WAREHOUSE & LOGISTICS IT SOLUTIONS

www.warehouse-logistics-it.com

CONTENTS

01 TATA STEEL / INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING HARDWARE & BESPOKE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

02 NGF / AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENT MANUFACTURING RFID PRODUCTION MONITORING & TRACKING

03 LAKELAND / HOME & KITCHENWARE PRODUCTS PICK FOR STORES, PICK FOR MAIL ORDER, PUT AWAY

04 CICS / SUPERMARKET OPERATION VOICE-DIRECTED WAREHOUSING

05 PALLETLINE / PALLET NETWORK OPERATION PALLET TRACKING & PROOF-OF-DELIVERY

06 WINCANTON ST.IVEL / CHILLED PRODUCT DISTRIBUTION PICKING, PUT-AWAY, MARSHALLING

07 PORT OF TYNE / PORT LOGISTICS & WAREHOUSING CONTAINER MANAGEMENT, PUT AWAY, PALLET MOVEMENTS

08 SEARCHLIGHT / LIGHTING PRODUCT IMPORTATION FULLY DIRECTED PAPERLESS WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT

MARKET SOLUTIONS

Through our entire history, we have focused on the provision of sophisticated IT solutions to the warehouse and logistics market. Wireless data capture and communication technology can help improve the speed and accuracy of client inventory counts and cut costs. Inventory counts are not only time consuming, they are unreliable and expensive. Mistakes are made when manually counting quantities, and then more mistakes are made when re-keying in the information. Replacing pen and paper with mobile computers and bar codes can transform the warehouse operation.

HOW THE WIRELESS

COMMUNICATION SOLUTION WORKS

As personnel scan item and location bar codes with a hand-held device, a radio antenna transmits the information to the inventory system. Operatives can scan each individual item, or scan one and then punch in the quantity on the scanners keypad. Wireless scanning has the following advantages:

Much faster than a manual count

Reduces safety-stock levels because the client has a better picture of stock on-hand

Eliminates the errors that occur when people type data into a system

See more at www.warehouse-logistics-it.com

AS ONE CUSTOMER EXPLAINED:

“We used to use pen and paper for our quarterly stock check and it would take 20 people two whole days. With barcode and scanners, it now takes five people a couple of hours. That alone saves us around one employee a year.”

WAREHOUSE AND LOGISTICS

www.warehouse-logistics-it.com

Tata run an IBM mainframe that provides them with a comprehensive database that manages all stock and customer orders within the plant. Existing processes and systems within Tata’s operation were having cost implications for them in terms of loss of stock and productivity. Of the several hundred steel coils that are on site at any one time, Tata had only 35% accuracy of located coils on site. The inefficiency of existing processes were further impacted upon by the existing communications between the mainframe and static pc terminals on the shop floor which were extremely slow and cumbersome. Looking at the technologies that could be employed to improve the automation and management of their stocks, RF was identified as the ideal solution for their operation.

OUTCOME

Working pro-actively with Tata’s in house software development team TCS, TouchStar needed to update and seamlessly integrate the existing in house stock location software system with the IBM mainframe server. Once a coil had been allocated to a customer order, the updated system was required to control, track and trace all stock movements required for the coils in order to make the end product. To enable the new system to operate efficiently, TouchStar developed an online database to mirror the information which was currently sitting on the mainframe server. The online database sits on an integral server known as the “LSE” (Local Stock Equipment) and with the development of the wireless, server and messaging interfaces, significantly aided increased flow of information between the mainframe and shop floor. The updating of stock management information is executed on the shop floor by a range of ruggedised mobile data terminals. With three decades of experience within manufacturing and logistics applications, TouchStar have developed a range of fit for purpose terminals that are particularly suited to the harsh and rugged environments that Tata operate within. The full screen Toronto 9000 series and ½ VGA in cab TouchPC Raven terminals operate wirelessly for real time communication with the back office and are perfect replacements for the equipment currently being utilised on their overhead cranes and fork lift truck. Since the system went live, the confidence in the system has continued to grow and as a result the stock accuracy levels are now up to 92%. With the availability of the LSE integral server and wireless interfaces, end users on the shop floor are now able to receive real time instruction and confirmation of coil location in real time, allowing for a quicker and more efficient execution of coil movement activities in addition to providing instant visibility of coil locations. The improvement in traceability has resulted in numerous benefits for Tata through increased productivity.

