SCALA CASE STUDY

Detailed Warehouse Assessment of Automation Options

Major Outdoor Clothing Supplier & Retailer

Background & Brief

SCALA had undertaken previous work for this client, and with major change in the business profile including significant growth in E-Comm with the warehouse approaching maximum capacity they asked SCALA to evaluate options to ensure their warehouse operation would be able to successfully fulfil future customer needs and particularly further accelerated E-Comm and small order growth.

Project Approach

  • SCALA initially ensured they had a clear understanding of the current operation which although extremely well managed we needed to understand the current “pinch points”, what worked well and where potential issues existed
  • In parallel SCALA undertook a detailed review of all the SKU and order data, identifying all the various different types of customer order streams and differing customer service requirements.
  • One of the key outputs from the data analysis was which SKUs were ordered through which customer order streams and a breakdown for each SKU between orders at item level versus full case orders
  • SCALA then identified a range of Automation options for picking and despatch which could be integrated into the current warehousing operation
  • Each of these options was then evaluated

    • Benefits & Results

    SCALA identified a range of options, which were demonstrated to the client together with the pros and cons, and a preferred recommendation including
  • Layouts that fitted within existing operation
  • Throughput Capacities related to the current future projected requirements
  • Budget Costs and Operational Savings
  • Ease of Implementation

    • Final Outcome

    Subject to budget approval and market conditions the next phase will be to create a simulation model of the preferred solution and to fully test a range of “What Ifs”
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