A leading online farmer-to-farmer and ag tech company has been able to fast-track its expansion plans thanks to a tailored ‘Self Implementation’ programme from WMS provider, SnapFulfil, that enables customers to onboard the solution themselves.
With demand for their products and services soaring, Farmers Business Network (FBN) needed to quickly increase its warehouse capacity with the opening of 14 new DCs across the American Midwest in 2021, whilst retaining greater cost, labour and inventory efficiencies.
The ability to remotely implement and self-configure the WMS was essential to overcome the challenges of the global pandemic, decrease rollout time, and provide FBN with greater control, more independence and internal system expertise.
The first DC to be onboarded, in Newton, Iowa, and 186,000 sq ft, quickly delivered vastly improved picking efficiencies. The automated approach also eliminated the number of people manually involved and – with an eye to the future – delivered a standardised and more professional process that workers across all subsequent sites could easily follow.
FBN’s System Engineer, Darci Fluit, was initially schooled in both project control and project execution, including the likes of bespoke order transfer, stock management functionality, implementing the environment set up, rules engine configuration and all the staff training required via web conferencing.
Fluit said: “The SnapFulfil team are strong partners who provide clear instruction and advised me on how best to interview our operational staff about their specific order volume and storage requirements; then map out the intricacies of the processes needed and phased implementation from the very beginning.
“With each Go Live we saw increased speed and ease of implementation and by DC 5 we’d moved on to three simultaneous sites coming on stream, just a week apart. The robust programme we have in place makes it possible and the economies of scale implications are obvious. We’ve also been able to handle more complex integrations.”
SnapFulfil’s new Self Implementation documentation covers everything from data gathering, configuring the technical infrastructure, user preparation and verification to data migration, stock take and validation, plus go live support.
With a proven and ever improving onboarding programme now firmly entrenched in the process at FBN, the California-based company has begun expanding their fulfilment operations to Canada and Australia.
Körberhas partnered with UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, which also comprises general merchandise retailer Argos, to deliver K.Motion Warehouse Management System (WMS) to enable the transformation of its logistics and fulfilment networks.
In a rapidly changing business landscape, modern retailers need unified and effective warehouse management solutions to handle increasingly complex supply chains and meet evolving customer needs.
Sainsbury’s currently has a network comprising multiple legacy warehouse management solutions, which are often product type and channel specific. The implementation of the Körber WMS is a key part of the retailer’s transformation journey to a more integrated network, which will enable it to serve its stores and customers better.
The retail chain’s biggest challenge was finding a WMS adaptable enough to span the different requirements of the entire business. This encompasses multiple distribution and fulfilment centres, catering for differing product types across food, general merchandise and clothing. Additionally, temporary depots are used to provide greater capacity in the network at peak times in the year such as Christmas. Körber’s WMS met these requirements.
“Fulfilment centres in today’s business landscape need to run at peak efficiency, and solutions that seamlessly integrate processes and reduce complexity are the key to success,” says Anton du Preez, Executive Vice President EMEA Sales, Körber Supply Chain Software. “With our solution, we provide the agility to cater to Sainsbury’s vast network of stores and broad variety of products. This allows them to maximise fulfilment efficiency, ensuring customer satisfaction and further growth.”
The solution Körber and Sainsbury’s are co-developing will allow the retailer to make configuration changes within the system themselves. This will enable customisation to incorporate new processes unique to the business and industry and reduce lead time to change. Additionally, the software is hosted in the cloud, easily facilitating changes to the solution and deployment across multiple warehouses.
This provides Sainsbury’s with the flexibility to easily upgrade the existing configuration to new cloud hardware and leveraging the latest technologies, while changing software and database systems whenever needed to adapt to ever-changing business and customer needs.
