VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 19, 2001 — The California Department of Water Resources is employing a wireless, Internet-based mobile transaction system to extend its SAP R/3 functionality into the hands of its mobile workforce.
The system is provided by Psion Teklogix, a global provider of wireless and Internet-based mobile transaction systems and services.
Implementing a centralized approach, the TekRF server resides at the DWR Sacramento headquarters and communicates to Psion Teklogix wireless access points and RF (radio frequency) terminals used by mobile workers at each of eleven remote warehouses.
"To streamline our business processes, add efficiencies and eliminate keyboard input errors, it was important for us to add wireless barcode data collection capability to our SAP R/3-based solution," exclaimed Mike Brown, California DWR information systems analyst and implementation team lead for the DWR Materials Management Phase 2A and TekRF project. "The reduction of paper-based errors in the warehouse resulted in a decrease in the costs in the very first month. Utilizing SAP Inventory Management (SAP IM) and TekRF with its Active Dialog technology, our system now performs the actual SAP IM transactions in real time via the wireless terminals. Transaction monitoring and system administration are easily performed in-house, saving us both time and money."
"The ability for users to extend the real time functionality of SAP solution-based transactions is augmenting the way that businesses use the mySAP.com(r) e-business platform. TekRF's Active Wizard technologies were designed specifically to provide direct, transparent operation of SAP R/3 screens on character-based devices. Mobile DWR personnel can now easily navigate transactions as they move through standard SAP-defined processes," emphasized Duncan Smith, vice president of Psion Teklogix Integration Services Group.
"TekRF is very easy to use," affirmed Brown. "To add or delete an access point, we can easily modify the system administration properties using TekRF's intuitive GUI interface. We can expand or make modifications to the system remotely through our network or directly at the TekRF server. Most importantly, we can do things on our own. We are not dependent on Psion Teklogix for programming changes. Should there be a problem, we can immediately fix it ourselves, because TekRF is easy to maintain."
The TekRF system at the California DWR allows physical inventory, goods receipts, goods issues, stock overviews, and transfer postings within plants and between plants. Bar code labeling of all materials is performed using hand held terminals and portable printers and transactions are reported in real time to the SAP R/3 solution for processing.
"In addition to eliminating paperwork, we used TekRF to build in other functions we had not performed before," added Brown. "We now check every item that's received, with the ability to create a barcode for each item. Previously, employees could post goods receipts to purchases orders without reviewing whether quantities or items received were correct, creating inaccuracies."
According to Brown, "It's important to extend the full functionality of SAP solutions to the mobile users and avoid making system enhancements outside of the SAP environment. TekRF and Active Dialog interfaces well with SAP R/3, simplifying the way we place R/3 screens onto the terminals."
Future plans may include adding wireless capability to transactions such as those that create, change and display orders and equipment task lists in the Plant Maintenance module. RF will also be added to interact with custom SAP R/3 transactions that the DWR configured. Transactions also will be developed for editing selected fields of the material master such as bin location, reorder point and replenishment quantity.
About California Department of Water
With a staff of approximately 3000 and a $1 billion budget for the fiscal year 2000-2001, the DWR administers increasingly complex programs involving flood control for California's Central Valley, dam safety for more than 1,200 dams statewide, local assistance projects, water management strategies, water quality improvement, and water supply data collection and studies. DWR staff provides technical and financial assistance to local water communities, works with a number of governmental and wildlife agencies on environmental issues and projects, manages SWP and Reclamation Board lands, educates the public about California's water resources, and operates and maintains the State Water Project, one of the largest water development and distribution systems in the nation.
About Psion Teklogix
Psion Teklogix designs and implements mobile computing solutions for the enterprise. The company's wireless solutions free mobile workers from wired systems providing anytime, anywhere access to mission critical information and enterprise IT systems. Psion Teklogix Integration Services Group provides mobile data collection solutions for the mySAP.com e-business platform with TEKConsole™ and TekRF™ Integration Components. As the largest operating division of Psion PLC group of companies, Psion Teklogix plays a key role in Psion PLC's vision to create new ways for people and organizations to access mobile data and mobile Internet. Psion Teklogix has 43 sales and support offices and 95 independent distributors throughout the world.
