automatic
point of
data capture
sale
Norauto equips its
Lesquin warehouse
CASE STUDY
in Northern France with
Vocollect Voice-Directed
Distribution
orauto is an international occurred, especially when the worker
N
group that has expanded had to pick heavy or voluminous “The application requires that items are
significantly over the past packages. Investment in Voice- stored in an orderly fashion and
five years following the Directed Distribution emerged as the indexed accurately in the warehouse
acquisition of several best solution in light of Norauto’s management system,” said Laurent
brands, including Midas, Auto5 and considerable growth. The Lesquin Houvenaghel, supply chain projects
Maxauto, and the creation of Carter warehouse delivers products to 150 director at Norauto. “As a result, when
Cash. These investments doubled the stores for all group companies except we installed Voice-Directed Distribution
group’s sales and tripled its number Midas. Each week it processes we also created a new storage
of outlets. Following this expansion, approximately 60,000 order lines and supervisor position.”
in 2000 the Information Systems handles between 200 and 250,000
Department embarked on a complete different products. Benefits all along the
overhaul of the group’s resources, supply chain
including the launch in 2004 of a Adapting theWMS to SBenefits all along the supply chain
project to replace its Warehouse Vocollect’s Voice-Directed The new processes came on-line
Management System (WMS). A Distribution completely transparently, without any
Projects Supply Chain Department To meet its needs, the warehouse major technical hitches. Furthermore, it
was subsequently created in opted for Voice-Directed Distribution, took less than two hours for each
November 2005 to support the in conjunction with the Manhattan warehouse worker to master the new
group’s growth and adapt information Associates’ WMOS. This has facilitated techniques involved. The flexibility of
processes to its changing needs. order verification very early upstream, the new tool met with the immediate
as soon as the article is picked, not approval of the workers as it adapted
Improved accuracy and just on the basis of its location in the to their pace of work and methods. In
productivity amid rapid warehouse. Each of the 30 order just a few weeks, the stores served by
growth and expansion selectors is now equipped with a the Lesquin warehouse reported a
The project commenced with the Vocollect wearable computer. Via a halving in error rates. Houvenaghel
replacement of Norauto’s home-grown headset, the worker receives all the continued: “A very good order selector,
proprietary WMS. Developed more instructions needed to fulfil an order: using paper order lists, has a typical
than 15 years ago, the system had aisle or section location, task number, error rate of two per 1000 picks. We
become too costly to maintain. In number of lines, and the volume and have set a realistic goal of an error rate
parallel to the installation of Manhattan number of items to be prepared. A of 1 per 1000 picks for all workers by
Associates’ WMOS software package, two-way dialogue is then set up the end of the year.”
the Supply Chain Projects unit between the warehouse order selector
selected and deployed Vocollect’s and the computer, which guides the A year earlier, 70 per cent of stores
Voice-Directed Distribution marketed employee through the order fulfilment checked the Norauto packages they
by reseller Psion Teklogix. process step by step, checking that received, compared with just 30 per
the correct number of required items is cent today – convincing testimony that
With the previous system, selectors selected. The worker can interrupt the the benefits of Voice-Directed Work
had to rely on paper lists to prepare task at any time to report a missing item extend way beyond the distribution
orders. Human errors inevitably or to skip an aisle if it is too crowded. centre itself. a71
12 IT RESELLER – MARCH 2010
www.itrportal.com
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