JLR Count on Inscale for Improving Processes

Jaguar Land Rover is famous around the world for their stylish, luxury motor vehicles. From the F-Pace to the Range Rover, keeping up with such high demand requires that each step in the manufacturing process perform flawlessly. When Covid-19 increased pressure on JLR’s manufacturing and part supply, they turned to Adam Equipment’s GBC Counting Scale to help keep them on track.

Covid-19 Kicks Up Problems

After the Covid-19 outbreak, many regions imposed strict regulations on who could and could not leave their homes to work. Various factories around the world closed, leading to parts and microchip shortages as the automotive industry rushed to stock what they needed. JLR’s parts manufacturing and distribution process strained to obtain enough parts to fulfill orders in a timely manner.

While it wasn’t ideal, JLR is nothing if not adaptable. They couldn’t solve the global parts shortage, but they could reduce its impact. How?

Project Mercia

First, Jaguar Land Rover put Project Mercia into effect, consolidating multiple parts operation depots into one £220m, 2.9m warehouse in the middle of the UK.

Project Mercia’s Logistics Operations Project Lead Matt Jackson states “The vast majority of our small parts SKU range offering are packed in singles, or between 5-10pcs for high runners. Some of our larger PDC (parts distribution centres) can order large quantities in one go - anything up to 4000pcs. These picks were being done manually and would take hours to complete.” Luckily, Jackson had a plan in mind.

Streamlining Parts Picking with Counting Scales

Matt continues, “So, we were looking at counting scales that could be added to our trolleys (and therefore be mobile) and used for the small parts picking process.”

Counting scales allow you to count multiple identical items instantly, by taking the average weight of a small sample and dividing the total weight on the pan by the unit weight. The result will always be the number of parts on the pan. Counting scales offer a variety of features that help streamline piece counting.

For example, three displays for unit weight, total weight and piece count. This allows all necessary information to be shown simultaneously, preventing any possibility of confusion. Many counting scales also offer a memory system, called Product Lookups or PLUs. This allows you to store a certain number of unit weights for parts you normally work with, so you don’t have to set up a sample every time. This speeds up counting significantly.

After an online search, Adam Equipment’s GBC Counting Scale was selected as the best fit for JLR’s needs. But out of all the counting scales on our site, why did they choose the GBC?

Why JLR Chose Adam’s GBC Counting Scale

Inscale provided JLR with one GBC Counting Scale on a trial basis. Jackson says their goal was for their counting scale to “enable [their] small parts picking process to become more efficient.” Ultimately, they were pleased with their choice.

Jackson explains: “Adam’s GBC counting scales fitted the brief in terms of accuracy, size of pan (meaning we didn’t need to increase the length of the picking trolley by much), ease of use, the rechargeable battery option, and potential attachments available such as the ATP2 Printer.”

After the trial period, JLR ordered 55 GBCs to equip the new Project Mercia warehouse.

The GBC’s Impact on Efficiency

A month later, the satisfaction was official. The JLR picking team was able to count their large orders faster and more efficiently because they weren’t picking by hand. Parts were supplied faster and more efficiently; customers were getting their cars repaired in less time.

Jackson reports, “So far, where there are pick tasks for high quantities of the same part, the time to complete the picking task has been reduced by up to 85% when the scales have been used. This increase in efficiency has allowed the operation to use fewer resources to pick greater volumes.”

JLR trusted the Inscale team to get them what they needed – with resounding success. We can help you too. Contact our team to learn more about which scales and balances can help you.