REQUIREMENT

BACKGROUND

Tata Steel Packaging is a leading manufacturer of high quality packaging steels, supplying the can-making industry world wide. With an extensive range of high quality packaging steels in various widths, gauges and coatings, their packaging steels meet all their end user requirements for strength, surface finish and forming properties, each tailored to suit individual production processes. The Tata Trostre plant in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, manufactures tinplate coils and cut sheet for a wide variety of markets and end users. The tinplate is produced from the many hot rolled steel coils that come onto the Trostre site.

TATA STEEL PACKAGING INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

01

THE £25,000 PER ANNUM, LINKED TO POOR READ RATES, HAS BEEN ELIMINATED SINCE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RFID

OUTCOME

The £25,000 per annum, linked to poor read rates, has been eliminated since the implementation of RFID. As more of NGFE’s customers move over to the technology, NGFE will realise further savings. The removal of the second serial number barcode leaving only the RFID tag will cut costs by a further £18,500 per annum. The flexibility delivered by the new system has allowed them to extend the use into alternative areas. The Touchstar Atlanta handheld is also used for training personnel in production processes. The majority of process training needs to be carried out ‘on the job’, this can prove to be extremely difficult as the production environment is extremely noisy. As a result, all processes carried out during production have now been filmed and incorporated onto the Atlanta handheld. Operators are able to choose from menus on the terminal for a process on which they need more information, videos and step by step instructions guide the operator through.

“RFID technology has allowed us to retain an accurate vision of our product after its protective wrapping has been applied ensuring that we deliver the right item, first time, every time”.

Peter Lai, Assistant Production Manager

REQUIREMENT

One of the main challenges that faced NGFE was incorrect labelling. When the bobbins containing the manufactured glass cord were packed for shipping, normal barcodes were rendered unreadable, potentially resulting in incorrectly labelled products. NGFE had also been struggling with poor read rates. In the past, poor read rates have been estimated to have cost NGFE in excess of £25,000 per annum. Having built a solid business case for the use of RFID, NGFE commenced sourcing and developing a system specially honed for use in their factory in St Helens. In order to support the new system NGFE had to source new labels, printers and scanning systems. NGFE chose the Atlanta 8000 Series by Touchstar Ltd to fulfil all their scanning requirements with software being written in-house. The Atlanta handheld met NGFE’s criteria of a rugged Windows-based mobile computer that provided the flexibility of both barcode and RFID scanning within the same device.

BACKGROUND

NGF EUROPE Limited, situated in St Helens, Merseyside, operates at the forefront of the manufacture and marketing of specialised glass products. Formerly owned by Pilkington Glass, they became a subsidiary of the Nippon Sheet Glass Company of Japan in 1991 producing specialist glass cord products for automotive and industrial applications. NGF EUROPE is the largest supplier in the world of glass fibre cord.

NGF EUROPE AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENT MANUFACTURING

02

TOUCHSTAR PROVIDED A FULLY DIRECTED PAPERLESS WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENT

BACKGROUND

Lakeland is one of the leading names in UK kitchenware and homeware products. A family run business, Lakeland operates from a state of the art distribution centre in Kendal, supplying products for mail order in addition to their growing number of retail outlets nationwide. The incorporation of mail order business into their Kendal site led to the creation of a state of the art 80,000 square foot ‘Direct Despatch’ centre. Lakeland remain extremely customer orientated and pride themselves on setting themselves apart from the rest with their friendly, speedy, personalised mail order service and modern retail outlets. Lakeland keep their customers by maintaining real time visibility of their warehouse, their stock levels and processes.

OUTCOME

Lakeland have incorporated the RF data capture technology into various departments throughout their general warehousing operation significantly helping them to optimise the many processes within their distribution facility. The RF system now governs picking (for stores & mail order), put-away and replenishment. As Lakeland continue to grow and maintain their high standards and market share, the optimisation of their Kendal warehouse facility through the use of RF has really helped Lakeland provide the high service levels that they are renowned for. Chris Iveson, Inventory Team Leader, states, “The removal of the distraction of paper picking in the distribution area has significantly reduced picking errors and increased efficiency dramatically. We also benefit from the real time stock movement updates having 100% confidence that all stock information is right up to date”. With the ability to view their warehouse facility in real time, Lakeland continue to streamline their operations allowing more effective allocation of resources and enabling them to respond to their store and customer requirements quickly and effectively. Lakeland have also recently purchased Touchstar Toronto full screen terminals for use by the reach truck operations team leader. The device will be operating both as a standard radio terminal, as well as having the ability to access the “Dispatcher” warehouse management system. The dual functionality of the unit will allow the Red Prairie software to operate wirelessly on the Toronto so increasing productivity by reducing the need to return to a PC for access. Access to an overall ‘real time’ view of the warehouse will allow Lakeland to view the status of various activities, such as the amount of replenishment to be done, the amount of deliveries requiring put-away and the amount of picking required - all vital components in helping them to allocate and manage their resources more efficiently.

