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Largest Department Store in Central America, Siman, Boosts its Warehouse Productivity by 19% with Infor WMS

20.12.2023

Infor warehouse management technology increased both load (19%) and pick-up (9%) productivity of Siman's logistics operations

Infor®, the industry cloud company, today announced that Siman, the Central American department store giant, has made significant improvements in its logistics operation by adopting the Infor WMS warehouse management system.

This technological transformation of the retail distribution centers was motivated by the company's sustained growth and the boom in e-commerce in Central America, where the sector has maintained year-on-year increases between 20% and 40%, according to data from Kantar Group and Statista.

The largest and oldest department store chain in Central America, which has more than a century of experience and 26 stores in the region, uses the WMS system to intensify the level of inventory visibility, which enables it to generate significant improvements in its logistics operation, mainly in receipt and dispatch processes.

After implementing Infor WMS, Siman has recorded a 19% increase in receipt productivity, boosting the processes of direct crossdocking — an order preparation system that implies the goods are received and loaded into the means of transport simultaneously, key to ensuring the replenishment of the stores — as well as a 9% increase in cargo productivity, linked to a more agile dispatch process and with greater use of the available fleet.

»WMS is an advanced scalable warehouse management system that enables organizations to automate, monitor and plan all the movements necessary to carry out a correct warehouse administration. At the same time, it has the capacity to carry out stock control, facilitating the operation and boosting productivity,« said James Barroso, director of go-to-market for Latin America at Infor.

Technological transformation: Ready for the future of logistics

Siman adopted Infor WMS after determining the warehouse system it had been using since 2002 no longer allowed the flexibility and capacity the company requires to manage fast-growing warehouses and leverage its transformation and advancement in an ever-changing business environment.

»The company needed an agile, advanced solution that would allow for a reduced learning curve and obvious results in the short term. With Infor WMS, Siman will be able to not only keep pace in a highly dynamic market, but also to set the pace,« Barroso added.

The choice of Infor was supported by two key factors: the success of similar Infor WMS implementations, and the software’s proof to be a flexible solution, able to respond to and withstand the logistical challenges the company was going to face.

Alejandro Choussy, Siman's regional logistics manager, mentioned that one of Infor's distinguishing factors, compared to other tools, is its cloud architecture as a multi-tenant solution. In addition, the ability to integrate, the adaptability to the processes of the retail sector, the elimination of the use of paper, and the increase in the productivity of the operators, are also factors that add value to its execution.

»The implementation of WMS, which began in Nicaragua and El Salvador, will be extended to other countries in the region and will incorporate the Labor Management module to further increase productivity, and it is also planned to develop bonus and compensation programs among employees that encourage the fulfillment of the achievements in our team,« Choussy said.

The implementation of the project was executed by Cerca Technology, an Infor partner that demonstrated a significant step toward operational excellence by carrying out a transparent and flexible process.

»Cerca Technology worked closely with our company to ensure the solution fit the business and implementation needs. The company's clear and disciplined methodology enabled us to meet deadlines, in addition to reducing problems in the WMS adoption process,« says Armando Molina, Siman's logistics project manager.

Julián Lasso, professional services manager at Cerca Technology, said: »The interest and willingness of the Siman team to improve its supply chain has allowed us, in a short time, to advance in the best way in its main operations. Their dedication to optimizing logistics operations is admirable and has been a key factor in the success of this project. We are confident that the improvements we have implemented will not only drive efficiency in the short term but will lay the foundation for sustainable growth and a lasting competitive advantage in the market.«

Learn more about Infor WMS.