Sainsbury’s has been a Körber customer for a number of years, benefitting from voice-directed warehouse operations and K.Sight CLASS warehouse simulation. One example of the latest technology in this regard is the Körber One Screen to Voice function for streamlined picking in the warehouse: instructions to pickers are delivered via voice commands – replacing the scan gun. This allows two-handed operations, speeds up the process and leads to fewer errors. The result is greater operational efficiency and faster fulfilment to stores and customers.
In line with the fast growing direct to consumer (D2C) market, which is set to be worth some $175bn in the US alone by 2023, WMS technology innovator SnapFulfilhas taken its pioneering remote implementation (RI) initiative to the next level with an advanced version that enables customers to onboard the solution themselves.
A tailored ‘Self Implementation’ programme provides step-by-step and hands-on guidance in project management and execution, to provide clients old and new with greater control, more independence and internal system expertise.
The new documentation factors in key steps, decisions and milestones to be completed throughout the project and covers everything from data gathering, configuring the technical infrastructure, user preparation and verification to data migration, stock take and validation, plus go live support.
SnapFulfil’s Chief Product & Delivery Officer, Smitha Raphael, said: “Today’s businesses need to be nimble and quick to respond to changing market demands. Over the past two years, in particular, we have seen many more customers adopt a D2C model that requires agile and easily configurable WMS solutions.
“We’re all about speed-to-value partnerships and being able to scale with our customers and be extremely flexible to meet all of the demands of their business. This self-sustainable implementation option (with our support as required) can facilitate quicker and slicker multi-site onboarding, once we’ve instructed them in the first one or two.
“The initial ability to digitally implement our WMS solution, whilst producing the same positive results in adoption and use as traditional on-site engagement, was essential to overcome the challenges of the global pandemic. Moving forward, self-implementation means customers have all the technical essentials in place for a seamless self-rollout across their DC estate.”
Apart from the initial site set up, warehouse creation and user licensing that SnapFulfil always has to prepare first, self-implementation typically begins with internal operations and IT personnel designing work processes that the SnapFulfil team then fine tune.
This could include all facets of a D2C enterprise, such as receipts, transfer orders, customer returns, putaway and racking, cross-docking, vendor returns, order release and allocation, load creation, picking, plus inventory counting and stock audits.
Clients then allocate dedicated staff members to the new warehouse for input on tailored training documents via web conferencing, end-to-end integration testing, plus critical parts of the go-live timeline – and ultimately take control of the rules configuration, device training and copying the test into the live system in preparation for launch.
UK-based sports and hobbies retailer Fishing Tackle & Bait has successfully transformed its international fulfilment capabilities with Descartes’ cloud-based ecommerce warehouse management solution (WMS). With Descartes, the multi-channel merchant scaled order processing capacity by 250% without adding labour. In addition, it was able to virtually eliminate miss-picked items and overselling of inventory, and reduced customer service queries by more than 70%.
“Our business was originally a classic brick-and-mortar retail store, but we soon realised we had to broaden our distribution strategy and participate in marketplaces like Amazon and eBay to ensure future growth not only in the UK but also in Ireland, Europe and North America,” said David Burleigh, Director of Fishing Tackle & Bait.
“With COVID, we suddenly experienced an incredible spike in sales of over 250%. With only manual processes in place, we soon faced inaccurate stock levels and disappointed customers who were waiting for their deliveries. We were considering hiring additional staff when our ecommerce platform provider, IRP Commerce, recommended the Descartes ecommerce WMS to us. Now we’re extremely proud of our current logistics operations and our ability to better control over our customers’ delivery experiences.”
Part of Descartes’ ecommerce solution suite, the Descartes ecommerce WMS solution helps direct-to-consumer brands and ecommerce retailers rapidly scale in combination with providing an improved customer experience. The solution helps ensure that retailers can ship on time, ship the right items, reduce risks of overselling existing inventory, and have greater transparency into warehouse operations.
The Descartes ecommerce WMS solution has integrations into major ecommerce platforms to accelerate implementation and time to value. Order information is automatically available to be executed via mobile driven multi-order pick-and-pack strategies and then fed into parcel shipment systems.
