Pentax Vision Europe is a division of Pentax UK Limited a subsidiary of the worldwide Asahi Optical Co Ltd, a major and long established supplier of specialist lenses. Best known globally for its photographic products, the company is also a significant supplier of quality products for security, construction and medical purposes, in addition to being a major player in the ophthalmic industry. Pentax Vision Europe was appointed as the European head office for ophthalmic lenses in 1996.
DISTRiX, authored and supported in the UK by Dataday Computer Services, provides the IT solution to the whole of Pentax's operating and business needs, but it is the manner and extent to which it satisfies the company's demanding ophthalmic manufacturing sector, that makes it vital to the company requirements" explains David Moore, Director of Pentax Vision Europe.
Just In Time
The day-to-day system needs of this core operation are very much those of a 'Just in Time', FMCG supplier. Orders, totalling in the range of 3,000 each week, are received by EDI, post, phone and fax, from any one of our extensive customer base, including Boots the Optician. These are input to DISTRiX, which then checks our stock inventory and produces a picking list for the warehouse staff on a PC located directly in their work area. Pentax has a corporate 24 hour delivery standard and with a lead time from order to despatch that can be achieved in as little as 15 minutes. Thanks to DISTRiX, orders received up to 5pm each night are shipped for the next day."
Picking and despatch is enhanced by the use of industry specific 'matrix' documentation, which ensures consistency across the whole process. The picking and despatch note and the original purchase order, all present the product range in a matrix form that shows the specific ophthalmic qualities - sphere and cylinder power, and the quantities required of each. Presenting documents in this format significantly decreases product turnaround time.
"Although all five aspects of the business have particular software needs, bespoke spectacle lenses are the only products which we actually manufacture on site. In common with other suppliers we stock standard lenses to suit well in excess of 12,000 different prescriptions. These are manufactured for us by our Japanese and Philippines factories and service up to 65% of all demand. We maintain this stock on a high-speed replenishment basis, receiving imports once each week. This ensures fast supply to our retail customers where the lenses are finished and fitted to individual customer needs.
Meeting Different Needs
"Naturally, the system initiates replenishment procedures as stock levels reach reorder point and although there is high volume in both quantity and part number, the process is straightforward," explains Desmond Hutchings, Systems Manager at the Slough head office and manufacturing site. "But, we do have industry specific requirements even for this side of the business. One is for invoicing where all our customers receive weekly or monthly-consolidated invoices, rather than individual ones for each transaction, as most manufacturers require. Next, some customers, for example Boots the Optician and in our camera trade, the Dixons Group, demand their invoices via standard EDI. Neither of these features proved a problem for Dataday, who delivered the EDI technology links and customized invoicing software with minimum disruption."
"However, Desmond Hutchings continues, "its is the complex technology, multiple production processes and complete item and progress tracking, involved in manufacturing lenses for the specialist market of non-standard astigmatism, bi-focals and more recently vari-focals, that create the real software challenge."
Pentax coating solutions, Throughout these stages, progress is monitored and recorded at all times on the system. After individual inspection by one of the highly trained laboratory technicians, each lens is individually packaged into its own transit envelope. These are not simply envelopes however. Each one is a combined warehouse and delivery document and packing pocket. The complete prescription and customer details appear on both parts, thus providing cross-referencing and security against accidental separation of the lens pack from the customer details during despatch or delivery.
The final step in the complex route from order to despatch also resides in the safe auspices of the system. As the lenses move from the laboratory to the warehouse despatch area, DISTRiX provides a "quick ship" function. "In essence," Desmond Hutchings explains, "this designates bespoke lenses as "pre-picked", by-passing that element of the warehouse routines and speeding order, complete with documentation, to despatch, where it is matched with any standard lenses or ophthalmic accessories such as cleaning cloths for immediate delivery to the customer."
During the order validation process, DISTRiX identifies these orders, from Boots via EDI using specialist ophthalmic software, and interrogates our Pentax manufacturing specification software. It selects the correct instructions from the many thousands that reside in this system and utilizing these, produces a laboratory job ticket, which initiates a totally different process path for the order, beginning in the grinding laboratory. DISTRiX feeds directly into Pentax's LOH production software Server, which hosts software that can calculate all the requirements and will automatically issue instructions for the grinding process.
Tracking the Progress
The lenses are bar coded and once again, DISTRiX interacts with the bar coding equipment to provide on-line traceability throughout the 10 step production process, which can last as long as four days. This WIP tracking information is available not only to the lab-technicians, but to the customer service department who can supply accurate progress reports for customers stating where orders are and when exactly they will be completed, including sending emailed or faxed reports to customers overnight. It is also held on file in case of any future quality or specification enquiries.
The lenses are cut and ground to specification in LOH machines, yet another sophisticated third part technology with which DISTRiX seamlessly ntegrates, before moving on to the first of several coating processes, where they receive applications of the famous and top secret
Excellent Product and Service
"DISTRiX is an integral part of the laboratory set up, our technicians rely on it completely. The warehouse operates more efficiently and effectively, bearing in mind that it holds the amalgamated stock and despatch information for all five business sectors. DISTRiX segregates all the data management reporting and financial levels, whilst moving smoothly between product types, some of which even have identical part numbers, without error or delay, and in a manner which is virtually transparent to the users." Using Team Visual Contract Management Software, field staff can now easily access information through hand held based applications to find out what products a customer buys from us, in what quantities and how this compares with previous periods, as well as specific customer account information fed to it by DISTRiX.
"We have worked with Dataday for more than ten years now" explains Desmond Hutchings, Systems Manager, "They have always provided an excellent service, incorporating new developments into the existing system to provide a cohesive solution that has improved our performance in production and customer service. Dataday has managed to design a manufacturing and business system that supports widely differing trading environments with a common fully integrated structure, whilst incorporating the unique requirements of Pentax' different industry sectors."
