Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1547450
14 SMT007 MAGAZINE I NOVEMBER 2026 3. Kit from a consolidated pick list: The batch combines each component's family demand into one pick list. Kitters pull material once, and SMT uses the same list to plan feeder setups. 4. Kit to a single location: Working from the con- solidated pick list, the kitter scans each part and lot receipt into one barcoded location named for the kit or family. Even across multi- ple totes, every reel can be found by scanning that location. Material is staged, not yet picked into production or WIP. 5. Pick when production starts: Pick per job for exact receipt-to-order traceability, or across the batch for speed and inventory quantity accuracy. Allocations and costs stay at the work order level. 6. Return the remainder: Once the run is com- plete, partial reels are returned to the ware- house with a bin move. The kitting step grew out of a customer's request. "We didn't want to go back to running two systems, one for counts and another for locations," says Al Hadgu, Morgan Newton. "But our bigger orders go out in more than one tote, and we were digging through every tote to find a single reel. Now we can scan all the receipts for a kit, or a family of kits, to one barcoded location at once, which has significantly cut down our kit times." This streamlines the office-to-production handoff and SMT changeovers, reducing idle inventory. Reel Handling: Separating Movement from Consumption Sending full reels to the line complicates inventory control. Issuing the whole reel overstates WIP and hides the unused balance; issuing nothing leaves the system showing a reel on an empty shelf. The ERP should treat moving material and consuming material as separate events, much like a library checkout that records who has a book without assuming it is used up. Cetec's Full Bin Pick uses the "All" button on the Pick Parts screen to allo- cate the entire bin to a work order and rename it to that order number, making the reel's location and ownership clear. Material is picked to BOM require- ments to record consumption. Pick quantities can be adjusted once actual usage is known, usually when a pick-and-place job closes. After the run, return the remainder with a bin move. An X-ray counter or smart inventory system can update actual quantities in ERP, keeping loca- tion, WIP, and job cost accurate. The ERP as the Cornerstone A full-suite ERP integrates inventory, purchasing, production, shop floor activity, quality, and accounting, providing a hub for specialized tools and freeing resources for valuable integrations: • Quoting: Platforms cost the BOM and transfer it to ERP for planning and purchasing. Labor quotes become production labor plans, with work instructions where needed. Figure 2: Receipts move to a kit location. Receipts for every part and lot in a kit, or a family of kits, are scanned to one barcoded location in a single step.