“We’re pleased that Fishing Tackle & Bait is able to deliver a highly satisfying online buying and delivery experience to their customers,” said Dirk Haschke, VP & General Manager, Ecommerce at Descartes. “Our scalable ecommerce WMS offers efficient and intelligent processes that eliminate key warehouse management problem areas for online retailers. Fishing Tackle & Bait’s ecommerce success demonstrates the importance of automated order fulfilment for growing multi-channel merchants that want to stay ahead of their competition and retain satisfied customers.”
A six-month warehouse-wide hard-count inventory audit by luxury and collectable online watch retailer, Watch Gang, has registered a 0% shrinkage rate for the first time and highest-ever customer service levels.
Since switching to technologically advanced cloud-based WMSSnapFulfil, the rapidly expanding e-commerce retailer has a more streamlined, optimised and cost effective fulfilment solution that has dramatically reduced the processing time of an average order.
Sam Christian, SVP of Operations at Watch Gang, said: “SnapFulfil consistently saves us both time and money. Being a luxury brand, service levels are now meeting our very exact standards, which support our ambitious growth strategy. SnapFulfil now serves as both the pilot and the plane within our organisation.
“It’s also functionally rich, which facilitates speed and tracking accuracy, as well as improved productivity. I particularly like the AutoMode feature for task allocation to warehouse associates, because each new task is assigned dynamically by the system, so that the daily workflow maintains flexibility throughout an ever-changing warehouse workday.
“A single RF user can be seamlessly guided from picking 30+ orders and dropping at a pack station, to replenishing a separate pick slot from our bulk area, to auditing the count of a location, and beginning the receiving of new product that has just arrived – all without external guidance.”
Today, Los Angeles-based Watch Gang handles thousands of closed tab shipments and subscription orders in days – rather than weeks – and there’s also been a perfect count on SKUs from day one and not a miss-shipment since.
ELTEN GmbH, a manufacturer of safety and professional shoes, has put the PSIwms warehouse management system into operation in its logistics centre. Thus, the logistics software of PSI Logistics GmbH forms the basis for future process automations.
To increase the capacity of the central warehouse, ELTEN has expanded its logistics centre at the headquarters in Uedem on the Lower Rhine, Germany. For efficient warehouse management and coordinated process control, the company relies on the warehouse management system PSIwms. With 6,700 storage spaces in the pallet warehouse, 15,500 in the carton warehouse and 10,300 in the shelf warehouse, 20,000 different articles are stored in the logistics centre and an external warehouse. Around three million pairs of safety shoes leave the central warehouse every year.
Currently, the material flows have been reorganised and PSIwms has been implemented and put into operation as a process-leading warehouse management system. The system manages the goods receipt of finished goods, semi-finished goods, merchandise and consumables both from the company’s own production and externally via the ramp areas.
Picking is currently carried out manually according to the person-to-goods principle. For coordinated process sequences, a pick-by-voice system, a forklift positioning system and a shipping system, for example, are connected to PSIwms. The warehouse expansion also provides the basis for future automation projects such as the installation of an automated small parts warehouse (AS/RS).
Fast-growing supply chain software specialist Industri-Matematik International (IMI) has enhanced its offering by adding the LYDIA Voice pick-by-voice solution to its powerful portfolio.
The partnership deal with topsystem signed in June 2021 means that IMI can now include state-of-the-art LYDIA Voice technology as part of IMI Warehouse Management System (IMI WMS). The good news for IMI customers is that they can optimise their warehouse processes at high-speed and with minimal disruption, as standardised integrations are available for fast on-site implementation.
LYDIA Voice is winning fans all over the logistics world because it provides hands-free, eyes-free and – compared to other voice solutions – even headset-free benefits to pickers and operatives via a unique LYDIA VoiceWear picking vest. There are no breaks in the workflow; the employee can focus entirely on picking without distraction. The wins are much-improved speed and accuracy. Easy to pick up and use in an instant, LYDIA requires no voice template training and reacts to voice commands in multiple languages according to customer preference.
