Realisierte WMS-Projekte
Parfümerie Douglas GmbH
Consulting and selection of a warehouse management system
Branche
- Kosmetik
- Einzelhandel
- Logistikdienstleister
The team warehouse logistics supports the perfumery Douglas GmbH (Douglas) during the selection of a global warehouse management system (WMS). The company was founded in 1821 in Hamburg as „Parfümerie- und Seifenfabrik“. In 1969 the Douglas Holding AG (then Hussel AG) took over six long-established perfumeries. Since that time Douglas has become Germany’s leading perfumery retailer.
Motive and goal
Today, Douglas operates subsidiaries in 17 European countries and in the USA and intends to continue this international expansion. In the course of these activities the logistic structure is subject to continuous optimisation.
On the one hand, Douglas operates own (cross-docking) warehouses but on the other hand third-party providers operate warehouses according to Douglas' directions.
Considering the growing requirements on the warehouse management Douglas decided to replace its WMS by a new one.
One aim was to prepare a specification of Douglas’ current and future functional requirements. Furthermore, a WMS provider shall be selected whose product, business and labour structures best meets Douglas’ requirement specifications.
Requirements profile
Main focus was given to the careful definition of the requirement specifications.
For this purpose, the team warehouse logistics analysed the as-is situation of several warehouse processes and material flows at home and abroad. Then, the processes were represented plastically and analysed and suitable target processes were developed. The scenario was agreed upon with Douglas during workshops and the result was a target concept as basis for the requirement specification.
International Market Survey WMS
Based on the requirement specification the team warehouse logistics and Douglas weighted the software requirements profile. Potential WMS providers were chosen from the online WMS selection which is based on the International Market Survey Warehouse Management Systems.
During a workshop the functionalities offered by the different providers were compared to outline their weak and strong points. Furthermore, the providers were checked regarding company size, number of employees, references, etc. At the end six potential providers could be named who met the requirements and were included in the call for offers.
Call for offers and selection of offerers
The team warehouse logistics prepared the tender documents for the six remaining providers. The predetermined offer structure allowed for the objective comparison and evaluation of all offers regarding price structure, support services and functions. Together with the team warehouse logistics Douglas asked three WMS providers to present their offer on a meeting moderated by the team warehouse logistics.
Results
The results of the consulting by the team warehouse logistics are:
- A function requirement specification clearly describing all requirements
- A list of providers whose WMS and business structure meets Douglas’ requirements
- Tender documents allowing for an efficient comparison