REQUIREMENT

Lakeland selected leading UK supplier Touchstar to fulfil their radio data terminal requirements. Working together with Touchstar to select the best solution for their warehouse, Lakeland purchased the ‘Monaco’ truck mounted terminals. These terminals were very well received by both Lakeland and their employees. Complemented for the clarity of its display, the fit for purpose Monaco offered a more user-friendly screen in comparison with their earlier units. In addition, the Monaco also incorporated a fully integrated sealed membrane keyboard, a significant plus for Lakeland who had often struggled with raised keyboards finding that keys came away quite easily. In addition they are now using Touchstar ‘Atlanta’ handheld terminals for mail order put-away.

LAKELAND HOME & KITCHENWARE PRODUCTS

03

INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY HAS REDUCED THE NEED FOR OVERTIME,AND CONTINUES TO DELIVER SIGNIFICANT COST SAVINGS TO CICS

OUTCOME

The multimodal Touchstar ‘Atlanta’ handheld, already used for the goods receipt operation, was voice enabled which provided CICS with the flexibility to switch between traditional scanning, and with the addition of a voice headset, could be instantly transformed to a voice terminal. With the addition of the thin client software “Voxbrowser”, CICS had all the elements for a full voice system. CICS now have ability to view which users are currently operating in the warehouse and can allocate pick assignments simply and quickly, automatically directing each picker to their next assignment via their voice recognition headset. The improvement in efficiency has resulted in numerous benefits for CICS through increased productivity, accurate consignments and timely deliveries. The increased productivity within the warehouse has reduced the need for overtime, and continues to deliver significant cost savings to CICS. This new solution has also allowed the St Helier distribution centre to be a lot more reactive to the stores requirements. The ability to view stock before it arrives in-store, allows the store to identify stock location and availability for empty shelves. The flexibility of the system allows CICS to then facilitate early dispatch of the cage in order to fill the empty shelf space.

REQUIREMENT

In the 6 years since the original implementation of a Touchstar RF system, the CICS have continued to grow, now dispatching in excess of 55,000 cases per week and growing to over 90,000 square feet in capacity. CICS needed to support this growth and realised that the existing solution needed to evolve. Looking at the technologies that could be employed to improve the automation and management of their stocks, Voice Recognition was identified as the ideal solution for their operation. With the industry quoting accuracy levels of 99.8%, the hands free technology was thought to be particularly suited to the Jersey operation - allowing the pickers to quickly manipulate products, yielding higher pick rates and leading to improved accuracy and reduced cross picks.

BACKGROUND

The Channel Islands Co-operative Society Ltd (CICS) operates at the forefront of one of the most dynamic and progressive retail societies in the British Isles. CICS Food business operates from ten locations in Jersey and eight in Guernsey. They constantly review their procedures, operation, and technologies employed to maintain market share and exceed customer expectations. The Food distribution facility is at the hub of CICS operations. CICS services its ten Jersey stores from a state of the art food distribution centre in Bellozanne, St Helier.

CICS SUPERMARKET OPERATION

04

BENEFITS TO CUSTOMERS ARE IMMENSE, WITH VISUAL EVIDENCE OF ANY FREIGHT PRESENTATION OR DELIVERY ISSUES INSTANTLY AVAILABLE

REQUIREMENT

Palletline’s development team was determined to achieve both scanning and discrepancy photography using one single scanning unit, speeding up the process and increasing freight visibility as well as contributing towards automating the claims procedure. Working hand in hand with Palletline to develop a solution, Touchstar determined that Palletlines requirements could be met as part of a ‘bespoke development’ project. This entailed finding a way of incorporating the new-to-market EX25 near-far imager into the Touchstar Boston 8500 series terminal.

OUTCOME

The Touchstar development team worked intensively on the development exercise and were able to present Palletline with a fully working prototype of the Boston, with integrated EX imager, within an incredibly short two week period! The ability to deliver a customised hand held terminal was a key determinant in Palletline’s decision to place the order for 250 devices with Touchstar. Following a period of implementation, Palletline have realised dramatic time savings as a result of the solution. Using conventional equipment, the scanning process took Palletline 3-5 minutes per trunk vehicle, which could more than double to 10 minutes if a discrepancy had to be documented and photographed. Using the new Boston 8500 handheld, scanning time is now down to 3 minutes including discrepancy reporting, improving the overall efficiency of the Palletline hub by speeding up the process and eliminating 266 man hours each month. There is also a significant reduction in administration at a depot level as a result of dealing with system-generated discrepancies. In addition, with all information uploaded into individual shipment files, the process is both improved and simplified, providing instant information on the state of freight and speeding up resolution of any disputes. The resultant benefits to customers are immense, with visual evidence of any freight presentation or delivery issues instantly available, helping to determine liability and minimise claim costs.