Shared Technology Ethos
Already known for its cutting-edge supply chain software expertise, IMI recognised a growing customer need for voice technology and wanted to broaden its offering with a complete end-to-end product that fitted with its own WMS. “We chose LYDIA Voice because we saw a similar technology leader in topsystem that approached the market in a similar way to ourselves, focusing on customer need and ease above all,” explained Niklas Rönnbäck, CEO, IMI.
Part of German-founded global software innovator Ehrhardt Partner Group (EPG), topsystem represents an impressive statement of intent from IMI and typifies the exciting growth journey that the company is undertaking. Founded in Sweden over 50 years ago, IMI now boasts clients in 18 countries and is best known for its flexible software expertise supporting the FMCG, retail, distribution and 3PL sectors in the Nordics, Europe and North America. It now expedites more than one billion order lines per year at thousands of warehouses and stores – with an astonishing 99.9% uptime.
IMI CEO Niklas Rönnbäck is excited about the opportunities ahead: “Together with the right team, product offerings and global leading partners such as topsystem, we are strengthening our market position still more and we are building a stable foundation for continued expansion with existing as well as new customers. IMI is and will be a leading niche provider of supply chain solutions to look out for now and in the future.”
Tim Just, CEO Voice Solutions at EPG, added: “The Nordic market plays an important role in our growth strategy. With IMI we have found a great partner who fits with our ethos. Plus LYDIA Voice integrates seamlessly with their WMS. Many customers prefer complete solutions from a single source. As a certified Lydia Solution Partner, IMI can successfully manage LYDIA Voice projects – from the first contact until go-live and beyond. We look forward to exciting times with IMI as we share their growth journey.”
Tori Belle Cosmetics has improved its fulfilment efficiency rate by 25% since implementing the technologically advanced SnapFulfil cloud-based WMS.
The Seattle-based beauty leader, famous for its magnetic eyeliner application (under the LashLiner brand) that founder Laura Hunter invented, managed to grow by four times in 2020, during the pandemic, with SnapFulfil helping the company to execute and meet evolving customer demands.
Ease of integration with its Shopify platform and NetSuite ERP system, plus user-friendliness for management and staff alike, has also helped smooth the transition from paper to digital, with SnapFulfil bringing Tori Belle’s operations in line with its increased scale in each market segment.
Matthew Suarez, VP Global Distribution for Tori Belle Cosmetics, said: “Its solid, flexible and reliable software had a very positive impact on our team’s productivity. SnapFulfil provides that unique combination of cutting-edge technology, dedicated people operations and a business model that is adaptable for a company (of any size) that wants to pivot and expand rapidly.”
The company saw SnapFulfil as the best WMS option to control all-important labour costs for its aggressive expansion of operations, number of warehouses and associates, as well as a strategic partner enabling organisational growth. It also needed to streamline and structure operations as quickly as possible and achieve much greater visibility in fulfilment and order processing.
Tori Belle Cosmetics is now looking to expand its distribution footprint internationally – starting with a hub in the Midlands, UK – but efficiently and “without rebuilding the wheel” for each market. Suarez adds: “SnapFulfil will play a major part, because of its agility and multi-site capabilities and we look forward to our continued collaboration as we scale from a medium to large organisation.”
As the world still grapples with supply-chain issues brought on by the pandemic, companies are increasingly looking for ways to streamline their operations. One area that is increasingly receiving more attention is Warehouse Management Solutions (WMS). Andrey Kazachkov, Head of Warehouse Automation at premiere custom software development provider First Line Software, takes a look at some warehousing situations that determine whether to first invest in hardware or software when beginning the process of warehouse automation, and some notable exceptions to either case.
