New control and tracking system for shoe maker
March 1st 2004

Keeping track of 10 000 packs of shoes per day at despatch was becoming a problem at Clarks Shoes UK distribution centre (DC) in Street, Somerset, due to the age of the hardware. DataScan Systems was asked to recommend a solution. The main requirements for Clarks were to replace obsolete scanning equipment, reduce the number of no-reads, and increase output levels through its despatch section. DataScans brief was two-fold and included the supply of a cost effective barcode system to replace a system that had been in operation for 19 years.The DC also had four despatch conveyors that required upgrading. All original barcode readers were replaced with LS6100 fixed position barcode readers connected to DP1100 decoder units. Barcodes are read through shrink-wrap packaging at the point of despatch. A pc-based despatch control and tracking system was also required. DataScan worked with Clarks it department and developed a working model of its solution. The system had to interface both with the LS6100 barcode readers and Clarks Data General server, handling all processing and despatched orders, in addition to controlling the four despatch conveyors. It also had to be easy to use, MS Windows-based and very visual to the operators. The new screen layout has a range of options for the operator, including load information, product counts, barcode details, and start and stop times for the load. The system allows loads to be transferred from one conveyor to another. This makes use of Clarks Ethernet lan network, linking each of the four despatch lane pcs to the DataScan despatch server. The server manages the data between each of the despatch conveyors and the Data General host system. Software incorporates full redundancy capability. If network connections are lost, the DataScan despatch system will automatically run locally to each conveyor and then fully back up to the Data General once the connection has been restored. The new system has proved easier to use, provides easy access to key details about vehicle load data at despatch and packs rejected, and was delivered within the agreed budget with little interference to Clarks operations.

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