Specialist for mechanical and
electromechanical components
pb elektro can look back on a remarkable company development. Founded in 1980 as pb elektro vertriebs-gmbh in Obertshausen, Hesse, the family-run medium-sized company serves business partners on all continents (with the exception of Australia) from its current location in Erbach/Odenwald. Its destinations also include remote locations such as Botswana. The subsidiary J.S.P. Components was founded in Texas (USA) in 2016. Its special feature is its focus on the sensitive automotive sector. A story that is anything but ordinary - and in which the complete mobile barcode solution etiscan plays an important role in warehouse management. The applications are scalable, can be docked to the leading ERP systems regardless of the industry and are installed as an app on the hardware.
As a B2B trading and logistics partner, pb elektro is the interface between OEMs and their suppliers - for all industries.
- Industry: Delivery to series production in mechanical and plant engineering; sectors: Automotive, defense, medicine, control and regulation technology, furniture production, etc.
- Retail: supply and consulting partner for the electronics trade;
Own sales partners in Benelux, Austria and Switzerland
The special feature
- Automotive: As a cooperation partner, pb elektro supplies Tier 2 and Tier 3 customers with plastic fastening elements for the automotive sector.
The required ISO certification has been available at pb elektro for many years. “If you want to survive as a partner in the automotive industry, you have to meet a number of strict requirements. It is therefore extremely rare to find a trading company like us in the supply chain throughout Europe. This sector now accounts for 60 percent of our total business,” says Managing Director Jan Buchholz, who is responsible for the second generation of the family business together with his sister Silke Buchholz .
The products sold include fuel filler caps, filler necks, door handles, interior and body parts; incoming and outgoing goods are handled at box level. There is no configuration in this segment.
etiscan:
Mobile barcode solution for seamless integration into warehousing
While in many warehouses a largely analog mode still causes delays and many errors in picking and delivery, for pb elektro the further development of processes is also a matter of course when it comes to IT. The IT landscape was moved to the Telekom cloud ten years ago. There is no longer any need for IT staff in operations. Dynamics 365 Business Central (formerly Microsoft Dynamics NAV) is used as the ERP system. And etiscan, the complete mobile barcode solution for seamless integration in production, warehousing and logistics, has been “ruling the roost” in the warehouse for ten years now.
Warum etiscan?
Jan Buchholz erinnert sich: „Die Empfehlung für etiscan kam seinerzeit von unserem Softwarehaus Allgeier. Anfangs war ich skeptisch, weil Kosten für neue Software oft als mittelgünstig angepriesen werden, erfahrungsgemäß dann aber exorbitant ausarten können. etiscan-Geschäftsführerin Kerstin Münster hat eine sehr gute, pragmatische Demonstration geboten. Sie hat genau hingehört, mit ihrem Team analysiert, wichtige Hinweise und Empfehlungen gegeben. Das Implementieren war unkompliziert, der Testlauf super, die Mitarbeiter waren zufrieden und auch die Kosten blieben exakt im veranschlagten Rahmen. Seitdem arbeiten wir geräuschlos tipptopp zusammen. Auch der Umzug nach Erbach lief zuletzt problemlos. Hinzu kommt der Service: Wir nutzen Scanner-Geräte von Honeywell, nachdem uns etiscan unterschiedliche Geräte von verschiedenen Herstellern zum Test bereitgestellt hatte. Fallen Reparaturen an, was selten vorkommt, geben wir das betroffene Gerät zu etiscan. Nach wenigen Tagen haben wir dann Ersatz, und auch das ist nicht selbstverständlich.“
In order to maintain operations at all times, pb elektro drei WLAN-Netze: je eins für Mitarbeiter und Besucher. Über das dritte Netz werden die etiscan-Scanner via WLAN-Spots in der Hallendecke gesteuert. „Scanner-Technik ist eigentlich unspektakulär, wichtig ist das Zusammenspiel mit dem ERP“, sagt Jan Buchholz. etiscan ist für ihn die „Verlängerung des ERP-Systems in Form einer App auf den Smartphone-artigen Scanner“. Seine Idee: „Man könnte den Scanner auch dazu nutzen, um Mitarbeiter via Teams bzw. Telefon oder Chat zu erreichen.“
The processes currently supported by etiscan in Erbach at pb elektro :
- Goods receipt
- Order picking
- Stock information storage bin/article
- Label printing
- Individual stock transfer
- Collective stock transfer
- Inventory
Weil etiscan flexibel und leicht anpassbar auf die Anforderungen unterschiedlicher Kunden reagieren kann, ist pb elektro is also able to “cook up” customized solutions for many customers. Example: If a customer requests an individual label, an info box pops up in the scanner - the picker then knows how to proceed. In the warehouse, each item or box is provided with a QR code, saving employees the tedious and error-prone task of typing. pb elektro muss, ebenso wie viele der Hersteller, jeden Artikel auf die Minute rückverfolgen können, was insbesondere für den separat geführten Lagerbereich für die Automobilkunden gilt. „Wir wollten von vornherein den Gesamtinhalt eines Etiketts abbilden, also mit Lieferantennummer, Lieferscheinnummer etc. Als letzte Kennung ist die aktuelle Jahreszahl im Barcode hinterlegt“, so Jan Buchholz. Was der etiscan-Scanner ebenfalls abbildet: unbekannter Zugang/Abgang, Einzelumlagerung, Sammelumlagerung, Stichtagsinventur (auch permanente Inventur möglich).
