FEATURE WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT
AUTOMATIC SOLUTION TO reducing running costs
While accuracy and speed are essential for effective warehouse management, reducing running costs is the biggest business improvement, says Charlie Brackley of Harland Simon
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ncreasing competition is forcing companies to tighten up their business processes and nowhere is this more critical than in warehouse operations. Customers expect faster stock deliveries, picking complexity mounts as products become more diversified, e-commerce places greater demands on store management and warehouses must improve their agility in the face of fast- changing market conditions. In this uncertain business environment a warehouse will quickly fall behind its rivals unless it can develop and maintain efficient storage and handling processes. Almost half of the 132 respondents to a survey of warehouse operators by The Access Group said that cutting the cost of running a warehouse was their biggest business improvement challenge. One in seven blamed losses on conflicting software and data collection systems for warehousing and invoicing. As communication between these vital functions breaks down errors become inevitable and it is these that lead to waste in the form of rocketing expenses, lost time and unnecessary work.
INVENTORY SCANNING AND PALLET TRACKING The processes that tend to waste the most time in warehouses are inventory scanning and pallet tracking. So how can they be made faster, easier and error- free? The answer lies, at least in part in emerging technologies such as automatic
identification and data capture (AIDC). With such tight profitability margins in the operation of a warehouse something as simple as the way a pallet or asset is scanned can make the difference between a haphazard and smooth- running operation. Scanning is typically done by capturing
barcodes. While this isn’t particularly laborious it is time-consuming and prone to human error which can in turn lead to wasting more time. In part, this is because a forklift truck driver will have to position the vehicle in a way so that the pallet can be scanned before repositioning the truck to pick up the load. This double movement wastes valuable time and effort. Add to this the possibility of missing pallets or scanning the wrong pallet location when dropping
IMPROVING EFFICIENCY WITHOUT CHANGING WMS
Thinventory Lite from ByBox will enable businesses to increase the efficiency of their supply chain without the need to change their current warehouse management system (WMS). Thinventory Lite enables engineers to capture
SKUs at point of dispatch, vastly improving visibility within the supply chain. With the SKU codes captured all items can be traced live online with 100% visibility of their movement from picking, packing and distribution to locker through to returns and repairs while allowing businesses to maintain their existing WMS. Thinventory Lite allows businesses to operate with less inventory and reduced stock loss, thereby improving efficiency. In addition, Thinventory Insights enables engineers to confirm collections and returns through an intuitive smartphone app. Engineers can enter
S4 MARCH/APRIL 2016 | MATERIALS HANDLING & LOGISTICS
the state of the part: good, bad or unknown and prepare returns in advance before putting them in a locker for collection. This consolidates orders into one collection as engineers can organise multiple collections or dispatches in one go rather than multiple times a day. The smartphone app will be launched initially on Android followed soon after by IOS and Windows.
Thinventory Lite allows businesses to manage all
movement of parts from manufacturer to final destination, reducing costs and increasing service levels. This enables companies to create a bespoke service that works best for them, one that is adaptable across many business models.
ByBox
www.bybox.com T: 01235 442728
AIDC increases the number of pallets you can move an hour by tracking to locate not only the position of every forklift truck in real time but its load to within 50cm in two dimensions
a pallet and it is clear why a more effective scanning method is desirable. An AIDC system such as Vero digitally tracks the movement of pallets and inventory in three dimensions and in real-time so every element of a pallet and forklift truck’s journey is recorded and monitored. AIDC increases the number of pallets you can move an hour by tracking to locate not only the position of every forklift truck in real time but its load to within 50cm in two dimensions. The third dimension is catered for with a height sensor. When used in combination with the other two dimensions, this co- ordinate indicates the exact location at which a pallet or load was either picked up or dropped off.
IMPROVED DATA ACCURACY Cutting-edge AIDC technology accelerates pallet movements and improves data accuracy to save time and increase productivity. Each pallet can be moved up to 15 seconds faster, a saving of more than four hours for every 1,000 pallets moved. AIDC can record and measure data which can then be used to improve pallet/product traceability and forklift truck movements can be tracked, analysed and optimised, boosting both the efficiency and safety of the warehouse operation. This increases driver accountability and provides information that can help improve warehouse efficiency by adjusting its layout. AIDC increases the accuracy of
inventory which means workers don’t have to search for items that might be misplaced. As a result less time is spent on stock reconciliation like cycle counting and stock checking. In addition, the amount of dispatch checking that needs to be done can be reduced or even eliminated. Every pallet counts toward improving profit margins so investing in a system that reduces errors and saves time makes sense for everyone working in a warehouse and AIDC contributes to that by offering fast and precise storage and handling.
Harland Simon T: 01908 276700
www.harlandsimon.com
/ MATERIALSHANDLINGLOGISTICS
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