Plan for every part
Record part usage, container quantity, source, point of use, delivery method and handling constraints. Align the supply plan with the production schedule and product mix.
← Warehouse Design & Optimization
Line Feeding & Plant Stores Design
Engineer the replenishment link between warehouse stock and production consumption.
Production waits for materials, kits arrive incomplete, or excess stock accumulates beside the line. We agree the operating requirements, input data and decision criteria before developing recommendations.
On site in Hyderabad, across Telangana and India. All our services in Hyderabad →
- Plan for every part & point-of-use supply
- Kitting & line-side material presentation
- Supermarkets & kanban replenishment
- Delivery routes, cadence & shortage response
01 / The challenge · e-Andon
A material shortage
needs a response. Fast.
A call from the line should reach the right warehouse team, with the part, location and need clearly identified. We connect e-Andon material requests to replenishment ownership and a confirmed handover.
Raise the call → acknowledge it → deliver the material → confirm receipt at the line.
Select a material issue to inspect its e-Andon response and the affected handover in the flow explorer below.
WAREHOUSE ⇄ PRODUCTION
Demoe-Andon · Material calls
Assembly AMaterial support requested
ACTIVE MATERIAL CALL
Parts available but not located
- Part
- BR-4587
- Raised by
- Line operator
- Response owner
- Warehouse team
- Status
- Call raised
- Call raised
- Acknowledged
- Material on the way
- Closed
Demonstration only · no live system connection. Calls close after receipt is confirmed at the line.
Zoom in, then swipe within the drawing to inspect the layout.
Receiving
Purpose
Identify and verify incoming components before release to stores.
Execution constraints
Receipt peaks, inspection queues and unclear ownership.
Engineering control
Agreed receiving checks, identifiers and inventory posting points.
Selected problem: Parts available but not located. Verify item-location records and inspect the physical source before expediting.
03 / Kitting & supermarket design
Prepare kits.
Keep the line moving.
Engineer the preparation, buffer and replenishment rules around actual production demand.
Real picking / material-preparation workstation. The proposed workstation below is illustrative, with no measured reach dimensions.
Part presentation. Present the correct part family in a consistent orientation at the point of preparation.
04 / Pull systems & replenishment
Let consumption drive replenishment.
One emptied container releases a signal. Stores picks a container, prepares it and delivers it to restore line-side stock.
Swipe across the technical diagram to inspect each handover.
Clock0 min
Line-side units16
Consumed units0
Open requests0
Unmet demand events0
Mean signal-to-delivery—
Event trace
Model initialized · illustrative data
Model definitions & limits
Deterministic one-minute steps; finite stores stock, no random demand. Kanban releases a container when one container has been consumed. Milk run reviews and exchanges stock at three points on a fixed cadence, with a two-minute offset per stop. Scheduled kitting releases complete kits for periodic production orders; one kit contains eight component-equivalent units.
Pickup occurs no earlier than one minute after release, departure after half the assumed lead (at least two minutes), and delivery after the configured lead. No material is created: picked and in-transit units leave stores until delivered. Replenishment requires sufficient reserve; blocked requests remain open. An unmet consumption event is logged and is not backlogged for automatic recovery.
Transport distances, congestion, product mix, labor limits, quality, upstream supply and execution variability are omitted. This is an illustrative teaching model, not a validated simulation. The live demo starts paused and pauses offscreen or when the tab is hidden.
05 / Simulation & scenario analysis
Test the flow before implementing.
Same 120-minute horizon and consumption assumptions; changed input only. Baseline / alternative: route cadence 15 / 8 min.
Illustrative comparison · no improvement claim
┄ Baseline━ Alternative
| Derived measure / 120 min | Baseline | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| End line-side units | 33 | 33 |
| Unmet demand events | 0 | 0 |
| Late replenishments | 0 | 0 |
Late replenishment = delivery after the estimated stock-coverage deadline or scheduled kit need time. Zero observed late events in this simplified run does not establish real-world reliability. More inventory is an input in the cover alternative, not a free performance gain.
Service overview
Connect stores to consumption.
Kitting, supermarkets, kanban signals and delivery routes are selected for the material family and operating constraints. Container quantities, replenishment lead times and ownership are made explicit, then piloted with stores and production before rollout.
We design the operating link between stores and production: what each part needs, where it is held, how it is presented and what triggers replenishment. The starting point is the production sequence and consumption at the point of use.
B4 / Scope of work
Activities and controls included.
We agree the areas, data requirements and deliverables during scoping. The activities below define the service’s technical focus.
Kitting & completeness
Define kit content, preparation sequence, checks, staging and release rules. Establish ownership for short kits and changes to the production sequence.