Every morning, warehouse manager Christian Kohle die neue Daten aus dem ERP ab und verteilt diese auf die etiscan-Scanner. (Akkulaufzeit: ähnlich wie ein Handy; abends ans Ladegerät, morgens einsatzbereit.) Im Gerät sind die jeweiligen Bestellungen hinterlegt. Angezeigt werden zudem Bestellnummer, Lieferscheinnummer, Gangplatz, Stellplatz, Ebene, verfügbarer Bestand an den Lagerplätzen etc. Über die Scanner wird der Etikettendruck angestoßen und der Auftrag bzw. Wareneingang verbucht.
And the benefits?
Jan Buchholz: “We have a high degree of flexibility in the overall system and a real-time view of our stocks. The processes are secure, employees can react quickly thanks to the user-friendly interfaces and intuitive applications and make significantly fewer errors. Nobody has to type in much themselves anymore. Anyone who works in the automotive sector knows the high requirements and standards, from incoming goods to traceability, for example. The fact that we can map all of this via scanner and that our processes are completely paperless is simply brilliant.”
Company relocation to Erbach in record time -
Pragmatic, fast, flexible
A complete company relocation from Groß-Umstadt in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district to Erbach in the Odenwald in just one week? A challenge, but ultimately no problem for pb elektro. After 20 years at the old location, between 300 and 400 pallets have been stored in the newly built hall in the Gräsig business park in Erbach since November 2022 - and the trend is rising. There are currently 160 storage spaces in the outgoing goods area. Up to 1,500 pallets can be stored on the 1,500 square meters in the future: The whole thing is designed to last 20 years. The light-flooded hall with completely new shelving and the work areas are well structured, the aisles are wide, clean and clear - for good reason. Because, as described, pb elektro is guided by the strict requirements of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA).
„Wir wollten den Umzug ohne große Störgeräusche für unsere Kunden erledigen. Den Service konnten wir dann wie geplant rasch wieder aufnehmen, und nebenbei haben wir die Inventur miterledigt. Das war mit Hilfe unserer modernen Scanner möglich und hat uns einige Tage Zusatzarbeit erspart“, sagt der Geschäftsführer. Die Netzwerkeinrichtung war innerhalb weniger Stunden erledigt. Und auch die etiscan-Scanner-Technik klappte umgehend einwandfrei wie zuvor schon über zehn Jahre hinweg am alten Standort in Groß-Umstadt.
BRIEF PROFILE - HISTORY
1980: Foundation of pb elektro vertriebs-gmbh (Obertshausen, Hesse)
1984: Expansion of the nationwide sales force to cover the whole of Germany
1990/1995: Entry of the 2nd generation of owners
1996: Relocation to Groß-Umstadt
Certification according to ISO 9001:2008 ff
(as one of the first distributors in Germany)
Development of the automotive and trade divisions
from 2006: Entry of the second family generation
2010: Handover of the management to Jan and Silke Buchholz
Warehouse expansion, 150 additional pallet spaces
2015: 35th anniversary of the company
New sales partner in Austria: Fischer Elektronik
2016: Foundation of J.S.P. Components in Texas/USA
11/2022: Relocation to Erbach/Odenwald
Product history
Initially PCB layouts, connectors, reset switches for PCs, ribbon cables, joysticks, cable ties and PCB spacers etc. in the secondary business; then change away from the connector business to a wide range of plastic parts
CURRENT - 2023
40 employees
Export quota over 60 percent
Customers: 2,500 (1,800 industry and trade, approx. 700 automotive)
Supplier countries: worldwide
Subsidiaries: J.S.P. Components, Texas
Worldwide procurement
Product range
Fastening technology
Damping technology
Enclosure accessories
Cable and wire routing
PCB accessories
Shrinking technology
Processing technology
Connection technology
Service
Supplier handling
Product packaging
Labeling (also according to VDA)
Parts procurement
https://www.pb-fastener.de/
Jan Buchholz,
Managing Director pb elektro
“We have a high degree of flexibility in the overall system and a real-time view of our stocks.”
“We don't give anything away. We don't say anything that isn't true.
And we don't jump on every bandwagon”
„We focus on innovative markets, not the cheapest”
Things to consider before buying a system
Experience and advice (software)
- Does the software cover all my desired processes?
- Is it based on standard modules (no special programming) - and can it still be easily configured to meet my changing requirements?
- Can it be quickly and easily connected to the ERP system?
- Can it also be used “offline” (e.g. in an external warehouse, in a temporary warehouse, in the event of a WLAN failure, etc.)?
- Does the provider also help me to optimize my processes in word and deed?
- Does the provider offer me a fixed price?
- Do I get everything from a single source (hardware, software and support for both)?
- Do I have a direct contact person for support?
Experience and advice (hardware)
- Start small, for example in the incoming goods department
- Involve the users
- Let users test the ergonomics of the devices
- Display: is everything easy to read?
- Can all buttons be pressed comfortably?
- What is practical where in the warehouse:
Underarm scanner, finger scanner, ring scanner? - When or where are two free hands required?
- Does the device get in the way when picking goods from the shelf?
