JBA eliminates goods grief

JBA, the leading supplier of enterprise management software to companies in the highly competitive mid-market sector, announced today the launch of JBA Goods Receiving. This @ctive Process, the latest addition to JBA`s @ctive(tm) Enterprise Series, is designed to effectively manage the distribution and administration of goods once they are delivered to a company.

In every physical supply chain, companies have to take receipt of stock, which will be recorded on arrival into the ERP system (for example, JBA System 21). Typically, the stock will then rest in a warehouse or storeroom before it is moved on to wherever it is needed - urgently at a production line, at the quality inspection department, or even directly to a customer.

JBA Goods Receiving automates this time consuming administrative process. Once goods have been registered as delivered, appropriate personnel in the relevant departments are automatically advised of the arrival, ensuring the stock remains in the receiving area for as short a period of time as possible. The result is a reduction in cycle times and ultimately in cost, as Bruckner de Villiers, Managing Director of JBA South Africa, explains:

"Ensuring all stock is distributed as quickly and as efficiently as possible to the correct part of a business is a near impossible task that is constantly subject to human error. JBA Goods Receiving recognizes where individual stock should be sent and informs the correct staff electronically. It has the capability to identify prioritised goods for cross- docking or immediate dispatch, which would otherwise be dependent on non-automated procedures.

"All the time that stock is inactive in the supply chain - when it is being stored, held up by quality control checks - it is costing money. Goods Receiving ensures these periods, and thus these costs, are kept to an absolute minimum."

Furthermore, Goods Receiving can help to monitor quality levels. Whenever a delivery is made that does not precisely match what is expected, the software will automatically notify the relevant members of staff about the discrepancy. Until now, a delivery of a large number of components, of which only a few are faulty, may typically be accepted and the worthless parts discarded with no further action. With Goods Receiving in place, notifying the supplier of the sub-standard goods is an immediate and automatic process which can help improve the quality of future deliveries.

De Villiers continues:

"Beyond being a cost cutting administrative tool, Goods Receiving actively smoothes the business flow by identifying supply chain bottlenecks and points of pain. Firms can cut their cycle times while simultaneously raising the quality of their end product, and therefore ensure they use their assets in the most productive and profitable way."