TYPICAL CURRENT STATE
Disconnected information.
Line demand, warehouse allocation and fleet missions are handled separately. Delays require manually reconstructing which party is waiting.
TRUSTED FACTORYFLOW
Supply material to the production rhythm
Link line-side demand to eligible stock, transport execution and confirmed handover.
The line needs material. The warehouse has it. Why the wait?
The bottleneck to resolve
Demand originates at the use point, while stock, warehouse work and robot missions live in separate systems. A call or message does not tell supervisors whether material is reserved, being picked or waiting for a destination. Adding robots does not close that gap unless allocation and handover conditions are aligned.
A suitable discovery scope is a line-supply area with defined pickup/drop-off points, consistent item codes and units, and named production and warehouse coordinators. Use an existing WMS or select FactoryFlow WMS for the agreed scope.
Where does the operating flow change?
REFERENCE CONFIGURATION
Explicit confirmation milestones.
A material call retains links to reservation, task, execution and mission. Coordinators see missing conditions; WMS posts movements only after verified handover.
Follow one demand to its outcome.
Production coordination · warehouse supervisor · line recipient · integration engineer
CALL-010 → TASK-010 → EXE-010 → MSN-010
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01
Record 12 EA for LINE-01 with a due time; check source demand to prevent duplicates.
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02
WMS checks lot, quality status and availability; reserve 12 EA at A-01 before releasing work.
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03
WCS checks destination and execution profile; Fleet executes the linked mission.
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04
Scan LINE-01 and actual received quantity; WMS confirms before production feedback.
When work does not follow the expected path.
Each blocker has its own data, authority and resumption conditions.
LINE-01 is occupied
Inputs: station readiness, open demand and delivery schedule. Hold dispatch until eligible; production/warehouse coordination reschedules under agreed rules. Reserved stock is not line-side stock.
Insufficient eligible stock
WMS separates available and short quantities; an authorized owner chooses partial supply, replenishment or another plan. Urgency does not release QC-held material.
Mission complete, no scan
Query the mission ID and verify handover; retain an unresolved result instead of creating another mission. The recipient verifies quantity; WMS owns posting.
Inspect data at each decision milestone.
One illustrated journey, not a customer case or live operating session.
Measure the right problem before scaling.
Measures to agree for the pilot, not promised improvement levels.
Response time
From eligible material call to use-point confirmation; separate stock wait from destination wait.
On-time delivery
Confirmed-before-due requests / in-scope requests; agree how cancellations are treated.
Shortage and line stock
Record shortage events and causes; compare use-point inventory with in-transit stock rather than rely on one metric.
Initial scope and expansion conditions.
A pilot with explicit outputs
Select one warehouse route, a set of use points, items and agreed shifts. Compare equivalent production conditions and test occupied destinations, shortages and late callbacks. Acceptance includes scans, identity links and one ledger effect per eligible delivery.
Conditional expansion
Add routes after validating locations, capacity, fleet capability and exception ownership in the new area. Design eKanban thresholds, priorities and delivery schedules for each site.
Components and assessment documents.
Map this use case to your factory.
Discuss stations, existing systems and the measurement period to define the first investment scope.