To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the opening of its catalytic converter factory in Indaiatuba, Brazil, chemical manufacturer and distributor BASF will digitalise all its warehouse processes. To do so, it will install Easy WMS, Mecalux’s warehouse management system, which is charged with controlling inventory and ensuring uninterrupted product flows.
The objective of this project is to carry out stricter goods control. Up to now, all administration was done manually, with pencil and paper, entailing a very high risk of errors.
In contrast, Easy WMS will supervise all products in the installation, identified by means of RFID tags, in a fully automated and secure way. Thus, all operations will be much smoother, as the system will ensure that the materials needed are sent to the production lines at just the right time.
Alexandre Ferreira - Project and Regional Engineer at BASF
“The Easy WMS warehouse management system plays a key role in the 2DMC Full Traceability project at the BASF production centre in Indaiatuba. It’s an initiative aimed at improving the entire production chain, guaranteeing identification and complete traceability, from the receipt of the raw materials to the dispatch of the final products to customers. Easy WMS has proven to be a flexible, well structured system in terms of integration with technologies such as RFID, SCADA and PMS, among others. The success of this project will serve as a starting point for other BASF catalytic converter plants throughout the world, since the Indaiatuba centre will be the first to implement the concept of digitalisation in identification and traceability processes.”
Chemistry for a sustainable future
Founded in Germany, BASF is one of the largest chemical companies in the world. In 2000, the company opened a facility in Indaiatuba, São Paulo, for the manufacture of catalytic converters, essential for filtering air in vehicles. One thing that characterises these installations is sustainability; all processes are designed to make the most of each resource and minimise environmental impact and waste.