Case study

Amano Cincinnati

World-class manufacturer of time and attendance solutions gains real-time insights and traceability into inventory and consumption levels with RFgen for JD Edwards.

Results

  • Reduced manual data entry time and errors.
  • Capture the real-time consumption of materials and inventory.
  • Capture the real-time completion of product.
  • Visibility, continuity, and international streamlining of processes between U.S. and Japan operations.

Challenge

Amano Cincinnati had an antiquated system they were struggling to maintain. They were still relying on paper-based systems to keep track of orders, inventory, purchases, and shipments. They made the decision to update their old ERP system with RFgen’s open-source mobile data collection software and its integration suite for JD Edwards EnterpriseOne over a competitor recommended by another consultant.

Amano Cincinnati carefully evaluated the benefits of both companies’ software solutions and chose RFgen Mobile Foundations for JD Edwards for several reasons:

  • Ownership after implementation – Amano Cincinnati recognized the “best value” benefits of being able to take ownership of the RFgen software after implementation. This meant they could make their own changes and perform maintenance without having to pay RFgen to do it all. Ownership translated into major, ongoing cost and time savings for them.
  • Flexibility of RFgen software – Amano Cincinnati could envision the potential for other RFgen applications outside of the JD Edwards sphere due to the extreme flexibility and adaptability of RFgen software.
  • Supports all versions of JD Edwards – Equally important, RFgen supports all versions of JD Edwards, from 10 years ago to the latest release.

Senior ERP Consultant, Paul Hanson, was RFgen’s project lead for the Amano Cincinnati installation. As a JD Edwards Products Certified Professional, Hanson brought 12-years of JD Edwards experience to the installation. MIS Manager, Hiro Araseki, was the designated project lead for Amano Cincinnati.

“Amano Cincinnati was making enormous enterprise-wide changes simultaneously that affected their world headquarters in Japan, as well as their operations in New Jersey, Minnesota and North Carolina,” Hanson said. “They were converting from a very old enterprise system to JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 9.0 system. At the same time, our RFgen software was replacing less efficient procedures previously used for inventory, order management, purchasing, and manufacturing functions.” In all, more than 50-percent of RFgen’s leading-edge roster of mobile data collection solutions were implemented at Amano Cincinnati.

RFgen Project Lead, Paul Hanson, was great,” said Amano Cincinnati’s MIS Manager, Hiro Araseki. “He quickly solved any challenges that arose during the dual integration of RFgen and JD Edwards simultaneously. I would definitely recommend RFgen software to other organizations if RFgen integrations are done with Paul Hanson or a person of Paul’s caliber.”

Results

  • Reduced manual data entry time and errors.
  • Capture the real-time consumption of materials and inventory.
  • Capture the real-time completion of product.
  • Visibility, continuity, and international streamlining of processes between U.S. and Japan operations.
Amano Cincinnati was making enormous enterprise-wide changes simultaneously in Japan and the U.S. At the same time, RFgen was replacing less efficient procedures previously used for inventory, order management, purchasing, and manufacturing.

Paul Hanson

Sr. JDE Consultant, RFgen Software

Solution

Since Amano Cincinnati is in the business of manufacturing time clocks as well as parking systems, almost all the products they produce are controlled by serial numbers. Whenever they create work orders, receive them, do inventory adjustments or shipments, they scan serial numbers. “Scanning the serial numbers with RFgen,” Araseki emphasized, “has greatly reduced manual data entry time and, most importantly, the errors.”

Amano Cincinnati wanted the ability to produce their clocks, track serial numbers, track clock components and get them ready for shipment as quickly as possible, while at the same time being able to accurately track costs and inventory.

Scanning the serial numbers with RFgen has greatly reduced manual data entry time and, most importantly, the errors.

Hiro Araseki

Amano Cincinnati's MIS Manager

Results

Thanks to RFgen mobile data collection software, Amano Cincinnati can now capture the real-time consumption of materials and inventory, as well as real-time completion of their finished clocks. “They no longer have lag time waiting for their system to be updated,” Hanson said. “They now have great traceability on their clocks. If there is a warranty claim, they know who received that specific clock.”

RFgen has allowed Amano Cincinnati to be on the same platform as Amano’s corporate headquarters in Japan. The result, is unprecedented visibility, continuity, and international streamlining of processes between their U.S. operations and Japan.

Eventually, Amano Corporation will be able to bring their main three U.S. locations up to the same platform with JD Edwards EnterpriseOne and RFgen software integration.

[RFgen] quickly solved any challenges that arose during the dual integration of RFgen and JD Edwards simultaneously. I would definitely recommend RFgen software to other organizations.

Hiro Araseki

Amano Cincinnati's MIS Manager

Amano Cincinnati, Inc. is a world-class manufacturer with over 100 years of experience producing time clocks, time and attendance solutions, and parking systems. Located in Roseland, New Jersey, the company is a subsidiary of Amano USA Holdings, Inc. The parent company, Amano Corporation, is headquartered in Japan and generates over $ 700 million in annual revenues worldwide. Amano Cincinnati, Inc. designs, manufactures, and distributes a variety of time recorders, from simple time clocks to sophisticated employee time tracking systems.