OS/2 Puts a Spark in Genuine Parts

December 9, 1994 -- Who would have thought lowly spark plugs could cause so
much trouble? Believe it or not, they can if you're supplying them to 6200
retail stores around the country...unless you are the Genuine Parts
Company of Atlanta.

Genuine Parts uses a custom-designed OS/2 application that automatically
keeps track of the plugs, along with tens of thousands of other parts kept
in their Atlanta distribution center.

For 60 years Genuine Parts was a paper-oriented company, but no more. Now
Genuine Parts uses a hand-held computer and scanner to fill their orders.
An order is sent to someone's hand-held system via RF signals from an IBM
PS/2 host. The person sees the incoming order, picks up as many of the
plugs as specified, scans the parts and places them in an outbound
package.

In the mean time, the entire transaction is automatically sent to the host.
When the order is filled, a new "pick list" is sent to the person's
computer, no matter where the person is, to pick more plugs off the shelf
and place them in the outgoing packages. Because of OS/2's multitasking
capabilities, as many as 50 employees can be filling orders at the same
time.

The OS/2-based solution is so successful in Atlanta that GP officials plan
on having it operational in 64 more centers by the end of 1995. In fact,
Genuine Parts is adding two more OS/2 applications to its arsenal; one to
log parts automatically as they are received and the other to track them
after being shipped. Future plans also call for upgrading the current
system to OS/2 Warp.

If you have an OS/2 success story to tell, write to:
             JTIESZEN@VNET.IBM.COM.

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