Nieuws
New WMS for Dutch Tegelgroep Nederland
16.01.2007
The new central DC of Tegelgroep Nederland in the Dutch city of Andelst will have a new WMS
The new central DC of Tegelgroep Nederland (Tiles Distribution Group Netherlands) in the Dutch city of Andelst will have a new WMS: SattStore of Consafe Logistics. It replaces the excisting WMS ‘SAP LES’ because of a/o. its larger flexibility, more functionality’s and lower operational costs.
Tegelgroep Nederland (TGN) in Andelst is a specialized wholesaler of ceramic tiles, part of the Saint-Gobain Group. Brand names are a/o. Jos Haag, Mieloo and V&S Tiles. Since retailers and DIY construction markets more and more demand for a professional and efficient distribution, a fast and Just-In-Time delivery as well as clarity in operations and internal organization, TGN realized a new and sophisticated DC. With this the group takes care of one of its most important tasks, namely the realization of complete logistics for her customers.
In Andelst all tiles and tile glues are stored. TGN purchases worldwide through her three ‘daughters’ about 20.000 different tiles, of which a large number is in Andelst in stock. To help her customers to advise the consumers TGN distributes so called showroomcases with tiles panels. Since 2006 there even is a home made electronic case with what a retailer can demonstrate in a virtual way all ideas a consumer might have in decorating its rooms and bathrooms with so called trendy tiles.
TGN exploits also an advanced datawarehouse to know from every showroomcase and every panel in it which tiles are presented and how much does a reseller sells of it in a certain period. This way TGN learns about the market and its trends, on which their purchasers base their activities. “We even know exactly the turnover, every retailer makes in his store on every square meter of showcase display”, Mr. Frank van der Weide, vice president of TGN, explains. A website where retailers find stock- and price information and where they can order online completes the whole system.
ERP and WMS
In Andelst all order lines from customers are received in the ERP-system. “About 25 percent of all order lines for the warehouse comes from the internet orders or an EDI message”, Mr. Van der Weide knows. The ERP takes automatically care for an electronic receipt and an electronic packlist, which are also sent to the customer automatically.
“We want to use logistics as a meaning for improving are competition strength”, Mr. Van der Weide says. Therefore it is necessary to control the activities in the warehouse with a reliable WMS. “We need an extreme low fault rate at income and distribution”, he states. To achieve a high rate of customer satisfaction which automatically leads to an improved competition situation. “We also don’t want to have bureaucratic aspects in the warehouse. We want to work with simple, reliable and flexible processes, so that for example a customer who comes to take goods in person, will be out again in three minutes and completely satisfied”.
The TGN group of companies is used to work with automated systems. Its WMS grew from a simple softwarepackage into the stand alone used SAP-LES softwaremodule some five years ago in combination with the ERP ‘Comet’. “We had to modify the SAP WMS with customized software. Unfortunately one can’t upgrade this WMS without new and high costs”, Mr. Van der Weide says. TGN concluded therefore that the choice was between the upgrading costs or investing in another WMS. Inside the Saint Gobain-organization some standardization in ERP’s and WMS-systems came up and it appeared that the WMS SattStore from Consafe Logistics was mentioned in all the shortlists. This lead to the selection of SattStore, which is implemented since December 2006 and will be finished in April 2007.
The expected benefits
The expected benefits of the use of WMS SattStore are:
lower operational costs because of absence of external consultants;
lower investment and thus lower costs;
more functionality’s because of SattStore’s extended measure and evaluation possibilities;
needed upgrades can be implemented at lower investment costs;
full paperless order picking possible;
stock information is changeable up to boxlevel (not every box has the same content upon receipt);
better workload overview;
loading processes of distribution vehicles is better supported.