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Solvo.WMS Boosts Efficiency at Warehouse of Major Russian Confectionary Producer

25.08.2016

A Solvo.WMS implementation project was successfully completed at a ready-made goods warehouse of Slavyanka

In March 2015, a Solvo.WMS implementation project was successfully completed at a ready-made goods warehouse of Slavyanka — one of the leading companies in Russia’s confectionary industry — which has an area of 11,700 sq. meters.

The warehouse is located near the Slavyanka factory in the city of Stariy Oskol.

The entire warehouse complex can be divided into four parts:

  • Two zones for receiving goods from production;

  • Zone for assembly and shipping (via road and rail transport);

  • Additional warehouse for storing products received from external suppliers (factories in other regions) as well as proprietary products from other factories in the city.

Warehouse specifications:

  • High turnover and frequent «overstuffing», requiring storage of goods in aisles between frontal racks.

  • Control cargo transfers between each participant.

The warehouse was implemented with a standard configured solution Solvo.WMS for production warehouse with only a small number of additional development. To enable interactions between the system and personnel in real-time, SOLVO rolled out a wireless network, installed and configured Datalogic Scorpio X3 data capture terminals. In result, 80 warehouse employees are now online and can receive tasks from the system as well as record their actions.

Receiving and putaway

When goods leave the production facility, the warehouse received formed pallets with cargo labels, a barcode containing information about the goods and lot, production date, and the number of cartons in the pallet.

With the implementation of Solvo.WMS it became possible to simplify the receiving process using the «expedited technology by barcode» technology. This is where the warehouseman scans the pallet barcode and then checks the data with the actual pallet contents. If the data is correct, he will confirm receiving by pressing a button on the data capture terminal.

Putaway of goods is done in accordance with Solvo.WMS rules and strategies accounting for velocity and other parameters. If the goods are placed on the top tiers then the «transit locations» technology is applied where every process in this case is divided into two stages: goods are moved to the rack using hydraulic carts, from which the load is placed into a transit location next to the destination rack; while stacker trucks are used for putaway into the destination location.

After the worker confirms putaway into a transit location, the task to move the cargo from the transit location to the rack becomes available to stacker truck operators, which makes the process more organized and ordered as equipment does not get into each other’s way.

It should also be noted that implementation of mobile work stations for data capture terminals has significantly simplified work for warehouse employees including workers with disabilities - the warehouse employs workers with hearing impairment. After passing training, their work has become a lot easier as they can now see all tasks on their individual screens.

Intra-warehouse operations

Any intra-warehouse moves are performed with a control function since each of the four zones of the warehouse complex falls under the financial responsibility of a human tied to a specific participant. A special account process was developed to record and control the transfer of responsibility from one zone to another, which records all intra-warehouse moves so that it is possible to receive information on the number of goods moves in a specific time period.

A protocol was also developed for controllers located near the entrances/exits of warehouse zones. Their responsibilities include checking that all cargo is transferred to their assigned locations. With the help of informational form in the data capture terminal, the controller checks whether the correct load was grabbed by the worker and if it has a location assigned by Solvo.WMS. This eliminates any moves not created by the system. The efficiency provided by this practice was also achieved in part due to the possession of required administrative resources by the customer.

Picking and shipping

Order assembly is carried out with whole pallets or factory cartons. Meanwhile, if pallet assembly is performed, then loads from the main storage zone will be immediately moved to the shipping dock. A mechanism to replenish the picking zone from the main storage zone is applied in the case of carton assembly.

Jobs involving moving pallets from the main storage zone are performed using the «transit location» technology just like the putaway method.

The «load substitution» system function for order planned loads is frequently used during high season under «overstuffed» conditions at the warehouse when products are stored in aisles between racks. The given Solvo.WMS function makes it possible to plan a different but identical load to replace an initially planned unit of cargo with similar characteristics such as SKU, expiration date and quantity in package.

The «loading control» function is used when loading onto a transport vehicles, particularly when simultaneously loading several vehicles. To do this, the loading dispatcher used a special loading control screen form with the «blind control» mode. During the first step when loads are scanned by loading operators, Solvo.WMS checks dock compatibility, with which the dispatcher is working and the load destination dock. In other words, the system ensures that the cargo from the warehouse is loaded on the right vehicle.

Then the operator enters the number of cartons into the data capture device, which he sees on the pallet and approves loading only if there is no discrepancy in quantity with the system. The loading process is blocked if discrepancies are discovered. If at least one load does not pass system control, then Solvo.WMS will not allow the dispatcher to close the order.

In the future, Slavyanka plans to continue working closely with SOLVO in scaling the Solvo.WMS system and, in particular, a project for automating individual production areas to optimize the entire logistics chain is being actively discussed.



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