BACKGROUND

Palletline effectively revolutionised the market for palletised freight distribution by creating an innovative and highly efficient hub and spoke based operation. The creation of the Palletline system meant that like-minded, quality hauliers could exchange freight at a central point for delivery in their local area. This meant that all the freight outside of their area was consolidated on one trunk vehicles and sent to the Palletline Hub. Palletline now operate throughout the UK from their three main hubs.

PALLETLINE PALLET NETWORK OPERATION

05

THE WINCANTON/ ST IVEL FACILITY CAN GENUINELY BE CALLED STATE-OF-THE ART WITH A VERY HIGH DEGREE OF AUTOMATION

REQUIREMENT

BACKGROUND

St Ivel is a leading UK manufacturer of chilled dairy produce. St Ivel’s new fully automated chilled national distribution centre, was the culmination of more than two years research and careful planning undertaken in partnership with Wincanton Logistics. The 175,000 sq.ft. automated centre has over 10,000 pallet storage facility, more than 50 picker trucks and over 1,000 pick faces on two levels. The automated system has the ability to pick in excess of 15,000 cases per hour, take in nine loads an hour and to despatch over ten loads per hour. A key feature of the centre is the fully automated high bay system of eight aisles, which enables individual access to pallets stacked in a single deep, two pallet-wide bay configuration. The centre operates ex-factory collection from seven St. Ivel UK factories, as well as stock collections from European factories.

OUTCOME

Picking generally takes place from around 4pm each afternoon. The load plans are released at this time and the Warehouse Management System calculates the optimum pallet-fill for those orders and, utilising the Touchstar radio infrastructure, creates case picking tasks for the warehouse team members, who are using up to 75 Radio Data Terminals (RDT’s) on forklifts and picking mechanical handling equipment. Once the pick task is complete, RDT functionality controls the movement of pallets through automatic stretch wrappers, labellers and into marshalling. This ensures that the position of any pallet within the warehouse is fully visable to the WMS at any one time. Marshalling tasks are created on the RDT’s and direct the team member to one of the flow racking or multi-drop lanes. The Touchstar system with it’s interface to WMS continues to control the movement of the pallets onto the nominated vehicles and eliminates incorrect loading. RDT’s are also used to co-ordinate a perpetual inventory process. When a picker picks from a location and that pick is confirmed, the picker is further promted to record the level of remaining stock in that location. Any apparent errors or mis-picks are highlighted by the WMS to the Wincanton Inventory team, who proactively remedy the problem before it escalates. Wincanton are delighted with the way in which all elements of the system have performed.

“The particular software configuration we use, coupled with the Touchstar radio infrastructure, already had an established track record at other Wincanton third party sites. When you consider that, on a single evening, we could be picking over 100,000 cases the system has to be inherently robust.”

Ryan Gregory, Wincanton’s Systems Manager

The Wincanton/ St Ivel facility can genuinely be called state-of-the art with a very high degree of automation. It has been created to enable St Ivel to meet the ever changing demands that consumers are placing on retailers in the grocery sector. Wireless real-time technology from Touchstar was employed in key strategic areas with the objective of improving workflow.

WINCANTON ST IVEL CHILLED PRODUCT DISTRIBTION

06

OUTCOME

The new computer-controlled dispatch and handling system enables full tracking and traceability of palletised stock, and controls the replenishment of picking faces, packing onto pallets and full control of despatches. The real-time functionality of the system ensures that increased volumes of cargo handled by the Port are managed effectively and accurately, and the rugged nature of the hardware was essential due to the harsh port environment. The RF system allows containers arriving at the “goods-in area” of the warehouse to be put away in a timely and organised manner. Operatives use Touchstar’s Geneva hand held RDT (Radio Data Terminal) to scan the pallet to acknowledge receipt. The pallet can then be moved to the put-away position by use of appropriate warehouse machinery. The warehouse operative receives instructions on each pallet’s storage location via either a Touchstar truck mounted terminal or hand held terminal. Once the pallet has been moved the operative confirms this on his terminal, and the pallet sits in location. Relocation of pallets, where required, is also governed by the radio data system. Scanning barcodes eliminates the problems created by the poor spelling or keying errors associated with manual data entry. The real-time nature of the radio system allows all staff to determine exactly where a particular pallet is at any time as each transaction reported on the terminals is also received at the administrative offices within a sub-second response time.

