Технология Логистических Систем

Start-up of warehousing operations and installation of all
necessary technologies

Problem statement, contractor requirements

The Customer’s printed goods are stored in several warehouses. A financial review of the possible own lease of the storage area including the complete equipment, software and subsequent engagement of a warehouse provider is required.

Principal objectives:

Tenders for the procurement of shelve stands and handling facilities. The shelve stand layout should ensure the most space-saving storage.
Purchase and configuration of servers and RF terminals.
Installation of a CCTV system.
Installation and configuration of a Wi-Fi network.
Selection and application of a warehouse management system meeting the above-stated requirements.

Inventory and transparency of all the current warehousing operations.
Increase in the number of current warehousing operations, particularly for the assembly and shipment of piece goods.
Revision of product coding principles to curb the product range expansion rate.
Personnel recruitment, training and management.

Product storage and handling features:

The main supplier is located in the same warehouse complex.
The need to allocate several zones for the detailed recount of return goods, and a repackaging zone.
Storage of goods is carried out on pallets of various standards, the height of pallets varies from 1 m to 2.65 m.
The need to manage many varieties and groups of products.
The product range is constantly expanding as new collections and issues hit the market.
In most cases, the manager reserves goods for a purchase order by choosing specific pallets for selection purposes.
A large number of mixed pallets.

Additional objectives:

Transfer of goods repackaging facilities from remote sites to the main warehouse area

Special WMS requirements WMS:

Intuitive, user-friendly interface.
Adapted for managing several warehouses.
Standalone setting-up options for placement and reservation strategies.
Ability to process different types, categories and properties of goods.
Integration into the ERP system with different access levels for the Customer’s services.

TLS solution

The following was done within the 3-month project implementation period while running to budget:

In-depth review of warehouse processes, current operations and principles of the commodity exchange with partners. Satisfaction of the system’s functional requirements and the customer’s preferences. Formulation of proposals to optimize processes, development of a model to represent the essence of the projected solutions.
Delivery of equipment and software products from TLS, a partner of IBM, Intermec, Motorola, Citizen, and Cisco, and an ORACLE silver partner: (delivery and setup of IBM servers, server software, an ORACLE database; delivery, installation and configuration of the Wi-Fi network devices; delivery and configuration of the Intermec data collection terminals).
Implementation of an Infor SCM WM warehouse management system. Collection and uploading of initial reference and inventory data into the system. Monitoring of balances in all of the company’s warehouses. Staff performance can be monitored and improved by keeping records of all the operations in terms of time and employee. Management of many varieties and groups of products. Development of optimal commodity location and reservation strategies. Development of special-purpose research reports and printed forms.

Tender for the procurement of warehousing equipment, handling facilities and the installation of shelve stands. Search for suppliers, review of the pricing policy, technical maintenance and support, delivery and commissioning deadlines for the machinery and equipment. Selection of the most appropriate suppliers.
Warehouse outsourcing, repackaging, recount of products. Performance of a wide range of warehousing operations.
Storage optimization through the arrangement of multi-level shelve stands, development of a special post-receipt shelving strategy. Revised selection principles for the commodities that are key to the warehouse efficiency.
Personnel recruitment and training. Development of guidelines and instructions for the successful training of employees with regard to specific features of the products and the warehousing operations. Application of an effective personnel motivation system.
Repackaging process now inside the warehouse, eliminating the additional cost of moving goods from the storage warehouse to the repackaging areas and backwards, with a more detailed supervision of the process.

Results

Within 3 months, the warehouse was completely equipped with all the necessary facilities, software products, with employees properly selected and trained.
All the warehousing operations are transparent and registered in the system; staff performance can be reviewed and analyzed using special reports.
The number of current operations was increased through optimized warehousing processes including a more efficient handling of piece goods.
The Customer can track inventory balances in multiple warehouses within one information system.
Some of the collections are repackaged directly in the warehouse, thus eliminating unwanted goods handling costs.
Effective training of new employees within the shortest time possible.

Start-up of warehousing operations and installation of all necessary technologies