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Fabory chooses Warehouse Control System from Consafe Logistics

13.04.2007

Fabory, a Dutch supplier of fasteners, has strengthened its partnership with Consafe Logistics by purchasing another software component for Consafe Logistics’ SattStore WMS.

The software handles order entry, order picking and stock control. It also acts as an ERP. Thanks to its flexibility, Fabory are able to add all changes in the automated processes to the ERP without any problem and without any interruption to system communication.

Global supplier of fasteners
Fabory supplies a wide range of fastening products and services to customers on a worldwide scale. Fabory looked to specific markets when selecting and developing their range in order to support customers on the highest levels. Not just offering top quality products for use in consumer products or for use in maintenance or repair, but also in taking over many tasks. Fabory offers many services in logistics, saving customers time as well as money. Fabory has developed a deep insight into the business of manufacturers of office supplies, computers, transformers, television sets, medical supplies and various electric apparatus, as well as maintenance companies. They all need fasteners, and Fabory has specialised knowledge to bring them the best products and solutions.

Logistics services
Fabory offers its customers a ”one-stop-shopping” model for all fasteners, tools and industrial supplies. Customers can enter orders by phone, fax, e-mail, representative visit or via the webshop. Fabory delivers 98% of all orders within 24 hours and there is a Fabory Centre, which stores a wide range of products for people who need shorter lead-times. Fabory have technical support experts who advise about fastening solutions, engineering or mounting in specific situations. Their technical ‘Masters in Fasteners’ can answer all sorts of technical questions.

Customers always expect to have the right article in the right volume on the right place in the right moment. Fabory uses diverse logistics concepts which can fit in with the customer's manufacturing processes without any problem, leading to large cost savings.

Benefits through SattStore
The company decided to build a new warehouse in 1996. The Dutch company, Vanderlande Industries, placed an internal transportation system including a miniload storing system with 18 aisles and 18 unmanned, remote controlled cranes. On one side, 14 workstations were set up for storing and order picking tasks. This warehouse became operational in 1997.

“We receive products from our main suppliers from all over the world”, Maarten Scheffers, head of Process Control explains. “The pallets are sorted out at Goods Inbound and the goods are counted. Then they are put into so called ‘own standard boxes’ (cardboard boxes) sorted by material as well as per batch. After a check of logistics and product quality the boxes are transported over the conveyor system to the storing areas. Depending on current stock, storing is in the miniload or on pallets in the bulk storage area.”

The moment a box arrives over the conveyor in the miniload, it is stored by one of the cranes on a free location. The miniload counts over 280,000 storage locations. “For order picking a crane takes a box out of the storage location and transports it to the workstation. The picker takes the number of articles or smaller boxes needed for this order from the box and replaces the box on a free storage location.”

SattStore checks every box going to the miniload with an in-built weighing module checking if the box still has the correct (new) number of articles. The picked articles are put into an empty box a cardboard so-called transportation box – and transported to a palletising robot over the conveyor system. “The whole process of inbound checking and registering, storing, outbound picking and sorting as well transporting over the internal transportation conveyors is controlled by Consafe Logistics’ SattStore”, Maarten Scheffers says.

SattStore is bought in the current operational configuration. It is never controlled by a Fabory employee but acts on information from the ERP. “We started with an ERP we designed in-house but we’ve been working with SAP/R3 for some time, which also accepts orders from e-mail, fax or a web site”, explains Mr. Scheffers. SattStore therefore sends orders from the ERP to a specific new box to the right workstation for storing. SattStore also calls for the specific miniload crane the moment the workstation operative reports the filling of a storage box with a certain amount of articles to SAP. SattStore guards in its memory the storage location (for SAP), but not the stored quantity. This is assigned to SAP, as customers logging in the webshop must have the ability to check the numbers in stock.

Even when SAP gives SattStore a picking order, the ‘warehouse control system’ (which SattStore is in this situation) makes sure that a specific miniload crane takes the correct storage box from the miniload shelf to transport it to the correct workstation. The warehouse worker reports the closing of the order line to the ERP and the ERP asks SattStore to transport the transportation box to the palletising robot. The moment a certain pallet can be built, SattStore takes all boxes for this customer out of the buffer (transportation boxes also can be transported to the miniload when they have to wait for external distribution) and manages building up the pallet load at the robot.

Optimizing
At Fabory, SattStore has undergone no changes or adaptations whatsoever. “It acts almost free of any interruptions and carries out all its tasks every day. We normally operate five days a week in two shifts but recently we did six days in full continuous operations. It ran perfectly without any problem. Sattstore has no user dialog but controls our equipment – which is not changed for a long time – there was no need for us to upgrade or adapt SattStore in any way”, Mr. Scheffers states. However some five months ago this changed when Fabory, together with Consafe Logistics experts upgraded all operations in the system. “We needed to upgrade because of the six day working program. Until than there was no need for us to work six days and therefore SattStore used a part of the night’s rest hours to restore the storage boxes on the shelves in the miniload. Now we have this work done in normal working hours and we can operate 24 hours a day in the warehouse. With this we meet our customers demands even better”, Mr. Scheffers ends.