“The RF system has transformed the way our warehouse operates and stock throughput is at an all-time high. Location, capacity and state-of-the-art technology make the Port a reference site for many companies within the distribution sector”

REQUIREMENT

In order to realise the full potential of the Port’s service, two key objectives were set, namely the integration and expansion of the supply chain function of the Port, and enhancement of IT systems to deliver up to the minute information to management and customers. The introduction of a sophisticated warehouse management system was required to enable the Port’s palletised storage facilities to expand rapidly and with the same degree of value added service as other facets of the business. A new 5600m/sq warehouse, accommodating a VNA (Very Narrow Aisle) racking system, was opened and, in total, the Port now accommodates five separate warehouses offering 220,000 sq/ft storage space and 23,200 pallet locations. With 4,500 to 7,000 transactions per week, the Warehouse Division operates six Narrow Aisle trucks, eight counter-balance trucks, three reach lift trucks and five power pallets trucks. 140,000 pallets have moved through the Port’s storage areas in the past year alone. In comparison, the previous warehouse system provided just 3,500 pallet locations.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, the decline of the coal industry & other macro-economic forces have seen the Port transform itself from an export-import facility to a multi-modal complex offering a one-stop-shop service for all types of cargo. Approximately £80 million has been spent on the port in the past decade in order to create a value added service to an ever-increasing customer base.

PORT OF TYNE PORT LOGISTICS & WAREHOUSING

07 THE RF SYSTEM HAS TRANSFORMED THE WAY OUR WAREHOUSE OPERATES AND STOCK THROUGHPUT IS AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH

BELGRAVIUM PROVIDED A FULLY DIRECTED PAPERLESS WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENT

REQUIREMENT

BACKGROUND

Searchlight are the leading importer and distributor of decorative lighting products. The company has recently moved to a new warehouse and distribution center in the heart of Manchester. Built on a 6.5 acre site, the 120,000 sqft three storey state-of-the-art facility comprises a 15,000 sqft showroom which is possibly the most impressive and modern in Europe, as well as a fully-equipped 95,000 sqft high bay warehouse and second floor open plan sales and administration complex. The new warehouse currently has 13,500 pallet locations and the potential for significant expansion. A commitment to quality control is unique in the lighting industry today and has enabled the company to acquire key accounts that include such illustrious names as John Lewis, BHS, House of Fraser, Alders and Littlewoods.

OUTCOME

Searchlight combined the PROTEUS software suite with a spread spectrum infrastructure and terminals from Belgravium to provide a fully directed paperless warehouse management environment. Searchlight typically receive around 350 pallets per day. When the goods come in to the receiving area the inventory department perform a system check against a goods receipt schedule report, physically confirming receipt by scanning the goods on to a pallet with Belgravium ‘Geneva’ Hand Held terminals. A system routine then automatically compares what has been received against what was anticipated. If there are any discrepancies the inventory team can immediately liaise with the shipping department to initiate corrective action. If there are no discrepencies the pallet is given a system-generated pallet identification label. A proportion of goods will be forwarded to the quality control section for thorough inspection, with the system allocating the remaining pallets to one of several ‘pick and drop’ stations which are located at the head of the aisles. Typically it takes only twenty minutes from vehicle arriving to goods being released on to the system, a process that could take hours or even days under the old system. From the pick and drop stations the operatives of the Narrow Aisle Vehicles are given put-away instructions, via the Belgravium ‘Monaco’ truck terminals, and directed to place the goods into the appropriate empty bulk storage bin locations. About 100 batch replenishment runs are undertaken in the evening, against the orders generated during the day. Picking takes place with the aid of low level order picking trucks, again equipped with ‘Monaco’ terminals.

“I have real-time information to hand on every facet of the operation- allocated tasks, picking rates, order value stock location data etc. Productivity rose by over 20% within a few months of going live.”

Ronnie Hitchin - Warehouse Manager

Under Searchlights old system, a consignment would arrive in the goods-in bay but no-one other than goods receiving staff would be aware of this. The old system would necessitate quality control staff being requested to inspect the load before it could be sanctioned for release. The appropriate paperwork would then have to wind it’s way to the computer room for keying-in before the load was fully authorised. Searchlight needed a real-time system that would increase transparency and throughput.

SEARCHLIGHT LIGHTING PRODUCT IMPORTATION

08

Warehouse and Logistics IT Solutions

E enq@touchstar.co.uk W www.warehouse-logistics-it.com A Belgravium Technologies PLC Company