ST Logistic optimized warehouse operation thanks to the transition to Axelot WMS X5

2022: Introduction of Axelot WMS X5

On May 18, 2022, Axelot announced the optimization of the efficiency of the ST Logistic warehouse thanks to the transition to AXELOT WMS X5.

According to the company, the transition from self-written WMS to AXELOT WMS X5 did not require long-term staff adaptation to the updated system, and the company managed to significantly reduce the number of errors, as well as get rid of fines due to non-compliance with shipping rules.

Previously, the company managed warehouse processes using a self-described WMS system. Over the years of operation, it has carried out many improvements to meet the needs of the business, including in terms of the convenience of interfaces for warehouse employees. However, over time, it became obvious that the system lacks functionality that is mandatory for servicing customer business processes, and other improvements were difficult to implement for a long time.

The management of the company decided to switch to a system that has the ability to adapt to different tasks and needs. AXELOT WMS X5 met all criteria. The system required much more than a set of typical functionality - it was important to make WMS still user-friendly and take into account the specific needs of the warehouse.

In the ST Logistics warehouse, five models of goods accounting are used - by batches, shelf life, production date, serial numbers and goods without accounting requirements. In AXELOT WMS X5, you have set up the processes, algorithms, and processing conditions for an item in stock, depending on the accounting model set for the item.

The selection of goods with accounting models that take into account shelf life and production dates is based on an algorithm with the setting "Unconditional FEFO." Each counterparty-buyer (route) has its own shipping conditions according to the remaining shelf life. The WMS has its own shipping restrictions at the level of each route for each article. When the "Unconditional FEFO" setting is included in the selection algorithm, the system analyzes the remnants of all zones specified in the additional table part of the algorithm. For each route, a valid, optimal remaining shelf life is searched and, depending on the location of the product, either replenishment or selection operations are planned. Thus, this automatic planning algorithm allows the warehouse to significantly reduce the risk of shipping a fresher product along the route than required by the client, and, accordingly, reduce its penalty costs.

The introduction of AXELOT WMS X5 made it possible to use functionality in the warehouse, which not only made it possible to optimize a number of operations, but also directly affects the reduction of warehouse costs.

Disposition of goods from returns to storage, taking into account their conditions. The warehouse employee, accepting the goods from the return, can form a mix pallet. Moreover, different conditions of the goods (Marriage, Goden, etc.) can be accepted within the same pallet. After acceptance, the pallet with the goods is transferred for storage to the cell of the front racks of the zone "After acceptance of return."

If it is necessary to distribute the goods from a specific pallet, the employee changes the state of the pallet from the shipping documentation to "Available," and the system automatically plans the placement of the goods according to its expiration date and condition. This completely eliminates the need for the employee to search for a similar article in the selection area, since all information about the place of the proposed placement of the article is displayed on the shipping documentation screen. Thus, the placement of goods from the return began to occur faster and better, which again affects warehouse costs.

Shipment control using shipping documentation is automated. The employee, by scanning the corresponding barcodes, checks the batches, expiration dates and, if necessary, the quantity of the article to be monitored. The system compares the actual data with the plan for the cargo bin and the entire order. Depending on the results of the comparison, either additional sampling is performed in automatic mode, or tasks are created to move excess to storage places. To integrate AXELOT WMS X5 with the company's corporate information system, the DATAREON MQ message queuing service was used.

Since WMS was already present in the warehouse, although self-described, this optimized some of the project's tasks. For example, the entry of residues into the AXELOT WMS X5 was carried out by loading data from the old system with detailing to the storage cell taking into account the product, batch, state and quantity (the coding of the cells in the two systems was identical). This made it possible to gently go into commercial operation of WMS and made it possible to eliminate employee errors, for example, when creating balances by inventory immediately in the system.

As for warehouse personnel, the period of adaptation to the updated system has passed faster than expected. Initially, there were fears that employees accustomed to a certain TDS interface and algorithms of the old system would long get used to a new way of displaying information and a different sequence of actions. But in practice, on the second day of work in the updated system, full-time employees fully adapted, and some of them even noted the greater convenience of working with WMS.

The training of WMS administrators, which was conducted by AXELOT SOFT specialists, made it possible to form a competence center in the company, which will perform the functions of initial user support, testing the correctness of settings and conduct system work with changes.

The introduction of the AXELOT WMS X5 system made it possible to centralize control of the entire chain of transactions with the product "from input to output." The system allows you to identify the responsible person in any segment of the goods movement in the warehouse. In general, the elimination of the human factor in decision-making has significantly reduced the number of errors in performing operations. The efficiency of control over the management of warehouse processes and executors has been optimized, and information on the development of employees allows warehouse management to assess the effectiveness of their work. Due to the automated control process, the quality and completeness of shipment are optimized. Now WMS keeps a full record of the services provided to customers. And all information about actual inventory balances is provided in the form of operational reporting.