VMI - Technology.

VMI - More than just measuring.

General requirement for successful VMI is that the supplier has access to the customer’s stock data. There are two ways to provide the stock data to the supplier: Firstly by installing a specific hardware and secondly by file transfer directly out of the customer's ERP-system.



In both cases the stock data will be transmitted via telephone line to the Bayer VMI-system in the internet.

Actually the VMI-process starts from now on. The integration of the applied VMI-software with the supplier's ERP system (e.g. SAP) is taken into account. The aim is to ensure an au­tomatical creation of replenishment orders in cases when the stock level reaches stipulated thresholds, which are agreed with the customer. From that point on „Vendor Managed Inventory“ becomes a part of our efforts towards efficient and broad logistical supply chains.

Definition + Data transmission

VMI is about a service provided by a supplier to his customer, whereby the supplier takes charge of the replenishment planning. This means that the supplier checks the consumption data for the specific material at arranged intervals by means of VMI technology and replenishes automatically the customer's stocks when necessary. Measuring heads are used to monitor the quantity of material stored inside the tank. These data will be transferred to the Internet-based VMI system. As soon as a particular threshold is reached, an order request will automatically be generated. Afterwards this request will be transferred via interface to the EPR-system of the supplier (e.g. SAP) and creates a corresponding replenishment order.