Supply Chain Security

British American Tobacco, Poland

With an industrial identification solution using Simatic MV440 code-reading systems, British American Tobacco ensures more security in its supply chain.

The illicit trade in cigarettes – for example, product counterfeiting and illegal imports – results in annual losses in tax receipts on the order of billions. Effective countering of the illicit tobacco trade is also required from the perspective of the World Health Organization. Industry and government organizations are working on stemming the flow. An important aid here is seamless tracking and tracing (T&T) using optical codes. British American Tobacco (BAT) in Poland is one of the first tobacco companies to install a comprehensive T&T system. The company is active in 180 markets with 300 brands, including the four familiar names of Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike, and Pall Mall. The production site in Poland is one of the largest in the world and is simultaneously BAT’s most important export hub.

(All photos: Siemens AG)

Direct T&T

Cartons and shipping cases must be designated with unique serial numbers for the purposes of T&T. This information is printed on the relevant label as human-readable text and as machine-readable code. A T&T system (line controller) installed on the production line captures the data and makes them available to the factory and enterprise levels. A system of this type is directly integrated in the production process and must therefore fulfill stringent demands for speed, reliability, and reading accuracy.

To ensure that these requirements could be met, Siemens was tasked with implementing the T&T system at the line level. The key functions are reading and processing the serial numbers printed on carton labels in the form of data matrix codes. Later in the process, the cartons are packed in “master cases,” which are in turn uniquely identified by serial numbers. The T&T system links the different serial numbers of the cartons and master cases hierarchically and then sends this data record to the supervisory IT system (site controller). It was extremely important to BAT that the implemented solution would also work reliably during manual intervention in the process.

Reliable code reading with Simatic MV440

For reading the data matrix codes printed on the carton labels, BAT decided in favor of the Simatic MV440 code-reading system. Thanks to its compact design and the option of reliably capturing codes even at the closest possible distances, the device can be mounted in the available machinery even in the most restricted installation situations – an important advantage for BAT. The integrated and space-saving lighting unit for the Simatic MV440 also makes installation easier. Another important feature is continuous checking of the print quality on the label, performed automatically by the code-reading system at every read. This allows, for example, preventive measures such as cleaning of the camera lens to remove production dust, increasing the reliability of the code-reading system to a high degree. Finally, the multicode-reading system offers the option of reading the existing European Article Number (EAN) bar code together with the 2D serial code.

After the code has been read, the serialization data for all the cigarette cartons in a master case are transferred to the line controller via the integrated Profinet interface on the Simatic MV440. This line controller was also designed by Siemens and contains, in addition to a Simatic Microbox PC, an uninterruptible power supply. This ensures that no information is lost in the event of a power failure.

The Simatic MV440 code-reading system reliably reads and verifies 1D/2D codes

Holistic approach ensures fast rollout

In addition to the technical features of the Simatic products used, a decisive factor for BAT was the comprehensive solution competence of Siemens. The components of the line controller were fully installed in the control cabinet at the Siemens factory, and the entire system was tested to make the rollout as easy as possible. The software was also specially tailored to BAT’s requirements and installed in advance. “This allowed us to commission the tracking and tracing solution without significant production stops,” says Bernd Rabenstein, who was responsible for the development and commissioning of the line controller at BAT. Siemens formed an interdisciplinary team for the project that was able to relieve the customer of many coordination processes such as interfaces to the site level. “This holistic approach was very helpful to us in achieving a fast rollout,” says Michael Imminger, head of the tracking and tracing project and production sequencing at BAT.