Design of an integrated in-line traceability and ERP system – A case study approach

Aftermarket services need to track and trace their manufacturing processes and activities to eliminate untimely warranty claims. In this paper, we propose a system that allows manufactured products, including child components, to be traceable, which directly benefits the aftermarket service functions. A relation between a product and the components that are being manufactured is a prominent feature of the model. Identification processes are fundamental in order to establish the connection between physical products and digital means. A classification of item codes and a traceability model that describes and generates product identification is proposed. With parent- child relationships, all these inputs are automatically generated and deployed and consumed while generating a parent product order on the system ledger. The framework is linked with the existing ERP system and the design flow is prepared to integrate the framework to the practical production system. In the end, this results in complete product traceability throughout the product lifecycle.