In my recent article, Should My Warehouse Be Automated? we reviewed the basics of WMS and looked at the differences between a manually operated warehouse with people as the primary resource moving goods, as opposed to a fully or partially automated warehouse scenario. Once you’ve determined that your warehouse requires some level of automation, the next question is whether to initiate the conversion with hardware or software.
Not surprisingly, your company’s own business process will determine which comes first.
Most organisations looking to implement a WMS solution will likely have some existing hardware and equipment in place and wish to integrate this infrastructure with software to run it more efficiently, and we’ll take a look at that situation in a moment. But let’s start with a couple of scenarios where software takes precedence.
Where software comes first
Let’s begin with the premise that you’re creating an automated warehouse from the ground up. This includes raising a brand-new building or starting out with an existing empty shell.
Here, you may initially think that the answer is to first purchase the hardware needed for your particular needs and the software will likely come integrated with it or be added afterward. Normally this would be the preferred route to take when starting from scratch as we’ll see in a moment. However, exceptional, non-standard conditions are a great example of where the correct choice of software has to come first, primarily because software is easier to customise than hardware.
Situations include, but are not limited to:
Highly secure tracking requirements for products such as narcotics, controlled substances, hazardous materials, or extremely high-value goods.
When specific features need to be integrated such as Augmented Reality glasses, Pick By Voice commands, or highly specialised robotics.
Another common situation where software is the predecessor to hardware is when pre-existing hardware exists, and new hardware must be integrated into the system. This is often the case when speed and productivity need to be increased. Here, new software is the bridge to compatibility between the existing and new hardware.
Where hardware comes first
One of the main drivers in the decision to choose hardware before software is… you guessed it, cost. The price of warehouse management software in a common warehouse system is approximately 20% of the total budget. This is primarily driven by the fact that hardware is less flexible in terms of customisation. You buy the hardware knowing it can do the job required, while software can be continuously modified and updated to fit your equipment needs.
As I stated before, if you are building or starting a warehouse from scratch, initiating the construction with hardware would be the preferred route. There can be myriad reasons for this, but here are some of the main factors to highlight:
Knowing your hardware and equipment in advance allows you to most efficiently plan the layout of your warehouse, allocate workplaces, and choose hardware suppliers taking into account licensing agreements.
You can de-bug your process at an earlier stage before you implement the automation aspect of the software.
The type of hardware and equipment you purchase will be the determining factor in calculating the speed of your warehouse. Software created by experienced providers allows you to modulate your equipment’s load based on needs, but there is usually a speed-limit to most hardware.
The old adage, “Time is Money” is most applicable here since your warehouse will be up-and-running much faster if you start with the hardware and equipment first.
When hardware already exists
As mentioned earlier, most organisations looking to implement a WMS solution will likely have some existing hardware and equipment in place, and wish to integrate this infrastructure with software to either enhance or create some level of automation. As it turns out, this route can ultimately be far more expensive for a customer if they are not aware of some of the pitfalls when trying to merge existing equipment with new hardware and/or software.
There are more points here, but some are also applicable to the hardware vs. software question above:
The operational system of the new WMS needs to connect to operational system of the rest of the company as well. This is typically not a low-level integration.
You need to know the equipment standards that are applicable in your area or country. Equipment from the same manufacturer can be location specific, and in some cases may not be compatible with your existing hardware.
When choosing one equipment vendor over another, evaluate not only the initial cost of integration, but also the cost of future technical support and maintenance.
Integration with so-called basic equipment such as scales, scanners, or computer monitors, (not enough monitor resolution is an example) etc. should be a focus of attention. Overlooking the small stuff can get very expensive quickly.
When combining older or existing hardware with new hardware and software, simulators are usually created that imitate the legacy systems before they are deemed fully compatible with the new. This can cost tens of thousands of dollars or Euros.
There are off-the-shelf simulator solutions for the customer to DIY, however the process of getting system approvals and making them work can be time consuming.
