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I saved my company ~$18 million with a 100 line perl script that I wrote in order to learn programming. It parsed a text file containing Jeep parts that needed

I saved my company ~$18 million with a 100 line perl script that I wrote in order to learn programming. It parsed a text file containing Jeep parts that needed to be sequenced and printed barcode labels to Zebra printers. One day a construction crew dug up all of our data lines and we lost all comms to Chrysler and our data center. We had to have a rotation of floor supervisors driving to Chrysler to copy/paste orders onto a floppy disk and bring it back to be processed. We kept the line running for about 30 hours, which basically saved our company because our contract with Chrysler stipulated that we would be charged $10,000 per minute if we stopped the line.

mooreds 4y ago
I'm so curious. So the process was: * supervisor drives to Chrysler, pastes part orders into text file, saves it a floppy * floppy returns to your company, you open it up and run the perl script, which prints barcode labels * ... then what?
- shagymoe 4y ago
  The labels printed directly to the warehouse floor where parts were being sequenced. So, for example, the Rear Right Fender Flares printer would print barcodes labels and the person sequencing would pick up the next label in sequence, look at which color fender flare it specified, go pick that part, apply the label and put it in a sequencing rack. When the rack is full, it gets loaded on a truck bound for the plant.
  - froh 4y ago
    so you kept the just in sequence supply chain of some Chrysler plant alive with a perl script that could import their sequence orders from floppy disks into your system, just as if they had arrived via wire? amazing. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_in_sequence https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_in_sequence
    - shagymoe 4y ago
      Correct! Although we typically called it "JIT" or "Just in time". The racks get unloaded at the installation point and the buffer is probably 10-15 minutes of parts. That was 22 years ago and I still have the script.

mooreds 4y ago

I'm so curious. So the process was: * supervisor drives to Chrysler, pastes part orders into text file, saves it a floppy * floppy returns to your company, you open it up and run the perl script, which prints barcode labels * ... then what?

shagymoe 4y ago
The labels printed directly to the warehouse floor where parts were being sequenced. So, for example, the Rear Right Fender Flares printer would print barcodes labels and the person sequencing would pick up the next label in sequence, look at which color fender flare it specified, go pick that part, apply the label and put it in a sequencing rack. When the rack is full, it gets loaded on a truck bound for the plant.
- froh 4y ago
  so you kept the just in sequence supply chain of some Chrysler plant alive with a perl script that could import their sequence orders from floppy disks into your system, just as if they had arrived via wire? amazing. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_in_sequence https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_in_sequence
  - shagymoe 4y ago
    Correct! Although we typically called it "JIT" or "Just in time". The racks get unloaded at the installation point and the buffer is probably 10-15 minutes of parts. That was 22 years ago and I still have the script.