Clearview National April 2016 - Issue 173 | Page 116

MACHINERY

Keeping on track
ManyClicks is a small software house with engineers
that have many years of experience providing track
and trace solutions for blue-chip companies. The
team brings cost effective, customised and bespoke
systems to numerous industries, including field sales,
the motor industry and general manufacturing.
»»THE COMPANY’S FOCUS IS TO
look for the similarities in the solutions
it provides, not the differences, using
its software assets to solve the same core
problems in a diverse range of industries,
from bed manufacturers to cocktail waiters,
field sales professionals and estate agents.
For example, ManyClicks successfully
introduced mobile systems for one of the
biggest wool manufacturers in the UK
and in the process has been deployed to
provide solutions within other parts of the
business.
Recognising the need for cost effective
software to address issues within window
manufacturing and supply, the Company
has used its experience of a diverse range
of manufacturing businesses and applied
its expertise to meet the needs of window
manufacturing.
Managing Director, Steve Brown, explains,
“Having been invited to look at an unrelated
problem by a client within the industry, it
became clear that an industry-based track and
trace solution at a competitive price structure
would seriously benefit this market and was
previously missing.”
The result was a simple and competitively
priced, track and trace solution primarily
for window manufacturers, but also for any
related industries that may benefit from a
more cost effective customised track and trace
solution.
The product, “FenTrack” Manufacture,
works as follows:
• Each day the user runs a PDF report
from window design software containing
details of what units are being
manufactured for whom.
• The Fentrack server will then extract the
details from this report and make this
information available to operatives on
the shopfloor via their handheld wireless
terminals.

116 » APR 2016 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M

• As parts are produced, machine
operatives will apply a unique serialized
barcode to each part and scan it with the
mobile terminal.
• The first time an item is scanned
the terminal will guide the
user through the process of
identifying the associated
order, unit and sub-assembly.
• This association will be shared
with the FenTrack server
wirelessly and enable the
movement of the item to be
tracked through stages in the
manufacturing, pickup and
delivery.
• As sub-assemblies are combined,
the tracking barcodes can be used
interchangeably.
Building on the tracking database created
by FenTrack manufacture, ManyClicks also
offers a browser based solution that enables
orders to be assigned to delivery drivers,
“FenTrack” Deliver.
The drivers use the same type of terminal
to ensure they pick up exactly the right parts
of an order from the factory and unload it at
the correct customer’s’ site. Then, using route
planning technology, the suggested order
route for deliveries will default to the shortest
distance to save time and money.
Furthermore, once the driver is on the road
they can request google navigation to the
registered address of the customer site without
the need to refer to paperwork.
Periodic synchronizing technology is used
in both parts of the system to minimize
data traffic and ensure the terminals can still
operate where no GSM or WIFI signal is
available.
The final piece of the tracking jigsaw is
provided by providing GPS updates of the
delivery trucks to the sales team via a web
browser.

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