Kanban

The kanban supply system is typically used to supply low-cost and high-volume component items. You can also use the kanban system to supply floor stock items.

These items are used to manufacture products or assemble larger component items or subassemblies into end items.

The component items or shop floor items are supplied from a business partner, work center, or warehouse to a shop floor warehouse through kanban supply orders.

Kanban orders

A kanban order is a request for the supply of a warehouse. The setup determines whether the item is supplied from a warehouse, a business partner, or a work center.

Usually the creation of kanban supply orders is bar code driven and executed using a scanner. If LN is integrated with Infor Factory Track, a kanban order is generated when the bar code of the kanban label is scanned.

Users can also manually or automatically create kanban orders in LN.

Kanban order-advice

Optionally, the creation of kanban orders is preceded by kanban order-advice to allow for approval before the actual orders are created. Supply requests from multiple kanban signals for the same item can be grouped into a single advice. Kanban order-advices must be confirmed before they can be converted to kanban orders.

Kanban signals

A kanban signal is used to trigger the creation of a kanban supply order. A kanban signal includes a label code and a supply quantity, and is linked to a warehouse and item combination.

Typically, a kanban signal represents a kanban bin. When the user scans the label code on the empty bin, LN generates a supply order for the item quantity defined for the signal.

A signal can also represent more than one bin. For example, a label is attached to every second bin. When both bins are empty, the user scans the label of the second empty bin to generate a supply order for both empty bins.

In LN, users can generate kanban orders based on kanban signals in theses sessions:

• Generate Orders (Kanban) (whinh2200m000)
• Kanban Signals (whwmd2111m000)
• Item Data by Warehouse (whwmd210s000)

Kanban loop

Kanban signals are defined for a warehouse and item combination in the Item Data by Warehouse (whwmd2110s000) session. You can link multiple kanban signals to a warehouse and item combination. The signals defined for an item and warehouse represent the kanban loop.

Depending on the demand for the item, you can increase or decrease the number of signals for the kanban loop.

You can either calculate or manually specify the number of signals for the loop. If calculated, the number of signals is determined by the average daily demand for a particular period.

Reusable or unique kanban signals

Kanban signals are reusable or non-reusable.

If reusable, a signal can be used continually to trigger supply orders in the kanban loop. If the demand for the item decreases and fewer signals are required, you can temporally deactivate the signals and reactivate them when the demand increases.

If non-reusable, a signal is linked to only one supply order. When the supply order is received in the shop floor warehouse, the signal is permanently closed and a new signal is generated.

Predefined or mask-based kanban signals

Kanban signal IDs can be based on a mask or predefined. If the use of predefined kanban signals is implemented, kanban signal IDs are specified manually.

Kanban setup

The kanban supply system setup includes:

• Optionally, defining shop floor warehouses and floor stock items
• Optionally, kanban-order advice settings
• Item and supply settings
• Signal settings
• Loop settings