Supermarkets & line-side space
Size material buffers using consumption, replenishment lead time and agreed allowances. Define storage addresses, container presentation and limits at the line.
Pull signals & kanban
Set withdrawal or empty-container triggers, signal quantities and the replenishment task. Include acknowledgement, escalation and confirmation of delivery.
Delivery route & cadence
Plan milk runs or dedicated deliveries against travel, handling time, route capacity and shift constraints. Include empty-container return and access at the line.
Shortage response & rollout
Define material-call information, the responsible response team and confirmation at the point of use. Pilot one family and verify kit readiness, line-side stock and interruptions.
Technical approach
From inputs to an operating decision.
Floor observation and operating data establish the basis; review and verification close the loop.
- 01
Observe consumption
Walk stores and production together; trace material shortages, kit preparation and line-side handovers.
- 02
Engineer the supply rules
Define part-level quantities, presentation, pull signals, routes and operating responsibilities.
- 03
Pilot a material family
Trial the replenishment cycle and verify timing, container quantities and kit completeness with operators.
- 04
Implement & stabilize
Roll out agreed standards, train teams and review shortages, stock levels and delivery exceptions.
Applications
When this work is useful.
Typical operating situations; these are not client case studies.
- Production stops or slows while waiting for parts.
- Kits reach the line incomplete or in the wrong sequence.
- Stock piles up beside the line and nobody knows what is there.
- A new product or line needs a material supply that works from day one.
06 / Engineering deliverables
What you receive.
Material flow analysis
Current-state maps, movement studies, handovers and proposed operational flow.
Kitting workstation design
Part presentation, station layout, reach observations and completeness controls.
Supermarket & kanban design
Part-level sizing assumptions, inventory positions and withdrawal rules.
Production replenishment plan
Routes, cadence, point-of-use addresses, responsibilities and triggers.
Implementation roadmap
Pilot scope, dependencies, named ownership, release gates and stabilization.
07 / How we track results
How we track results.
Material-related stoppages
Log stoppage minutes only where the material shortage cause is confirmed; separate supply, quality and inventory-record issues.
Kit readiness & completeness
Complete verified kits available by their agreed need time ÷ kits due. Define completeness and release ownership.
Line-side material availability
Observe required usable material at the designated point of use at the time it is needed.
Replenishment lead time & reliability
Measure signal-to-delivery elapsed time and deliveries meeting their agreed windows.
Line-side inventory
Record units and containers by part and location; compare with consumption and approved buffer limits.
Production schedule adherence
Compare completed planned work with the agreed schedule, recording material and non-material deviations separately.
Project-specific baselines, measurement periods and targets are agreed during assessment. Demo outputs are not client results.
[ Questions buyers ask ]
Common questions
Why does our production line keep waiting for parts?
Usually the stores can't see what the line needs next: kits are released before every part is available, replenishment waits for someone to notice, and shortages are fixed without recording why. We trace your stoppages back through stores, kitting and the schedule to find which it is.
Kitting or line-side stock: which is better?
It depends on the part. High-value, variant-specific or bulky parts often suit kits; small, common parts suit line-side bins refilled by kanban. We set a plan for every part, so each one reaches the line the right way.
How does a kanban system work for a factory store?
Consumption at the line triggers replenishment: an empty bin or card is the signal, the store refills it to a set quantity, and the bin returns. We size containers and quantities from actual consumption and lead time, so the line neither runs out nor fills up with excess stock.
Can you reduce material shortages on the line?
On an engineer-to-order manufacturing program before TvastrOps, average daily material shortages fell from 52 to 15 once ERP/MRP scheduling was aligned with what the floor needed. We bring the same approach: shortages logged with causes, schedule-aligned kitting and visible line-side stock.
Does line feeding work with our ERP or MRP?
Yes. Line feeding only works when the stores see the production schedule ahead of time. We align replenishment and kitting with your ERP/MRP schedule and specify what the system needs to show, rather than replacing it.
Start here
Let’s integrate your warehouse
and production operations.
Tell us about your production schedule, kitting challenges and material flow constraints. We’ll identify where to start and how to improve line-side readiness.
Representative industrial photographs; engineering overlays are illustrative. Images resized/cropped for display. No TvastrOps project attribution is implied.
TGWmechanics / TGW Mechanics GmbH · Material-preparation workstation · CC BY 3.0
Samuel Zeller · Assembly workshop · CC0 1.0
Tangray-nick · Engine assembly workstation · CC BY-SA 4.0
Karen Abeyasekere / U.S. Air Force · Bench-stock kanban example · Public domain (U.S. federal work)