Printronix Integrates Seamlessly Into Volkswagen SAP Implementation

By PRINTRONIX

The FAW-Volkswagen Automobile Co. Ltd. is based in Changchun, the capital city of Jilin Province. It is a large joint-venture enterprise is formed by the China First Automobile Group Corp., Volkswagen Automobile (China) Investment Co. Ltd., German Volkswagen AG and Audi AG. It also is China's first modernized production base for passenger cars.

To raise worker productivity, lower production costs and sharpen the competitive edge of its products in the market, the company adopted the international renowned SAP R3 computerized management system for production, marketing and accounting. The company also embarked on a "Cost is Number One" campaign to sharpen its focus cost management throughout the company. The company announced that efforts to expand the scale of production must combine with efforts at information management. It launched a "Meet the Future" effort and started to implement an advance information system.

In 2000 Syntel Technologies succeeded in integrating the Printronix P5010 high-speed line matrix printer into the company's SAP R3 system to meet their growing logistic needs, thanks to cooperation of the technicians at Changchun FAW-Volkswagen. The new system could print lists of parts in stockpile and transit in real-time.

Over the following three years more Printronix high-speed line matrix printers such as the P5215 and P5220 were adopted. They won recognition and praise from end users. In 2003 FAW-Volkswagen introduced a FIS production and management system from its German parent company, Volkswagen AG, to monitor, track and control the whole process of manufacturing. The printing of information and data such as broadcast labels and bar codes to enable the tracking was the key to the success of the system. Being familiar and satisfied with the Printronix line matrix printers, FAW-Volkswagen decided to adopt the Printronix's T5000 thermal bar code printers and more Printronix high-speed line matrix printers. To date nearly 100 printers including the T5304, P5005B, P5010 and P5010ZTP have been adopted.