AppReef on the move

Hyster-Yale is a market leader in forklifts in seaports. It has an extensive IT landscape that relies heavily on .NET applications and the outdated AS/400. Hyster-Yale's manufacturing process was still using manual notation and entry of serial numbers in the AS/400 system. Using Microsoft Power Apps, AppReef worked with Hyster-Yale to develop an application that automatically generates serial numbers for each part of the forklift. After which these are entered into the AS/400 system via an integration. Moreover, AppReef has developed a modern User Interface that replaces the one of the AS/400 system.

Case by Appreef

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Who is Hyster-Yale?

Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. (NYSE:HY) is an industry leader in the manufacture of forklift trucks that are used in e.g. seaports. Through a wide range of products, they respond to their customers’ needs for moving and transferring containers and other materials.

And what do we do?

AppReef, a part of Cronos Group, is a digital ecosystem focused on making their clients future-proof, guaranteeing infinite business in doing so. Within this mission, AppReef specializes in ‘fusion development’, also known as the marriage between the low code of the Microsoft Power Platform and other solutions such as Python, Angular or .Net. They help organizations move along with the changes in their business processes, advancing technology and digitalization.

Current way of working

Hyster-Yale was looking to integrate their current IT landscape with Microsoft Power Apps for capturing serial numbers in their manufacturing process. They ran into several problems that can be solved with a new, digital approach. For example, within the production process there is:

Lack of active quality control
Data entry based on handwritten forms, resulting in errors
Loss of forms
Manual input in the backend
Physical storage of papers

Power Apps at Hyster-Yale

To digitize this way of working and to provide a technical solution to the problems Hyster-Yale was facing, AppReef created an MVP based on Microsoft Power Apps. Several processes were automated and the AS/400 backend was connected through a Power Apps integration. But why did Hyster-Yale choose the Power Platform?

The MVPs that AppReef realized were convincing and impressive
Power Apps integration ensures better integrity and data governance
Great usability of the new applications developed by AppReef
The use of reproducible templates allowing the technology to be implemented in other factories as well

In conclusion

To help Hyster-Yale digitize their production process, AppReef created several solutions to make the current IT infrastructure work with the new applications. Here we offer a standardized solution to integrate the AS/400 backend with Microsoft Power Apps. After the approval of the MVPs, the applications will be rolled out worldwide using the available templates.