Customer Background
A global top-50 manufacturer with plants in 12 countries. Warehouse and quality inspection workflows in China still relied on paper forms. More than 3,000 paper records were generated daily, with ERP re-entry averaging a 48-hour delay and an error rate of approximately 8%.
Challenges Encountered
IT had piloted an iPad solution but abandoned it due to battery life, device management complexity, and frontline usability constraints. Workers reported poor glass-screen visibility in bright light and difficulty operating with gloves. Leadership required measurable ROI within six months or the project would be shelved.
Penstar Solution
Deployed 800 eNote 2 Enterprise devices with a preconfigured inspection workflow template, integrated with SAP via API. Penstar Cloud Asia-Pacific node for storage; Fleet Dashboard for unified device status and compliance policy monitoring. Full rollout after a 50-device pilot in two weeks.
Implementation
Weeks 1–2: Requirements discovery and inspection form template customization. Week 3: 50-device pilot at Shenzhen plant. Weeks 4–5: Simultaneous go-live at four East and South China plants. Week 6: Remote device configuration for remaining global plants. Penstar enterprise support provided three weeks of frontline training.
Measurable Results
Inspection logging time reduced by 73%; annual paper and printing costs saved approximately ¥1.8M; data entry error rate approached zero; IT support tickets (device-related) down 45%. Payback period approximately 11 months.
“Paper inspection forms were eliminated entirely. ERP data went from a 48-hour delay to real-time sync. The CIO highlighted Penstar as a digital transformation benchmark at the quarterly review.”
— Wang Weilin, CIODownload Full Case Study PDF
Includes architecture diagram, ROI breakdown, and implementation checklist (gated download)