When hardware and software both come first
Of course, as in all aspects of life, there are exceptions to every situation. Warehousing facilities that have extremely specific requirements and very demanding environmental situations will necessitate acquiring, and integrating hardware and software at the same time. This requires sourcing equipment that can handle such environmental extremes and concurrently developing the software that can integrate with the equipment to do the work that’s required.
Here’s a couple of examples:
A temperature-controlled warehouse for goods that need either extreme cold or hot storage and subsequent movement within, and in and out of the facility.
Special climate conditions such as reduced oxygen environments where the protection of assets from fire, moisture, and pests is paramount.
A real-world example of this last point is First Line Software’s partnership with viastore that automated the Archive and Logistics Centre of one of the largest banks in Europe which occupies 53,000 sq m. It was the largest warehousing automation project in Eastern Europe. The challenging fact is that the ALC employees have no physical access to the storage areas due to the reduced oxygen supply needed to protect the contents from fire, moisture, and pests.
This scenario necessitated that the entire process of archive operations be fully automated. Here the client’s process requirements dictated that the solution needs to have software, and the specialised hardware sourced together to execute the facilities demands.
Where does your WMS begin?
Amid all the pitfalls addressed above (and others not addressed for lack of space), do not despair! The good news is that it’s possible to integrate and update your existing warehouse at a reasonable cost, even using equipment from different manufacturers. The first step to achieving that goal is the responsibility of the customer.
Do your best to eliminate – or at least minimalise – the “middle man”. It is important for you to control the development process at all stages and review your requirements as early as possible. From there, you should expect to uphold a direct line of communication to your software and hardware implementer. Project Management should be kept in-house if possible.
The most critical decision you’re likely to make is choosing that all-important implementer. Not every developer or supplier can understand complex WMS processes. Here you should employ the “one vendor” concept: First Line Software’s partner, viastore can supply not only its own hardware, but equipment from other manufacturers as well; in addition to providing their state-of-the-art WMS software solutions.
Having a single vendor to work with and communicate directly has an obvious advantage aside from ease of further hardware servicing, and updating software systems; you are establishing an evolving partnership that will help fuel your company’s future successes.
Come meet us at the free online event of First Line Software on 18th November – How to assemble the WMS/MES/ERP puzzle to increase production efficiency.
Demand for SnapFulfil’s functionally rich cloud-based WMS has seen the technology innovator invest £2m in building its team to support growth.
In recent months, 20 team members have joined the company – in roles such as project manager, implementation analyst, network engineer, technical developer, QA manager – as the best-of-breed WMS provider continues to experience growth across the board.
In addition to increased demand from existing customers, SnapFufil has continued to win more varied and bigger business contracts in both its UK/Europe and US territories.
Areas witnessing a particular surge in activity include the 3PL and direct-to-consumer (D2C) sectors, with the global pandemic accelerating the bricks and mortar retail move towards D2C and many enterprise-level businesses experiencing unprecedented annual e-commerce growth of up to 35%.
New clients in the UK include rapidly growing online florist Bloom & Wild. SnapFulfil has been implemented to optimise distribution efficiencies, shorten delivery times and help provide a faster and more expedient digital shopping experience.
In the US, Watch Gang is a Los Angeles-based luxury and collectable online watch retailer and SnapFulfil’s ability to consistently and accurately track the movements of every piece of stock in its new DC has delivered a number of benefits for the D2C firm including a zero rate of shrinkage rate for the first time.
SnapFulfil CEO, Tony Dobson, explains: “We’ve invested heavily to attract new talent and I’m delighted to welcome so many new faces to the team. Our business continues to grow at an exponential rate and we still have a number of vacancies to fill.
“With customer purchasing habits irreversibly shifted and the D2C boom set to escalate, there are lots more opportunities to come. SnapFulfil can be cost effectively rolled out across multiple sites and easily configured to meet the ever-changing needs of the modern e-commerce market.”
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