Shop Floor to Top Floor: IoT Middleware for SAP HANA

Automating the production line for Kompass Pakistan. Development of custom IoT Middleware that bridges heterogeneous weighing scales with SAP HANA for real-time data ingestion.

View the Project
Industry
  • Packaging & Manufacturing / Industrial IoT
Services
  • SAP HANA Integration
  • Custom Middleware Development
  • Industrial IoT (IIoT)
  • Hardware Bridging (Ethernet/WiFi)
  • Automated Data Fetching

The Challenge

In Pakistan, the leading business in implementing flexible packaging, Kompass Pakistan, had a data disconnect problem in the production line and in-central enterprise resource planning (SAP HANA). The logging process for finished products was manual, which created errors. Operators would read the values of the digital scales in the system and, in turn, input the values system, which resulted in dwindling inconsistencies of inventory.

Several technical challenges arose due to the varying types of machinery in the factory. Some of the older weighing machines were hardwired into the factory’s Ethernet network, while the newer machines functioned wirelessly through WiFi. The different manufacturers and data protocols made it impossible to develop an integration apparently utilizing standard, commercially available data, leading to the expensive solution of replacing the hardware.

Let’s create something unforgettable

The Solution

TekScrum designed and deployed a custom Universal IoT Middleware that acts as a digital translator between the physical machinery and the SAP ERP.

  • The Universal Bridge Middleware: We developed a strong software system that is able to hear from several different protocols at the same time. No matter if a machine sends data over TCP/IP or using WiFi packets, our middleware intercepts the stream, normalizes the data, and adjusts the data format by removing unwanted information.
  • Direct SAP HANA Injection: Data pertaining to weights is now recorded automatically instead of being manually entered. As soon as a carton is placed on the scale, the middleware verifies the accuracy of the data and sends a transaction to the SAP HANA database via secure API endpoints.
  • Hardware Agnostic Architecture: We designed the system considering future expansion and scalability. Kompass can now integrate more scales from different manufacturers without impacting system cohesion, as the system intelligently identifies the type of integration (Wired or Wireless).

The Results

  • 100% Data Accuracy: Eliminated manual data entry errors. What weighs on the scale is exactly what is recorded in SAP.
  • Legacy Hardware Optimization: Saved the client millions in hardware costs by enabling legacy Ethernet scales to talk to modern cloud ERPs without needing replacement.
  • Real-Time Inventory: Production managers now see finished goods inventory in SAP the second it leaves the production line, enabling JIT (Just-In-Time) logistics.

TekScrum solved a hardware puzzle that other vendors couldn't crack. Their middleware seamlessly unified our mix of WiFi and Ethernet scales, automating our data entry into SAP HANA. Our inventory accuracy is now perfect

Kompass Pakistan

Plant Manager

How We Supported (The Tech Stack)

Middleware & Backend
  • Node.js / Python: For low-latency data buffer handling and protocol translation.
  • Socket Programming: Direct TCP/IP socket connections to hardware ports.
  • Protocol Conversion: Modbus TCP / Serial-to-Ethernet bridging.
ERP Integration
  • SAP HANA Service Layer: Secure OData/REST API connectivity.
  • SQL Direct Fetch: Optimized queries for high-quantity transaction logging.
Network
  • Hybrid Local Network: Managing static IPs across both Wired LAN and Wireless VLANs to ensure stable tool connectivity.

Ongoing Support

To guarantee an uninterrupted flow of data during 24/7 production shifts, TekScrum keeps track of the middleware uptime. We are looking into automating label printing activated by the same weight data event.