EUROPEANNEWS 09
updating its warehouse management systems (WMS) to supply its growing number of Express stores through roller containers.
Although the Group uses Infolog
supply chain management (SCM) system as the standard for its sites, Carrefour Belgium (which was acquired in 2000) continued to trust the Infor WMS, which it has been using since the 1990s. Hans Proot, Carrefour Belgium
IT supply chain business solutions managing director, questioned: “Why should we invest in a new system? Infor SCM WMS fully covers the functions we require. Maintenance is minimal and we have to deal with very few incidents. These are crucial factors for a company that operates 24/7.”
Carrefour is also optimising depot management for its increasingly popular local Express stores by applying the principle of multi-picking: this means that three Express stores are simultaneously prepared during one picking instance through roller containers. This in stark contrast with hypermarkets, where one forklift truck packs one full pallet for the store.
Proot said: “The local shops do not complicate the process but do
CARREFOUR BELGIUM OVERHAULS WMS T
he Belgium arm of French- based Carrefour Group is undertaking a process of
increase its scope. This means that having a stable system is becoming more and more important.” The WMS is linked to a voice system from Zetes. The voice recognition system consists of a WMS, headsets, voice pick terminals with the related software and a radio frequency (RF) network and converts WMS instructions into spoken language. “Data transfer, therefore, takes place through voice commands between the person on the warehouse fl oor that picks the orders and the WMS,” Proot explained. “This means that employees have their hands free and that data does not have to be entered, nor articles scanned. Moreover, process quality increases, errors are a thing of the past and performance increases because more orders can be picked.”
◆ A recent IBM survey interviewed over 30,000 consumers in 13 countries found that, while shoppers were optimistic about the future, shopping behaviour developed during the recent global recession still prevails. They buy what they need, search for items on sale and wait longer to purchase, and they have embraced the use of technology throughout every step of the process.
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MARCH/APRIL 2011 RETAIL TECHNOLOGY
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