Nexans’ Smart Inventory Management service delivers drum-tracking technology for Bombardier Transportation

Project description

Every year, Nexans provides more than 20,000 kilometers of high-performance cables to Bombardier Transportation for rolling stock projects. These include high-voltage cables for the pantograph, power and control cables, and high-tech communication cables for train management and public address systems.

One of the latest developments in this long-term partnership is the deployment of demand driven logistics based on RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) drum-tracking technology (Nexans Smart Inventory Management). The technology serves as the basis for demand driven deliveries according to changing customer needs, helping to optimize storage space and inventory management in Bombardier’s manufacturing facility in Kassel (Germany).

RFID labels applied on drums or other packaging media make them digitally visible through dedicated media, such as a web-based portal. This enables real-time tracking of all their subsequent movements. Movement and receipt confirmations are captured by either handheld equipment or permanently installed gateways/antennas.

The dedicated Smart Inventory Management web platform tracks the status of the assets.

Once the Bombardier Transportation site receives a delivery of Nexans cables equipped with RFID labels, they pass the RFID reception point (handheld or gateway) and are registered as received on the web platform. This automatically adds them to the site’s stock level. Bombardier uses this service to manage its entire cable inventory – whether Nexans has supplied the cables or not.

Customer Challenge: Meeting specific cable logistics demands

Nexans proposed its Smart Inventory Management solution to Bombardier to alleviate space constraints at its manufacturing facilities in and around Kassel, while also increasing supply chain reliability as well as minimizing costs and working capital requirements. The aim was to help Bombardier address the increasing liquidity and space challenge presented by its growing overstock levels.

The transportation manufacturer wanted a sustainable inventory reduction along the entire value chain that included other suppliers too. Nexans’ long-standing partnership with Bombardier as a preferred cable provider, plus the ability to customize its supply chain services according to Bombardier’s logistical needs, proved to be a decisive factor.