logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

, a counting point (CP; also known as a status point, data acquisition point, check point, or control point) is a certain spot designated for planning, controlling, and monitoring material flow items (e.g. single parts, assembly groups, final

product Product may refer to: Business * Product (business), an item that serves as a solution to a specific consumer problem. * Product (project management), a deliverable or set of deliverables that contribute to a business solution Mathematics * Produ ...

s, bins, racks,

container A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...

s, and freight carriers).

Installation

If the production and material flow gets more and more complex then more counting points must be installed in the process of

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting Commodity, commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it h ...

, and

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

. Especially check points for

quality control Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements". This approach places ...

and

quality assurance Quality assurance (QA) is the term used in both manufacturing and service industries to describe the systematic efforts taken to ensure that the product(s) delivered to customer(s) meet with the contractual and other agreed upon performance, design ...

can be used outstandingly as counting points but also

data acquisition Data acquisition is the process of sampling signals that measure real-world physical conditions and converting the resulting samples into digital numeric values that can be manipulated by a computer. Data acquisition systems, abbreviated by the acro ...

points in material handling processes. For better planning and monitoring of material flow items it is helpful to order all counting points in such a way that the requirements of an ideal Boolean

Interval (mathematics) In mathematics, a (real) interval is a set of real numbers that contains all real numbers lying between any two numbers of the set. For example, the set of numbers satisfying is an interval which contains , , and all numbers in between. Othe ...

Algebra can be fulfilled. Boolean intervals are half-opened and a counting point lays always inside at the beginning and the ending lays outside and is the entry-point of the next-following interval. Such an interval can represent any kind of stretch in production and material flow e.g. an

assembly line An assembly line is a manufacturing process (often called a ''progressive assembly'') in which parts (usually interchangeable parts) are added as the semi-finished assembly moves from workstation to workstation where the parts are added in seq ...

, a storage or

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...

, a transport route etc. Alternative production and transportation stretches are mapped as parallel intervals, which are logical equivalent but have their own different data acquisition points. If a flow item passes a certain CP it has left the preceding interval and stays in the concerned interval at the same time. By this it can be assured that a flow object can stay only in one interval at a certain moment which is also true and evident for parallel intervals. This kind of mapping material flow structure is necessary for a consistent calculation of the lead-time and complete cycle time for flow items which is extremely important not only for material flow planning but also for

production planning Production planning is the planning of production and manufacturing modules in a company or industry. It utilizes the resource allocation of activities of employees, materials and production capacity, in order to serve different customers.Farghe ...

and

manufacturing operations management Manufacturing operations management (MOM) is a collection of systems for managing end-to-end manufacturing processes with a view to optimizing efficiency. There are many types of MOM software, including for production management, performance analy ...

in general.

Usage

Counting points are used in different logistic areas like transportation, material handling, goods

receipt A receipt (also known as a packing list, packing slip, packaging slip, (delivery) docket, shipping list, delivery list, bill of the parcel, manifest, or customer receipt) is a document acknowledging that a person has received money or propert ...

, and goods issue at the border of a plant, because this is often transfer of ownership. Other well-known counting points are receiving and issuing material items at the border of a storage or

. Counting points play an important rule also in manufacturing and production

scheduling A schedule or a timetable, as a basic time-management tool, consists of a list of times at which possible task (project management), tasks, events, or actions are intended to take place, or of a sequence of events in the chronological order ...

and different concepts of

material requirements planning Material requirements planning (MRP) is a production planning, scheduling, and inventory control system used to manage manufacturing processes. Most MRP systems are software-based, but it is possible to conduct MRP by hand as well. An MRP system ...

(e.g for the concept of cumulative quantities and the gross-net-method. Counting points also appear in the

automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of company, companies and organizations involved in the design, Business development, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industry ...

where the production flow of a car is controlled, scheduled, and monitored continuously at exactly-defined check points for different manufacturing departments and shops and where the data is used for scheduling and optimization.P. Schönsleben: ''Integral Logistics Management ...'', Taylor & Francis, 2016, Chap. 6.5

References

External links

* SAP-HEL

Literature

* * * * {{citation, surname1= Paul Schönsleben , title= Integral Logistics Management: Operations and Supply Chain Management in Comprehensive Value-Added Networks , publisher= Taylor and Francis Group , publication-place=Boca Raton New York, isbn=9781498750530, edition= 5th, date=2016, language=English Logistics

Installation

Usage

See also

References

External links

Literature