A buyer on the phone
A paper mill's buyer rings your sales manager. They need two loads of mixed paper and a load of OCC by the end of next week. Can you do it? Your sales manager says probably, then walks out to the yard to count. The bales are stacked in bays, some under cover, some outside. Some of the mixed paper bales are old and have been rained on. Some of what looks like OCC is actually a lower grade that was baled on the same line.
He comes back with a rough count and commits to two of the three loads. When the lorry comes, one load is short and the driver waits while the forklift finds more bales.
Why baled stock is always a guess
Bales are produced continuously and shipped irregularly. Between the two, they sit in a yard that is organised by whoever drove the forklift.
- Bale weights and grades are written on a sheet at the baler, if at all.
- Bales are not labelled, so grades are identified by eye.
- Yard locations are not recorded, so finding specific bales takes time.
- Loads out are deducted from a spreadsheet days later.
- Old bales, which may have deteriorated, are not identified until someone notices.
What stock uncertainty costs
Selling what you do not have leads to short loads and unhappy buyers. Not selling what you do have means material sitting in the yard longer, taking space, possibly deteriorating, while prices move. Either way, you are less able to take advantage of good prices when they come.
Forklift time goes into searching rather than loading. Lorries wait while loads are assembled. And year-end stock valuations are a guess.
How we track bales from baler to lorry
What we build records each bale when it is made and follows it until it leaves.
- At the baler, the operator records each bale's grade on a tablet. Weight comes from the baler's scale if it has an output, or a floor scale. A label with a barcode or QR code is printed and attached.
- When the forklift places the bale, the driver scans it and the bay, so the yard location is recorded.
- Stock by grade, weight, age and location is visible live on a screen in the office and on phones.
- When a load is picked, bales are scanned onto the load, removing them from stock and building a packing list for the buyer.
- Bales older than an age you set are highlighted, so they can be sold first.
- A periodic yard check compares scanned stock with what is physically there, and differences are recorded.
| Moment | What is recorded |
|---|---|
| Bale made | Grade, weight, time, label |
| Bale stacked | Yard bay or location |
| Load picked | Bales on load, packing list |
| Yard check | Differences between records and yard |
When the mill rings next time
The buyer asks for two loads of mixed paper and one of OCC. The sales manager checks the stock screen: enough mixed paper for three loads, the oldest in the covered bay, and OCC for a load and a half. He commits to all three on the spot, and asks the yard to load the oldest mixed paper first.
When the lorry arrives, the forklift driver picks bales from the bays shown on the picking list, scans them onto the load, and the packing list goes with the driver. The stock screen updates as the lorry leaves.
Is your baled stock a guess?
- You count stock by walking the yard.
- Bales are not labelled with grade or weight.
- Loads have been short because stock was overestimated.
- Old bales are discovered rather than planned for.
- Forklift drivers search for bales of the right grade.