Continuing to build out the ecosystem for its Perfect Plant initiative, SAP America Inc. today announced a joint marketing agreement with Böwe Bell + Howell (BBH), a maker of intelligent vision systems.
BBH will integrate its JETVision technology, which includes a camera, PC, and software, with SAP’s Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence (MII) application, which helps manufacturers synchronize production operations with their SAP ERP applications. Under the new agreement, the two technologies can be customized by a manufacturer or systems integrator to collect data from products moving down an assembly line.
For example, JETVision can simultaneously check print alignment, color matching, and streak detection on product packaging. It can also identify out-of-sequence orders and quality control issues, such as a misaligned bottle cap or a misapplied label.
“The hardware is used to take pictures, but the real value [of the integration] is how fast [the system] can process information and turn it into data that you can use to better manage operations,” said Mike Maselli, BBH’s executive director of business management in an interview.