Integrated Material Management Solutions From Panasonic and Inovaxe

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Across the industry, efforts are focused on transforming the manufacturing process from isolated silos to a “lean, agile, integrated” ecosystem underpinned by connectivity—but the true vision of Industry 4.0 depends on connectivity that creates visibility.

“Most factories today have islands of automation,” says Faisal Pandit, president of Panasonic Factory Solutions Company of America. “The warehouse operates independently of the shop floor. The efficiencies come when you bring that all together.”

PanaCIM MES (Manufacturing Execution System) software enables connectivity between factory floor equipment, production processes, material warehouse, and more. The software combines data and provides salient information to verify production results, predict necessary actions, trigger changeover activities, and manage factory inventory.

“Panasonic has the distinct ability to provide total solutions beyond the production line. While we can provide best-in-class hardware and software tools from our own portfolio, our Total Solution program augments our technology portfolio with an array of complementary tools from our partner companies,” said Brent A. Fischthal, Senior Product Manager of Products and Solutions at Panasonic Factory Solutions Company of America. “Our program allows us to create mutually sustainable partnerships with our customers that are focused on creating integrated solutions to transform manufacturing operations.”

Consider inventory management. “Materials are the lifeblood of a manufacturing operation, yet, many facilities struggle with shortages, shrinkage, excess, or other issues. These issues cause bottlenecks and inaccuracies that negatively affect production, cash flow, and ultimately profitability,” said Ben Khoshnood, president of Inovaxe.

Integrated material management using Inovaxe InoAuto intelligent storage carts and PanaCIM helps solve many problems concerning inventory, product kitting, and material control in the warehouse and on the production floor.

Integrated material management solutions increase inventory accuracy and reduce job setup time. Automated job order preparation, material distribution, and complete tracking help operators locate parts needed for kitting or in advance of a low-part production warning. Panasonic has several InoAuto carts integrated with PanaCIM for demonstration at our cloud9 Innovation Center in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.

Integrated material management solutions are just a portion of the Panasonic Total Solutions program. In fact, Panasonic has collaborated with over 30 best-in-class complementary technology partners extending well beyond SMT. 

About Panasonic Factory Solutions Company of America

Panasonic Factory Solutions Company of America, a North American source for electronic assembly equipment (SMT), software, and technical support, provides total business systems solutions for electronic semiconductor and packaging companies in the global marketplace through one provider. The company is a unit of Panasonic Corporation of North America, which is the principal North American subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation. For more information, click here.

About Inovaxe Corporation

Inovaxe was founded in 2003 with industry-recognized expertise in both the theoretical and practical application of lean, innovative, material handling solutions. Authorities in the field, Inovaxe has published over 50 whitepapers and their InoAuto material handling and storage solutions have received numerous awards and accolades. Inovaxe is focused on delivering intelligent solutions to streamline material handling and inventory accuracy within numerous industries including contract manufacturing, industrial, automotive, aerospace, defense, and medical sectors.