Teraoka Seiko Increases Productivity and Provides New Opportunities in the Food Industry

Teraoka Seiko, based in Tokyo, Japan, is a world leader in measuring systems and point of sale (POS) systems. Established over 60 years ago, Teraoka Seiko’s PCS-L700 automatic weighing and label system automates printing and attaching labels at the production line to bento boxed lunches bound for convenience stores in Japan. Teraoka Seiko has chosen to use Windows products since 1998, both for its server and client operating systems. To increase production levels while minimizing system upgrades, Teraoka Seiko chose Windows Server 2003 R2 for Embedded Systems as the server operating system for its PCS-L700. As a result Teraoka Seiko has improved productivity and created new opportunities for business growth.

“We were attracted to Windows Server 2003 R2 for Embedded Systems due to its 15 year product availability, which will more than match our solution lifespan.”Daisuke Kajigaya, Manager, Hardware Development Group, Food Industry System Business Unit, Teraoka Seiko

OverviewCountry or Region: JapanIndustry: IT Services

Customer ProfileTeraoka Seiko, based in Tokyo, Japan, is a world leader in measuring systems and point of sale (POS) systems.

Business SituationTeraoka Seiko began working on an automatic weighing and label system based around a client server in 1998. The company wanted to upgrade its server operating system to be in line with its customers.

SolutionTeraoka Seiko partnered with Unidux to deploy Windows Server 2003 R2 for Embedded Systems for its automatic weighing and label system as well for its label printers.

Benefits Results in savings for customers Improves productivity Supports global business growth Expands product development

SituationFounded in November 1934 and established in July 1947, Teraoka Seiko is a world leader in measuring systems and point of sale (POS) systems. Teraoka Seiko is involved in a broad range of industries, making products for the food manufacturing, processing, distribution and retail industries as well as offering manufacturing, logistics and ecology-related solutions. In recent years the company has focused development on its PCS-L700 measuring and pricing system, which automates the printing and attaching of labels to bento boxed lunches bound for convenience stores.

Daisuke Kajigaya, Manager, Hardware Development Group, Food Industry System Business Unit, Teraoka Seiko, explains the strategic importance of the automatic weighing and label system to the company: “Our company has been working with standalone label printers but we have many competitors. About 10 years ago we were able to integrate our machines into a network and we set to work developing an automatic weighing and label system too.” As a result the company currently enjoys an 80 percent share of the market for convenience store bento boxed lunches coming from an automated production line.

The automatic weighing and label system automates the work process through a connection between the server and the network linking the packaging machine, the measuring equipment, and the label printer. The data needed to print pricing labels on the bento boxes is sourced from a database server that is updated online from the head office of the convenience store. On the client side the automated production line label printers take data from the database and based on the data, the weight and the unit price, print off and attach labels to each bento lunch box.

Teraoka Seiko first began working on an automatic weighing and label system based around a client server model in 1998.

At that time the company made a decision to run its servers on Windows NT Server 4.0 operating system. Key to this decision was its ability to maintain connections with other systems. Kajigaya explains: “We had been using Linux or real-time operating systems for local network products. However, when we considered linking to the

systems that our customers were using for their operations, we found we were only able to maintain simple protocols or use simple tools with the Linux and real-time operating system. That’s why at the time we went with Windows, due to the fact that it enables the use of utilities on a global scale.”

In 2006 Teraoka Seiko began work on developing a new product, the Teraoka Seiko PCS-L700 automatic weighing and label system, which called for the adoption of a new operating system. The new product was based on the need to meet new requirements from customers. “Our customers were demanding improvements in productivity and it was our aim to deliver these improvements,” explains Kajigaya.

He adds, “Usually, if a bento boxed lunch plant wants to improve its productivity, it concentrates on producing similar products. However, when the production process includes labeling with the retailer’s name, address, etc., each time the retailer name changes the printer has to be updated with the new details, resulting in a delay of some 1.5 seconds.”

SolutionTeraoka Seiko partnered with Microsoft Partner Unidux to investigate deploying a new operating system. “Unidux were able to provide several different scenarios for having a Windows operating system installed on our server and allowed us to tweak and compare different approaches,” says Kajigaya.

