1. Name of Mill

2. Address

3. Phone Number

4. Contact Name

5. E-mail Address

6. What products does the mill produce?

7. Do the machines/finishing represent the mill production bottleneck?
Yes No
If yes, please explain.

8. Finishing

a) Machines - type

b) Describe finishing

c) Roll Product Bale Product

d) Number of finishing lines

e) Capacity and description of each line

9. Production

a) How is product numbered?

b) Describe packaging (unitized, pulp wrapper, plastic wrap, etc.).

c) Do mill quality problems impact production scheduling/order lineup?

d) Is production internally tracked in metric or imperial weights?
Metric Imperial

e) Is shipping tracked in metric, Imperial, or both?
Metric Imperial

f) Please describe reprocess tracking requirements.

10. Warehouse

a) What is the on-site warehouse capacity?

b) Is barcode tracking/scanning used on site?
Yes No
If yes, how does it fit into the production and shipping flow?

c) Are RF terminals used on-site?
Yes No
If yes, which manufacturing system?

d) Please describe off-site warehousing arrangements.

11. Grades

a) What grades are produced by the mill?

b) What distinguishes grade specifications from one another?

c) How are grades determined?

12. Test Procedures and Environment

a) How often is testing done?

b) What tests are performed?

c) How is product tested?
All of the product in a production lot share the same set of test results
The lot tests are based on several sets of tests
Other (please explain)

d) Would automatic input from test equipment to the tracking system be useful?
Yes No
If yes, describe equipment to be interfaced.

e) How is saleable product quantity determined (moisture, weight, length, etc.)?

f) What real-time interfaces are necessary for other systems (e.g. PI, IP21, MOPS)?

g) How are test results recorded?

13. Shipping

a) What shipping methods are used?
Rail Truck Ship Barge

b) Are shipments containerized?
Always Sometimes Never

c) How many shipments are sent per day on average?

d) What is the percentage of domestic vs. import?

e) Are shipments hot loaded? Yes No

f) Who plans and orders vehicles?

g) Are railcars switched in by Mill personnel?
Yes No Not Applicable
Does this require reporting? Yes No

h) Is shipping documentation printed on-site?
Yes No
If not, at what time?

i) What paperwork is required (e.g. B of L, Quality Certificate, etc.)?

For the shipping company? Yes No
For the customer? Yes No

j) What checks should be made when loading vehicles?
Order overloaded
Vehicle overloaded
Route weight limits (eg. bridge allowances)
Quality tests vs. order specifications
Other

14. Order management, production planning and shipping process

a) Where do orders originate?

b) Is product ever shipped without customer orders (eg. to consignment warehouses)?
Yes No

c) Does the mill create orders (e.g. consignment orders to docks)?
Yes No

d) Is production planning based on outstanding orders/mill capacity/raw material supply?

e) How many customers are typically served per month?

f) How is shipment method to a customer determined?
Always the same
Order by order basis

15. Reports

What are the key reports that users require in each of these categories?
Production

Orders

Shipping

Quality

16. Please advise if the product tracking system should preferentially fit into a pre-existing computer infra-structure (hardware, network, database).

17. Please describe the mill network and workstations.

18. What other systems exist that might be linked to the product tracking system (existing sales management system, accounting systems, etc.)?

19. I'd like to schedule a web-based demo of solutions to typical tracking problems
Yes No