Supply Chain Management

Distribution

Whilst this is a very broad reaching subject, there are some key areas to consider that will have a very impactful and positive effect when it comes to systems, visibility and the distribution processes. Most software can be treated as a modular approach allowing you to make manageable and meaningful steps towards the end efficiency goal. Some of these areas are listed below.

• Pre-Allocations
  It is important to know why goods are coming into the business, whether it be for stock or for a specific customer or manufacturing job. Our Pre-Allocations solution allows businesses to have full and manageable visibility across the business of what incoming stock is for. This then allows the goods in process to direct goods correctly saving both time, space and cost.
• Container Management
  A large proportion of goods coming into the UK are imports from abroad.  Many of these imports utilise containers. Management of these containers can be a very manual and time consuming process. Our container solutions will allow you to effectivly create, track, manage and receive all of your incoming containers within one system.
• MRP
  If you have a supply chain process and deal with stock then it could be a solution that is worth considering. By analysing demand (Sales Orders, Sales Forecasts, Free Stock and Stock Replenishment Rules) MRP will make recommendations for purchasing. This allows many aspects of the business to be more self sufficient, less reliant on human knowledge and more cost efficient with regard to cash flow and stock retention.
• Warehouse Replenishment
  If you have multiple remote warehouses such as engineer vans, consignment warehouses and production plants, and require a management tool to accurately maintain stock levels then this solution can be a huge time saver, especially when used in conjunction with an MRP system.
• Reserves & Call Offs
  If you hold stock for customers and release via a Sales Order or directly from the reservation, these solutions will be of huge help to the management of this process. Gone will be the days of stock being ‘fought’ over by whoever shouts the loudest.

Purchasing

Purchasing is the key element to any supply chain system. An effective Purchasing process allows the business to be cost effective and efficient with time and processes. From Purchase Requisitions through to recording of supplier invoices, the entire purchasing process can be considered and tailored to ensure it meets requirements.

• Time
  Reduce the time spent on the procurement processes.
• Data Quality
  A good purchase order system ensures good data quality to allow for accurate decision making.
• Visibility
  Easy access to historic data with a digital archive of both transactional data and any associated documentation.
• Simplicity
  Simplify the internal approval processes and make them easy to use, efficient and remote.

Warehouse Management (WMS)

A warehouse management solution can bring huge time and cost savings to any warehouse, by simplifying and automating some of the key processes and removing the room for human error. Seamlessly integrated with your stock control systems and always in real-time there will be no looking back once your WMS system gets off the ground. Whether it be for warehouse management, manufacturing processes or stock replenishment a WMS system will be a breath of fresh air for users, management, customers and suppliers alike. Below are just some of the key features of a WMS system

• Real-time
  No sync of data required at any stage of the process meaning what you see on a barcode scanner is always up to date information.
• Pick, Pack and Despatch
  Perform your picking, packing and despatching process via barcode scans and accurate bin location management to ensure you are always using the correct stock fromt he correct location.
• Goods In and Put Away
  Receive goods quickly and accuratley with the ability to utilise a seperate ‘put away’ process which is more aligned with what happens in real life.
• Stock Replenishment
  Create and action stock replenishment between bins and warehouses to ensure warehouse operatives never arrive at an empty bin.
• Intelligent
  Utilise a ‘smart picking’ process in conjunction with carton quantities to ensure pick faces are not emptied by large orders.

Paperless

It is easy to think that the purpose of going paperless is simply to help the environment and whilst this is a very positive part, it certainly isn’t the full story. Imagine you had no filing cabinets, no boxes full of paper in store rooms, the ability to send documents at the click of a button and any paper that does still arrive, once processed can be recycled accordingly. This is what a paperless system brings to an organisation. Advantages of a paperless system:

• Saves Time
  Time spent filing, organising and searching for paper documents is reduced allowing time to be spent on more productive tasks.
• Saves Money
  Removes the need to purchase expensive pre-printed stationary or printer ink/toner, along with reducing the reliance on printers themselves which can also come at a hefty cost.
• Environmentally Friendlier
  Helps the environment by removing the need for all the things that consume power, require manufacturing processes that are bad for the planet or just accumulate ‘stuff’.
• Protected
  Boosts security by allowing sensitive data to be stored electronically behind robust and efficient protection.
• Effective
  Facilitates the transfer of information by seamlessly sending and receiving documents electronically at the click of a button, even allowing for intelligent software to read incoming electronic documents and process them accordingly meaning nothing need ever be printed (Invoice recognition).

CRM

A CRM system can benefit your business by helping you centralise, optimise and streamline your communications with customers, and become better in these key areas.

• Knowledge
  Empower your business with improved all round knowledge and visibility of customer activities bringing realisation to the term ‘everyone is a salesperson’.
• Segmentation
  Implement better segmentation of your customer data to ensure people have control over only what they need, this in turn drives efficiency and accuracy across the board.
• Customer Retention
  Maximise your customer retention by ensuring all activity is recorded and managed efficiently. Whether that be the sales process, customer service issues or general communication. A looked after customer is a happy customer.
• Anticipate Better
  With full visibility of all the customer related processes you are able to better anticipate the needs of your customers which leads to building meaningful, long-term relationships.
• Communication
  A CRM system will by definition lead to better all-round communication, both internally and externally.

Case Management (CMS)

Whether it be a customer complaint, a service request or incident management, a CMS system could be the answer to enabling your business to efficiently manage the processes and actions that may result. Full accountability and tracking also mean that you are historically accurate should things happen again or retrieval of information be required.

• Workflow
  Create simple or advanced workflows with customisable actions to ensure data and process continuity.
• Decrease Paperwork
  With a centralised CMS system you minimise the reliance on paperwork allowing you to store documentation digitally.
• Promotes Collaboration
  With an efficient and robust system in place your people will work more closely to manage their workload resulting in happier staff as well as satisfied customers and suppliers.
• Effective
  Customers receive a more personal and efficient service resulting in improved customer satisfaction leading to higher customer retention.

Sign On Glass (POD)

Aimed at businesses who operate their own-fleet deliveries or service staff who require signatures, our POD solution will streamline the scheduling process and give you one area that contains all the relevant information at the click of a button. This can bring a wealth of benefits to your organisation:

• Real-Time
  Improve your customer service with live control of the delivery fleet to quickly respond to customer requests.
• Quick
  Quickly capture customers signature, without the need to carry delivery notes and other paperwork.
• Schedule
  Ability to schedule deliveries from sales orders and receive notifications of failed deliveries. Also process deliveries line by line rather than per order.
• Tasks
  Ability to create one off tasks for drivers in addition to their day-to-day delivery requirements.
• Routes
  Intelligently plan routes quickly and effectively to ensure overall fleet efficiencies are maximised.
• Visibility
  Search all related documentation and reduce the chances of lost or misplaced documents.