Customer Testimonies

Pentland

The extension of the Glover warehouse has been an unmitigated success and Ian Sayle considers that there is "little that could now be added to improve the efficiency of the logistics operation. The combination of Belgraviums radio frequency equipment, our own WMS enhancements and the PLC system has produced a highly efficient operation that has also proved to be stable and reliable. In particular, the bulk picking operation has been totally transformed. Previously, drivers concluded a pick or put-away operation by generating paperwork that would be re-keyed into the AS400 at some later point in the day. By automating this process, we're effectively running on a completely error-free basis. Combining this automation with sensible manual load planning undertaken by our Glover management team means that we smooth out any potential peaks and troughs, with the warehouse running at optimum levels almost 100% of the time. We're using the Glover facility as a 'test-bench'; for possible future roll-outs to other Pentland warehouses. That's looking pretty likely as we're highly delighted with the performance of the system to-date".

PWS

"I can't deny that there was an element of scepticism that prevailed when we first announced our plans' says Andrew Elenor. 'If we had gone 'live' with an error prone system, I think we would have suffered some significant problems. However, the major thrust underpinning the initiative was the elimination of unnecessary pick errors and a reduction in wasteful paperwork. The benefits of the Belgravium-Lambda-In-house system are very transparent in these areas and all our workers can see how this positively impacts on the service levels enjoyed by our paying customers. The move to a 'paperless' environment has been further cemented by the adoption of a document imaging system. Given the level of automation and optimised processes that we have now, it's becoming increasingly difficult to see where further system development would add value. We're proud of the efficient way in which our warehouse operates and the efforts of both our workforce and external suppliers are to be applauded".

Lancashire Dairies

The combination of RF and the new software functionality has literally transformed the warehouse operation beyond all recognition. As Tony Oakes, Group Administration Manager, remarks "The weekly stock checks were resulting in very significant overtime bills. We've now reduced stock checks to twice yearly and can claim 99.9% stock accuracy. Real-time operation of a FIFO philosophy has ensured optimum stock rotation, virtually eliminating product wastage. We've also totally negated the need to adopt casual labour during peak periods. We have smaller permanent crews working sensible hours, providing greater stability and reassurance for the workforce. Perhaps the greatest system benefit, given the market we operate in, is the stock visibility. I delight in telling customers that we now have traceability from conception, almost to the actual point of physical consumption!".

Grattan

Commenting on the new system, Grattan's customer operations and warehousing director , Norman Finnigan says : "The decision to build the extension was in response to our rapidly increasing sales which have applied extra pressure on existing stock holding facilities. The key to the economics of the handling system is the error free, extremely high pick-place rate we can achieve, which typically runs at over 3,300 cycles per hour. Customers should see immediate benefits with regard to improved service and the choice to purchase items further into the season.

The Belgravium equipment has contributed greatly to the smoothness of the operation. As it has been trouble-free, we had no hesitation in utilising further Belgravium terminals in the new extension. The use of wireless terminals, auto guided vehicles, several fully automatic cranes and portable data capture units, has provided us with a real-time capability that we feel is unrivalled within our market sector."

Milton Distribution

.......The fork-lift operator picks until all orders are complete. However, occasionally stock cannot be found. In this instance, the system will automatically reallocate the next stock, 'freeze' the pallet in question and generate a new work record. In this way, short order scenario's are virtually eliminated, unless the stock is physically not in the warehouse. As Paul Newey explains, "This is one of the major benefits of using a real-time RDT system because the system is re-allocating as a background activity on a pro-active basis. With a paper-based system this just isn't possible".

The system has also fully realized all the potential benefits that were anticipated and some that weren't! Space utilisation is efficiently controlled. Real-time charging has dramatically improved cash flow (Stephen Vickers concedes, that under the old paper-based system, a small percentage of work was probably not charged for). There was very little hostility to the introduction of the system largely because of the ease of operation (Paul Newey - "We have chaps of all ages who don't appear to encounter any problems, even with a minimal amount of training".) The depth of information that can be extracted using the report generator tool is, according to Stephen Vickers, "....Staggering. The system is now being used for analysis that we hadn't anticipated such as monitoring of employee efficiency and the performance of customers. For example, we can now determine persistently late deliverers or collectors".

The biggest compliment that can be paid to the system is that the throughput on the Bond side of Milton's business actually doubled during the implementation stage and "we just would not have coped under the old system. It's as simple as that " (Stephen Vickers).

Wincanton / Lever Brothers

There is a dedicated case picking area that again makes heavy use of the Belgravium RDT's. The RDT's are used to queue picking tasks, control picking and replenishment activities, determine marshalling lanes and locations and, ultimately, loading tasks. Stuart McDowall, Systems Team Leader, claims that the RDT's have performed "impeccably" and that picking accuracy within the case pick area is "virtually one hundred per cent".

Taylor Barnard

The initial stage of the project saw the introduction of WAMS, with laser scanners and Belgravium radio data terminals mounted on fork lift trucks. The Belgravium intelligent RDT's were employed because of their ability to receive blocks of information at the same time - rather than single instructions. They also provide a paper free picking facility with a massively improved first-time picking accuracy, when compared with the previous paper-based system. The system immediately proved its worth and operators were soon able to achieve picking rates of 450 cases per hour at an average of 6.1 cases per pick.

Roger Hutt, managing director of Taylor Barnard Distribution Ltd at Milton enthuses: "The greatest testimony I can make regarding the performance of the warehouse system is that on the very day we went "live", we commenced the handling of a major account which effectively doubled our throughput. Without the software and the real-time element provided by the Belgravium equipment, we simply would not have coped".

EMI Distribution

As well as overall cost savings from the re-investment in the Leamington distribution centre, customer service has dramatically increased. Previously at Hayes, the cut off for order processing and picking was 12 noon. At Leamington this is presently at 3.00 pm and management are confident that this will move out to 5.00 pm.

The Leamington operation works to a picking fulfilment rate of 99.9% as oppose to the Hayes operation being at around 90%. Perhaps the most dramatic increase in customer service the increase is next day delivery fulfilment. At Hayes providing orders were placed by 12 noon, 80% of the orders were delivered the next day. At Leamington the next day delivery has increased to 98%.