Customer Case Study

For 90 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. Customers turn to Caterpillar to help them develop infrastructure, energy and natural resource assets. With 2014 sales and revenues of $55.184 billion, Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives.

Challenge

Caterpillar maintains a complex supply chain with thousands of suppliers shipping components to hundreds of receiving locations including many which are manufacturing facilities across the globe.  In 2012, Caterpillar’s SAP Integration Plan included the use of an automated receiving procedure which would leverage EDI and barcoded shipping labels at select receiving locations.  Caterpillar’s CPS Team identified the need to update their SP20 Shipping Label Requirements to be aligned with both industry standards and business practices.   Additionally, the CPS Team recognized the need to integrate a barcode certification process to ensure suppliers were in compliance with both EDI and SP20 Shipping Label Compliance.

BCG Solution

Bar Code Graphics met with different groups at Caterpillar to align their business objectives and expectations regarding the certification of SP20 Shipping Labels.  Once alignment among the stakeholders was defined Bar Code Graphics designed a solution which included;

• Updating Caterpillar’s SP20 Shipping Label Requirements to be aligned with the AIAG B-10 specifications.
• Develop a SP20 Certification Process which could be performed internally by Caterpillar’s Data Accuracy and Records Management Team.
• Created Sp20 Solutions for Caterpillar suppliers which included; SP20 Label Templates, barcode scanners and software.

Results

All of Caterpillar’s 14,000 suppliers have gone through SP20 Certification and Caterpillar is continuing to work with their receiving locations to maximize efficiency.  The SP20 Shipping Label Requirements are still the current guidelines in use at Caterpillar and have facilitated supplier compliance.