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Weetabix optimises fulfilment with Manhattan Associates
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06/07/2009
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Breakfast cereals manufacturer Weetabix says stock accuracy has improved from sub-90% to 99.9% following phased roll-out of Manhattan Associates' WMS. The company also says its new warehouse management solution has improved operational efficiencies.
"The solution has so far been implemented in two warehouses at our 82-acre Burton Latimer site in Northamptonshire," explains George Perry, head of supply chain at Weetabix.
"Together they hold a total of 35,000 pallets and serve clients throughout the UK. Both warehouses were previously managed using a legacy system and many paper-based processes," he adds.
Perry says the system is supported by radio-frequency technology for scanning bar code and stock location labels, and that all stock transactions are now controlled by the Manhattan system, which is in turn interfaced to the company's ERP system.
"The next phase of the project will focus on the solution's deployment to a third warehouse at our Burton Latimer Site, dedicated to products destined for export markets," he says.
According to Perry, the decision to select Manhattan Associates' supply chain platform followed a review of Weetabix's existing technology infrastructure. The company opted for a phased approach, interlinking with wider improvement programmes and change management processes.
"Knowing the exact location of 35,000 pallets was impossible with the legacy system. It just wasn't sophisticated enough for the ever increasing business requirements," explains Perry.
"The Manhattan system has dramatically improved stock accuracy by pallet location, giving us full traceability and enables us to store and distribute products with a significantly reduced pallet pool.
"We are also benefiting from using the dual cycling functionality. This enables the WMS to integrate tasks to take best advantage of where the pickers are in the warehouse, ensuring that a forklift is rarely empty. This has improved operational efficiency tremendously."
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Author
Brian Tinham
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