Procter & Gamble - Cycle Inventory Counting

P&G contacted us to develop a Cycle Inventory Counting solution to help keep track of their fixed assets.

Background

Prior to contacting us, P&G was using printed spreadsheets to track over 7000 fixed assets at their Gyöngyös facility. Fixed assets managers downloaded the list of assets from SAP, split it equally between fixed asset owners and printed copies for each of them.

Fixed asset owners then used these sheets to mark if assets were found, in good state and in their correct location. They also took photos of the assets. At the end of this process, they entered all this information back into SAP. To cycle over all their 7000 assets, they needed 3 years!

Closely collaborating with their fixed assets team, we developed a mobile application which automatically pulls data from SAP, distributes work between fixed asset owners who then scan and photo the RFID tags or QR codes on the objects. At the end of the process, all the information is uploaded back into SAP automatically. With this solution, we managed to considerably reduce the time needed for inventorying, by 67%, to a single year.

7k + fixed
assets
67% productivity
increase
The CIC mobile was finished in early 2020, and within a year, the inventory counting cycle which previously took 3 years, was completed, achieving a 67% productivity improvement.

Key problems and solutions

Connecting with 3rd party software
Problem

P&G already had multiple software in place, such as SAP or a Microsoft Azure. We had to make sure we connect seamlessly to this environment.

Solution

We have worked with Microsoft Azure before in the past, so we had that knowledge in place already, we just needed to work together with the P&G IT department to set up the connection. As for SAP we studied the official API documentation and consulted with the P&G team to ensure the process is fully automated.

P&G - Connecting with 3rd party software
Determining precise asset location
Problem

For each object, we had to be able to determine their correct location. GPS works great for larger areas, but was not precise enough for smaller rooms.

Solution

Initially we launched the application with GPS-only location determination. We found that it worked better than expected, determining object location with a 90% accuracy. For smaller spaces, we tapped into beacon technology. The application was set up to be able to read location from small IoT devices called beacons, strategically placed in the correct rooms. With this solution we could achieve 100% accuracy.

P&G - Harnessing the power of beacon technology

Key takeaways

1
IoT is fun

We love working on projects which allow us to test out new technologies. The P&G Cycle Inventory Counting software was such an example. Beacon technology has been around 2013, but it is still not widely used, because of the limited applications. But it was an excellent fit for this very project.

We still think back fondly of the day the first beacons arrived in a package we ordered for testing. It was like Christmas morning!

2
The corporate process is very rigorous

Although we have worked with corporate clients before and since, we remember being amazed at how thorough the selection process was to become a P&G supplier. We had to go through a background check and put forward our information and physical security policies, business continuity plan and incident management processes.

Most companies our size don't even have these in place, so we were more than pleased that everything was found in order, and we didn't even have to make any revisions to the aforementioned policies.

3
The gears of an enterprise grind slowly

Another aspect that we had to prepare for was the slow decision making process. This isn't specific to this client, it's just the nature of the enterprise world. Every choice or solution had to be approved on several levels, both by IT and the business side, and we had to make sure this is taken into account when submitting timelines.

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