From Push to Pull Production and supplier integration

The sequential pull in Orotig with KanbanBOX

Highlights: Purchase Kanban | Production Kanban | Sequencer | Multiprocess

Orotig, specialized in laser solutions for welding, marking, fusion, and metal cutting, has evolved from using KanbanBOX solely for simple reorder of small parts into a fully-fledged Lean management platform.

Today, the company uses the software not only to coordinate reorders with other suppliers via supply kanban (i.e., purchase kanban) but also to manage and plan its production processes.

The adoption of electronic kanban, multiprocess, and the Sequencer has enabled Orotig to synchronize materials and production stages, reduce lead times, and stabilize flow, achieving a smoother, more responsive production perfectly aligned with actual demand.

Overview of Orotig

Orotig, founded in 1993 Italy, is a world leader in the development and production of LASER technology, primarily applied in industrial, dental, and jewelry sectors.

The company offers a wide range of high-quality technological solutions, specifically designed to meet the unique needs of its customers. Their solutions range from continuous to pulsed light, with fiber or crystal sources, for welding or marking applications.

Why Orotig implemented KanbanBOX

Since 2021, Orotig has experienced a strong increase in demand, prompting the company to seek a solution capable of enhancing flexibility and responsiveness to effectively manage market fluctuations. The choice fell on KanbanBOX, a software the company was already familiar with: its small-parts supplier used KanbanBOX to provide a kanban supply service, and Orotig had access to a free license as a customer.

Initially, its use was marginal and “passive,” limited to ordering and replenishing small parts. However, as Orotig experienced its benefits, it became clear that the platform could offer much more. The company then decided to progressively expand its use, first to managing other suppliers and later also to organizing and planning internal production.

Purchase E-kanban to handle the increased market demand

Before 2020, the purchasing department used to order materials in order to reach the maximum production capacity of the line, based only on sales forecasts. Therefore, the stock of inventory increased a lot at certain times of the year. In case of a downturn in demand (as later occurred due to the pandemic), the company would have found itself with occupied space and economic value tied up unnecessarily.

In addition, the warehouse was full even when there was no need for it. Finally, sometimes the logistic department was understaffed to manage it.

From 2021, the demand Orotig had to meet increased by 300 percent. The big changes in demand that the company experienced in these years were a clear sign that it needed to be more flexible and responsive to market changes. Orotig identified Lean Production and the implementation of KanbanBOX as the solution to these problems.

So, the e-kanban project with suppliers begins. By implementing the e-kanban system, orders sent to suppliers are leveled; they’re created only when there is an actual need. Moreover, since KanbanBOX digitalizes the manual kanban method, Orotig could control the consumption in real time.

Materials’ replenishment process in Orotig with the electronic kanban

Purchase kanban in Orotig: the results

Today in KanbanBOX there are 38 suppliers and more than 800 kanban loops of material being purchased.

Thanks to the KanbanBOX electronic kanban system, Orotig has reported the 88% reduction in material stockouts, which were causing production interruptions.

In just one year, the company reduced the value of raw material inventory by 7.5 percent, thus saving capital assets and space.

The WIP of semi-finished goods decreased by 48%. The inventory turnover ratio for materials managed with e-kanban increased from 3.5 in October 2023 to 6.6 in October 2024.

Finally, from 2022 till now Orotig has saved 2FTE. Two operators from the logistics department have been employed in value-added activities, who were previously busy managing excess inventory in the warehouse.

“Thanks to KanbanBOX, it has been possible to communicate and interact very easily within the Operations team, which involves more than 60 people. KanbanBOX has increased efficiency and productivity internally and also our external partners’ performance, by streamlining replenishment and production processes.”

Stefano Pedon, Supply Chain, Orotig

Production Kanban for lean planning

Simultaneously, Orotig implemented the production kanban for some preassembly phases. Then, it extended it to the finished product’s assembly and testing. Everything was possible thanks to KanbanBOX Multiprocess and sequential pull features.

Orotig’s problem was the manual planning of the production. Paper orders are passed from one workstation to another, and weekly planning is sent via e-mail.

As a result, the status of each semi-finished or finished product is never clear. Because of the lack of clarity, machines production often doesn’t follow the sequence required by the schedule.

Thanks to KanbanBOX, now the pre-assembly, assembly, testing and packaging departments are managed with the kanban and synchro logic, with the aim of simplifying planning and logistics operations.

The Multiprocess automatically activates the involved departments

When the planner defines the production sequence within KanbanBOX, thanks to the Multiprocess feature, the various departments involved are automatically activated: from the first pre-assembly station to the last test and inspection station.

The following operations are also activated automatically and sequentially:

The production of some special pre-assemblies that are not managed with the kanban system.
The movement of some components from the warehouse to the assembly lines (e.g., bulky materials that cannot fit in the supermarket).
The packaging department, which is notified when the finished product is ready for being packed.

Thanks to Multiprocess, the planner no longer has to manually schedule the operations of each department, but all steps occur sequentially and synchronously.

The Sequencer helps align all operators and production steps

In 2023 Orotig begins to use the Sequencer as well.

Each pre-assembly station has been equipped with a tablet with the Sequencer screen. Thus, the operator can easily see the exact sequence of what to produce.

The Sequencer is also used in the assembly lines where the finished product is built. Each line operator sees the sequence of the machines to assemble and knows whether they can start working on them. Indeed, for each product the Sequencer indicates whether there is all the material needed to start, or whether it needs to be replenished.

Thanks to the e-kanban dashboard, each person knows the status of each product, always. Orotig was thus able to eliminate two important MUDAs: waiting and motion. Therefore, communication within the Operations Team became smoother.

As of today, Orotig uses KanbanBOX in 2 plants, with more than 2,000 kanban loops between purchasing, handling and production kanbans.

“Thanks to the Multiprocess and handling kanban combined together, we managed to reduce the space needed in the production environments. Now we bring only the necessary material to the line, making the logistics department and space in production more efficient.”

Stefano Pedon, Supply Chain, Orotig