Customer reference

Less is more – more advantages.

Anyone who produces 90,000 hospital beds a year and delivers them to 100 countries needs to be able to rely on one thing: top efficiency.

For this very reason, we supply our customer LINET with a threefold less-is-more solution in terms of storage, capital commitment and costs through our just-in-time delivery to its base in the Czech Republic. A triple bonus in flexibility, profitability and productivity.

The starting point

The multinational LINET Group SE makes innovative beds for hospitals, nursing homes and also supplies a wide range of products for treatment systems and medical furniture in hospitals and care facilities. LINET insists on using TENTE castors for its many different products, which are made in the production plant in the Czech Republic.

Assembly line work and small batches

LINET has a clear production strategy and aims to avoid surplus and long storage times. The company therefore uses the Kanban management system to control its processes. This allows the flexibility to be able to produce the number ordered by the customer in any given case – a process in which the individual steps are coordinated in a seamless flow without delays. In order to fit in with this sequence, LINET is to be supplied only with the castors which are actually needed and no more. Given the wide variety of hospital beds, couches and side tables, as well as the vastly different production batch sizes, this is no mean feat – but not one which could cause us difficulties.

Our smart mobility solution

We have been working closely with LINET since 1992. Our employees in the Czech Republic are linked to LINET‘s inventory control system so that the production processes of the bed manufacturer can be improved. We can therefore keep track of exactly which castors are currently being taken out of stock and used in production.

Everyday, our team checks which specific products have left the LINET warehouse and need to be replenished – acknowledging the requirements down to the very last detail:

Which types of castors are needed? What is the design specification? What size, colour and material is required? We have the flexibility to be able to respond to the demand and can guarantee rapid delivery, even for large quantities. LINET also benefits from another advantage of the close working relationship, specifically in the form of reliable data for planning. At TENTE, we have the means to forecast the precise number of castors which will be required by LINET each year, in all segments. We can then manage our production, assembly and warehousing operations accordingly.

Naturally our commitment to the diversity of products made by the bed manufacturer is not confined to logistics. The variety of our products are equally impressive. We can therefore offer the company a wide choice of castors and wheels with the ability to provide the right solution for all the requirements in the medical market, specifically in the right size and with the right features.

Not only does TENTE offer us the right products but it also provides just-in-time deliveries every time.

Zbyněk Frolík CEO and founder of the LINET SE Group

Greater productivity, fewer costs

Lead times and material stocks are kept to a minimum thanks to just-in-time deliveries. Furthermore, LINET does not need to deploy staff for supply inventory, but instead, just for incoming goods receipts. This approach brings a significant increase in process efficiency.

The company also has considerably less capital tied up and saves on stock management and staffing costs.

Additionally, the amount of time spent on purchase order processing was minimised. We enjoy a business relationship based on trust and therefore LINET enjoys the benefit of better productivity, as reflected in an extremely efficient manufacturing process.