Press Archive

2006:
2005:
2004:
  • ARC Wire Briefing Report: eBots and Electronic Kanban for Lean Manufacturing
  • Switched on - ASCO Valve talks to North American Industry magazine about their successful journey into lean manufacturing
  • eBots rolls out a customer Kanban system with a large customer in Europe across three plants. Pull signals for finished goods are sent directly from their customers to the plants for replenishment. Integration with MAPICS system eliminates the need for error-prone manual entries.
  • IR-Hussmann expands the usage of eBots software to establish pull system across their huge sheet metal operations. Based on the demand, it auto-schedules at the 30 cell towers across the "Punch" and "Bending" work centers. In addition, eBots application monitors the cycle time, scrap management and provides inventory reporting to financials by integrating with IBM legacy system.
  • Two new products are released, Demand Driven Scheduling (DDS) and Customer Demand Management (CDM), resulting in the industry's most comprehensive lean execution offering.
2003:
  • Rexnord added work center licenses to its Downer's Grove plant to support intraplant replenishment. Within five months, Rexnord rolled out eBots replenishment software across nine plants, including ones in Germany and China.
  • Fasco Motors (now a division of Tecumseh Products Company), a three-year eBots customer, upgraded to the latest version of 4.0. The upgrade included migration of a server from its Downer's Grove to its Cassville facility, installation of new eBots version, user training, loading software into RF Scanners across three plants and updating the suppliers with new links. The entire process was seamless, accomplished with only a few hours of down time.
  • Early this year eBots and its partner, Palmtree Inc. acquired a multi-billion dollar diversified manufacturer as its customer. Within 6 months, this customer successfully implemented eBots solutions at seven plants in the U.S., Mexico and China. These plants then added 70 suppliers from all over the globe to automate raw material replenishment.
  • eBots commences the rollout of Demand Driven Scheduling (DDS) system with an existing customer. DDS complements eBots' Collaborative Electronic Kanban to facilitate the leaning process across the company's value stream.
  • eBots successfully goes live with DDS at one of the key plants in Rexnord. The deployment allows the Customer Service Reps to get a promise date from the "live" schedules and commit the order in real time. The system then uses "lean scheduling" to level load the production cell based on customer want date.
2002:
  • eBots added Planet Gear as a customer for its kanban system. The system was deployed and integrated with their legacy system.
  • Fasco Motors, an existing eBots customer, expanded its scanner automation to its Eldon, Missouri, plant. This feature enabled Eldon to release demand signals directly from the shop floor to suppliers as well as its sister plant in Piedras Negras, Mexico. Fasco now uses eBots kanban system at four of its plants.
  • eBots added another major customer to its list. Hussmann Corporation, a subsidiary of Ingersoll-Rand, went live with eBots Electronic Kanban at its Bridgeton plant, including a work center and supplier replenishment system. Fully automated with RF Scanners and bar code printers, the total time from installation to go-live was three weeks.
  • eBots signed another major customer, Rexnord Corporation, for deployment of eBots system. Rexnord purchased licenses for 14 plants across US, Europe and China. The licenses included supplier replenishment and interplant replenishment.
  • eBots completed the implementation in two Rexnord plants. Both plants and suppliers went live in three weeks. The system was hosted at the company's data center in Indianapolis with access by the plants in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Downer's Grove, Illinois.
  • Ingersoll-Rand expanded its work center licenses to 30 to extend their kanban automation across its entire plant. Over 80 RF scanners are used across these work centers to release, ship and receive goods.
2001:
  • eBots leverages eBizBots™ infrastructure to convert kanban signals in to EDI 850 purchase order for a large electronics supplier. The infrastructure also enables auto conversion of EDI 855 and EDI 856 into signals back in to kanban system.
  • eBots adds flexible tolerances and powerful notifications in to multi-plant kanban. One customer expands the deployment of these multi-plant kanban systems to Germany and U.K.
  • Hawker Traction (UK) deploys a multi-plant kanban to integrate three plants with their suppliers. The system went live in three weeks.
  • Released eBizKanban 4.0. This totally revamped version takes advantage of the upgraded business process flow items and new notification engine in the eBizBots™ infrastructure.
  • Spanner Pollux deploys a multi-plant kanban in Germany integrating five manufacturing plants in Europe with their suppliers. The system is automated using bar code scanners and printers. The system went live in four weeks.
  • Brook Crompton (UK) deploys multi-plant kanban to integrating give plants with their suppliers. The system went live in two weeks.
  • eBots deploys an application that automates bill of lading processing at the shipping dock with LTL carriers. This solution integrates with the customer's ERP system and provides the flexibility for the users to print BOLs with bar-coded tracking numbers. Consolidated manifests are electronically sent to LTL carriers.
  • eBots introduces a Demand Signaling System (DSS) for manufacturing plants that don't follow kanban methodology. DSS converts MRP schedules and forecasts into just-in-time signals to be triggered from the shop floor directly to suppliers.
  • eBots closed its 3rd profitable year. eBots achieved the goal of moving towards a more product-centric company through the release of a suite of products. The product component of revenue increased to 60% of total revenue.
2000:
  • eBots deploys a supplier kanban system at a U.S plant to manage the flow of raw materials from its suppliers in the U.S and Mexico.
  • eBots Inc offers Internet-based integration of scanners and bar code printers with the supplier and interplant kanban systems, increasing the efficiency of the kanban process and eliminating human errors.
  • eBots completes deployment of more than 20 kanban systems at customer sites in the U.S, Mexico and Europe, integrating over 100 suppliers. By implementing these kanban systems, customers reduce cycle times, increase inventory turns by more than 75% and cut millions of dollars in inventory.
  • Following the success of its interplant and supplier kanban systems, eBots delivers its first customer kanban system. Customers have now Electronic Kanban established with their customers and distributors for finished goods as well as with their suppliers for raw materials.
  • eBots leverages its product technology eBizBots™ to build a complex unified order entry system for a major customer. This system is hosted at a portal but integrates with the company's ERP systems located in five business units across the U.S. Customers can enter orders either through the portal system, through an EDI or via a phone call to CSR, yet view their order status information on the portal system.
  • eBots, Inc closes its second profitable year on September 30, 2000, growing at over 800% from the previous year. eBots, Inc is a lean and tightly run company with a clear focus on revenue. It has been profitable from day one.
  • eBots saves substantial cost for a customer by implementing a complex multi-plant kanban. Suppliers who ship the same materials to different plants have now clear visibility of inventory pipeline. Also, plants can now administratively control various suppliers and gain the bargaining power based on the overall purchase quantity.
1999:
  • In four weeks, using its underlying technology, eBots integrated two disparate order entry and forecasting systems. The customer's order processing cycle time was cut down from 30 to 9 days.
  • eBots adds EDI infrastructure in to eBizBots™. This extension allows developers to easily read, write and generate any EDI documents directly in and out of the applications.
  • eBots is the first company to develop and deploy a standalone Electronic Kanban system that integrates a U.S distributor with its manufacturing plant in Mexico.
  • eBots deploys an interplant kanban to integrate a casting plant in the U.S with a manufacturing assembly plant in Mexico.
Media Contact
Tim Cox | ZingPR
tim@zingpr.com
650-369-7784