iPad Leads to Innovation in Manufacturing Warehouse

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iPad Leads to Innovation in Manufacturing Warehouse

Posted on Aug 09, 2010

It’s a good bet that Steve Jobs and the folks at Apple haven’t yet cataloged the ways in which their new iPad device is being put to use in manufacturing circles. And good money says a lot of manufacturers probably don’t see the fast-selling tablet computer as anything more than a fancy distraction from weightier business matters.

But in Elkhart, IN, Tim Markley is already thinking about how he will use the iPad next. The president of Markley Enterprises, a manufacturer of sales and marketing support products, sees the Apple tablet computer as a way to make warehouse operations and supply chain execution more efficient. The company has already outfitted its swing-reach forklifts with iPads, a move Markley says has improved the put-away process. Now forklift operators, instead of jotting down notes with a pen and paper and then walking to a terminal to log put-away locations, simply tap their iPad screens to enter the data into the warehouse management system on the spot. The connection is facilitated by the SmartTurn WMS (now part of RedPrairie), which has been architected to work with the iPad. The operator’s input updates the WMS in real time, letting other workers see put-away locations immediately.

To measure the effects of this iPad-based automation, Markley outfitted operators with pedometers. So far, they’re taking 30% fewer steps to complete their tasks, he says. That may put a kink in the corporate fitness program, but it certainly boosts productivity.

Markley may be something of an outlier in a PC-dominated industry, having run his company on Mac computers for years and purchased “almost every Mac device ever made.” But he’s not the only one who sees industrial potential in a device that has been hailed mainly as a consumer play. In a recent research note, analysts at AMR Research/Gartner said that with “some enhancement,” the iPad could facilitate data integration from an enterprise system, such as MRP, ERP, or MES, to a more localized system, such as a database, machine tool control software, or order or warehouse management application. Although it will need help from application developers and others, the analysts wrote, “the iPad just might be a ‘game changer’ for manufacturing operations.”

Markley, for one, is just getting started. He plans to add iPads to the carts his workers use for picking. The administrator of the WMS will decide which orders to fill, output that plan to a spreadsheet, and e-mail a customized version to each iPad, using the device’s unique e-mail address. The picker will open the spreadsheet on the iPad and find his or her work instructions.

The process has been facilitated by the growth of cloud computing, according to Markley. The SmartTurn WMS software is cloud-based and platform-agnostic. As more businesses embrace cloud computing, he said, “all of your [applications] become platform-independent, because as long as you can access the Web, you’re there.”

Of course, the iPad’s durability will need some testing in industrial settings, but Markley says they are working without incident so far.