Flex-N-Gate Taps Frequentiel for Complete Inventory Tracking

Key facts

• 24,000 employees worldwide
• Demanding customers including PSA, Renault, and Volkswagen
• Stock inventory accuracy over 95%

Challenges

• Obtain accurate intermediate and finished product inventory data
• Instill complete tracking into the supply chain.
• Streamline inventory procedures.

Frequentiel Solution

• OCTO+ item-level RFID software platform.
• Mobile OCTO+ apps to improve employees’ daily tasks.
• Expert retail, software integration and RFID professional services.
• Device and fixed hardware management services.

Benefits

• Reliable real-time inventory data.
• Complete tracking of products.
• Increased manufacturing productivity.

Founded in 1956, Flex-N-Gate began as a small US manufacturer. Today, the company is one of the leading global manufacturers of parts and systems for the automotive industry. With over 24,000 employees worldwide and extensive plastics, metals, lighting and mechanical assembly experience, Flex-N-Gate constantly strives for continuous improvement and on-time delivery of defect-free products.

Instilling Inventory Tracking – An Essential Requirement

Automotive parts manufacturers are under constant pressure to streamline processes, making them more flexible and reliable. Flex-N-Gate has a broad product range and the cost of manufacturing and managing excess inventory had a negative impact on profitability. Originally, the company’s RFID project was triggered by a need for more reliable inventory data to avoid carrying excess inventory. Also, stock outs were a problem. When they happen, automotive manufacturers inflict penalties on parts manufacturer, which degrade their bottom line.

The company carried out several audits of its stock management processes. The audits convinced Flex-N-Gate that the implementation of finer stock tracking throughout its manufacturing process was the key to improved quality, reduced costs, and especially improved delivery times.

Convinced of the need to improve its tracking processes, Flex-N-Gate decided to launch a pilot program incorporating RFID in one of its French factories.

Choosing Frequentiel

The company met with a number of service providers and ultimately chose Frequentiel due to the company’s extensive experience implementing parts tracking solutions in industrial settings.

There is a lot of diversity in Flex-N-Gate’s product catalog. The French factory conducting the pilot serves demanding car manufacturers, notably PSA, Renault, and Volkswagen. Therefore, integrating an RFID solution was no easy feat. A considerable amount of time was spent on project planning in order to avoid any unwelcome surprises during deployment.

Streamlined and Accurate Stock Operations

The integration of the solution went smoothly and thanks to Frequentiel, Flex-N-Gate now enjoys complete inventory tracking and visibility.
“The reliability of our inventory data is over 95%. We can adjust our production accordingly, saving time and money and avoiding stock excess or stockouts,” says Nicolas Richon, Industrial Management Controller at Flex-N-Gate.

In addition, the company can now respond more rapidly to its customers’ tracking inquiries, react faster to eventual product recalls, and improve regulatory compliance — not to mention being able to speed up production.

Thanks to the success of this pilot project, the company is planning future projects with Frequentiel to deploy its RFID technology in other divisions.

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