shelf 3”
  • Proof-of-delivery hand-offs at every stage of movement to create a chain of custody
  • Item movement reported by the second, minute, hour, shift, day

In addition, MMS integrates with enterprise inventory management and control systems to augment those systems with real-time data for:

  • Cycle counting
  • Shelf-life control
  • Traceability: lot, serial, batch
  • Compliance reporting: quality, genealogy, serialization Back to top ^

Outbound Logistics and Shipping

Last Opportunity for Efficiency Gains
MMS’ rule-based algorithms keep your outbound fulfillment activities running smoothly. MMS streamlines the following outbound logistics:

  • Picking consolidation and matching to work orders or sales orders
  • Application of corporate and/or industry compliant shipping labels
  • Proof-of-delivery, shipping confirmation for accounts receivable and customer service
  • Compliance reporting: quality, genealogy, serialization

But as in other functional areas, MMS’ value proves itself when outbound logistics do not go as planned. An order’s status is upgrade to Urgent but some items are not yet in the consolidation area. A shipper is delayed. A production delay means that some partial orders will be shipped.

These last-minute changes are easily handled with MMS’ support for:

  • Parts tracking, to quickly locate items required to complete an order
  • Expedite requests sent to picking and production
  • Temporary suspension of shipping activities
  • Shipments to multiple locations
  • Partial shipments
  • Substitutions that will be properly captured in inventory, product genealogy and customer invoice Back to top ^