Nieuws
SOLVO Optimizes Workflow at NMGK Warehouses
16.05.2016
SOLVO has successfully completed yet another Solvo.WMS implementation project at one of fat-and-oil processing plant warehouses of the NMGK Group in Nizhny Novgorod.
SOLVO has successfully completed yet another Solvo.WMS implementation project at one of fat-and-oil processing plant warehouses of the NMGK Group in Nizhny Novgorod.
NMGK warehouse specifications
- Warehouse area – 5,000 sq. m
- Main products stored at the warehouse: mayonnaise, butter, margarine, sauces, etc. Each product has its own unique package and tare fragility parameters, which must be taken into account during storage and order assembly.
- The warehouse is located apart from production facilities, which is why the delivery of ready-made products is carried out with transport vehicles to the warehouse, followed by receiving based on waybills.
- Rack storage of products with putaway to 5-tier racks with a depth of 2 pallets, makes it significantly harder to search for SKUs at the warehouse.
- The warehouse employs narrow-aisle forklifts and lift trucks.
- High occupancy rate and not much space for putaway of assembled orders
- Receiving from production and shipping of assembled orders to clients is done via road transport vehicles (6 docks with narrow ramps), as well as one wagon ramp for shipping via rail cars.
Main goals for the new warehouse management system
- Quick product search, faster order assembly;
- Increased quality (accuracy) of order assembly;
- Automated receiving and product assembling using radio terminals;
- FEFO based shipping, reduction in expired goods stored at the warehouse;
- Enhanced control over warehouse processes, constant warehouse status monitoring;
- Reduction in claims from consumers (insufficient quantity and picking errors);
- Reduction in transport idle periods during loading/unloading.
Selection of Solvo.WMS
Several WMS solutions were taken into consideration by the company, which visited facilities to view how these systems perform at their respective facilities. The company evaluated the systems based on the following criteria:
- Fulfillment of established requirements;
- Basic system functionality and availability of bespoke functions in the offered system;
- Partner reliability with a sufficient implementation track record and a time proven solution;
- Adequate resources from the IT supplier side;
- Total project cost.
Additionally, the work group conducted an individual evaluation of the offered solutions based on the following parameters:
- General perception of the system;
- Potential application of the system on a wider company scale;
- Prospectives for system development;
- Subjective assessment of the product quality;
- Ability to implement the product independently at other warehouses;
- Ability to understand system work logic;
- Demo presentation rating;
- Business proposal rating;
- Rating of the company as a complex solutions vendor (from system to network);
- General assessment of the actual implementations (warehouse visit).
The company selected Solvo.WMS after considering several WMS solutions.
Implementation process
Throughout the course of five months, SOLVO specialists worked alongside NMGK in realizing the Solvo.WMS implementation project at the NMGK warehouse. The main processes slated for automation included.
Receiving from production
The supporting document for receiving at the warehouse is the RCN, sent from the enterprise host system to Solvo.WMS. A truck with ready-made products arrives at a dock where they will be unloaded onto the ramp in order by each pallet. The warehouseman receives the products being unloaded using the radio terminal. At the same time, the system will create jobs to put away the products at the warehouse. Forklifts put away the pallets at the warehouse according the task received by the radio terminal without waiting until the truck is fully unloaded.
Storage at the warehouse
Each location is used to store a product of one SKU and one production date.
Commissioning
Solvo.WMS plans jobs to move goods stored at the warehouse from top tiers to the bottom, making them more accessible for pickers. Forklift drivers receive tasks on their radio terminals to carry out the given operations. Order assembly is done by moving pallets from the top tiers to the bottom while accounting for package fragility and FEFO.
Order assembly
Next, after moving the goods to the lower tiers, a task is sent to the pickers who assembly the order on the pallets based on the pick path while accounting for package fragility and then moving them to the order assembly zone. A packing list is attached to each pallet.
Shipping
The worker in charge confirms the loading of assembled pallets using the radio terminal during the loading process.
Results
The following results have been achieved following NMGK warehouse optimization by Solvo.WMS:
- Increased efficiency of product putaway at the warehouse;
- Implementation of FEFO (first end first out), which enables sequenced shipping to clients by production date, reducing the possibility of expired goods at the warehouse, while also accounting for individual expiration date requirements from clients;
- Simplified inventory process.
»NMGK manages a complex system of warehouses with various goods, each of which with their own packages and storage requirements. The implementation of Solvo.WMS was an important project for us, which made it possible to improve our operations. The improvement of warehouse processes automation at one of our largest warehouses required a significant effort from our side as well as SOLVO, who proved to be a highly-professional and supportive partner at every step of the way,« stated an NMGK spokesman.