Teraoka Seiko chose Windows Server 2003 R2 for Embedded Systems for its server operating system. Key to its decision was the long-term provision of service provided by Microsoft, and low loyalty costs. Teraoka Seiko wanted an operating system that would have longevity to match its solution lifespan to prevent any issues due to software updates or developer revisions. “The automatic weighing and label system is a long-term product that can be installed in a customer’s plant and can run for 7 to 10 years. We were attracted to Windows Server 2003 R2 for Embedded Systems due to its 15 year product availability, which will more than match our solution lifespan,” says Kajigaya.

With its new system running Windows 2003 R2 for Embedded Systems, and its label printers running Windows XP Embedded, Teraoka Seiko can now access the client database directly, reducing the printer label update delay time by 0.5 seconds.

The Teraoka Seiko PCS-L700 automatic weigh and label system has been built as a client server system. The basic data required by the label printers is centrally controlled by the server application.

This project was led by the software development team for the automatic weighing and label system and developing software for the PCS-L700 required several steps. Teraoka Seiko was able to leverage Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 to achieve great time to market when migrating to Windows Server 2003 R2 for Embedded Systems.

“In obtaining the technical data needed, we were able to make good use of the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN). From coding right through to debugging and testing, the entire process was carried out on PCs running Visual Studio .NET. We were able to complete all software modifications and development within six months,” says Yoshitaka Murata,

Manager, Software Development Group, Food Industry System Business Unit, Teraoka Seiko.

BenefitsWhen it comes to software development, because so many of its customers are running Windows Embedded systems, Teraoka Seiko is benefiting from a long-term solution that allows the company to control production costs and increase productivity. The Teraoka Seiko PCS-L700 system has received excellent feedback from the food product plants where it has been installed.

Results in Savings for Customers“Due to the label printer running Windows XP Embedded, these devices can directly access the database on the server running

Windows Server 2003 R2 for Embedded Systems, and this means we have been able to reduce the printer delay by 0.5 seconds when changing label content. As a result, the productivity at the bento boxed lunch plants has been improved and this means our customers can make significant savings in terms of their personnel costs,” says Kajigaya.

Improves ProductivityPreviously, software development, debugging and testing required considerable time and made it difficult to improve productivity. “By having everything running on a Windows-based system, it is very easy to run debugging and testing on a PC and then to burn the master code on to a CD-R, which can then be automatically installed onto the system,” says Murata.

Supports Global Business GrowthThe global language support that Windows offers provides Teraoka Seiko with an advantage when it comes to exporting its products overseas. “Currently in Europe a number of customers are saying that if they cannot buy Windows products they won’t buy at all. We have exported our measuring and pricing

system to clients in non-English speaking territories such as Hong Kong, Holland and Germany, so I feel it was the right choice to go with Windows as it offers our clients multi-lingual support,” says Kajigaya.

Expands Product DevelopmentThe development teams are planning new ways to expand on the functionality and range of the automatic weighing and label system. Key to this is the ability to link devices. For example, by connecting a metal detector to an X-ray machine the PCS-L700 system can be used as a traceability tool to detect and prevent foreign bodies in food. Detection data can be fed back to the PCS-L700 server via the label printers, enabling the manufacturer to guarantee no foreign bodies in food.

Keywords: Embedded Server

Windows EmbeddedWindows Embedded is a high-performance and highly reliable platform used by innovative OEMs to deliver devices that stand out through rich user experiences and seamless connections to the world of Windows. The Windows Embedded family of products includes Windows Embedded CE, Windows Embedded Standard, Windows Embedded Enterprise, Windows Embedded POSReady, Windows Embedded Server and Windows Embedded Automotive.

For more information visit:www.microsoft.com/embedded.

For More InformationFor more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to: www.microsoft.com

For more information about Unidux products and services, call +81 422-31-4250 or visit the Web site at: www.unidux.co.jp

For more information about Teraoka Seiko products and services, call +81-3-3752-2131 or visit the Web site at: www.digisystem.com

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published June 2010

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