Multipacking (Kleverens: Warehouse 15)

2023: Automation from scratch - from the accounting system to working with shipping documentation, or how VIANT helped Multipacking to abandon Excel accounting and forget about customer complaints

Teaser

It's cool to be able to do things better than others. It's even cooler to build a business on this. You seem to be doing your favorite thing, but your bank account is regularly replenished. Nice, agree?! This is the picture we see when we first learn about any successful organization and get acquainted with its activities. And the fact that on its way the company goes through many stages, overcomes difficulties, loses revenue - remains behind the scenes.

Using the example of Multipacking, which had to face one of the most unpleasant moments for the retailer - customer complaints, we tell you how to wipe the nose of competitors in a short time. The algorithm is quite simple: you implement 1C, a barcoding system, address storage, mobile software and shipping documentation, reorganize fulfillment warehouses and turn storekeepers into "superhumans."

Detailed description

Where did it all start?

Well, where does it usually start? They opened a warehouse, brought goods, but there is no accounting system. But there are Excel tables. Well, or a barn book - for an extreme case. Both work quite well for themselves and provide a certain level of accounting at first. But it forces you to spend a lot of time and effort.

Extra communications between departments, mistakes... One forgot to say, the second did not fix, the third confused. And the notes "on pieces of paper" were regularly lost, Ivan Ivanyuta, Multipacking Automation Project Manager.

And suddenly the business ceases to bring the expected amount of profit. What to do, where to run? Yes, nowhere. This is not the first time: we will close there, we will raise the price here. And for a while, that approach really works.

But this did not suit Multipacking, whose management has always advocated a rational solution to problems. Therefore, the company took a different - modern - way, told Andrei Popov, specialist of the company "VIANT," direct participant and project manager.

We face it on a daily basis

The first thing Andrei drew attention to was that performing one task, if all participants in the process must contact each other personally, and the orders are transmitted on paper, takes 80% of the time of line personnel. And only 20% goes to the job itself. And then, if you do not take into account the influence of the human factor. Long and unprofitable for the organization. While automation of the routine makes it possible to easily and quickly keep records at the enterprise.

Every day we communicate with representatives from business and help to solve standard problems in accounting: lack of order, re-order, shortages, etc. Simply put, we implement barcoding and mandatory labeling, integrate data collection terminals and Auto-ID tools. We are also engaged in the implementation of new functions of accounting systems, 1C the installation of third-party, ON maintenance of information systems, and provide post-project technical support, Andrei Popov, project manager from VIANT.

So the client spoke about the same problems in his warehouse

And now the X-hour has come: Multipacking representatives turned to integrators. What turned out? And the fact that despite the extensive customer base and a large amount of work, the accounting was always kept "on paper" and in Excel. And although production and warehouse were divided into separate zones, the company still often faced certain difficulties:

• employees worked slowly,
• there were a lot of unnecessary communications between the departments,
• there were no flexible control tools for management,
• human errors affected the work of storekeepers,
• the company regularly received complaints from customers.

We provide professional services of packing, copacking and contract production. This is not only packaging in boxes of various formats and sizes, but also draining labels, stickers, floats. We use the highest quality materials and even help customers develop their own design or trademark, Ivan Ivanyuta, Multipacking Automation Project Manager.

Tasks

Further, the matter was small - to determine the main tasks and start solving them. Andrei Popov highlighted several common:

• reduce the number of complaints and, accordingly, the costs of the client's company,
• reduce the load on the personnel,
• maintain high performance,
• go from work "on pieces of paper" to "digital."

Шаблон:Quote 'author=Andrei Popov, specialist of the company "VIANT."

Decision

Launch a comprehensive system in 8 weeks - joke or reality? For the VIANT team - standard practice. During this time, the client switched to full-fledged work in the new system. Andrei Popov said that during these 2 months, the integrators fully set up 9 operations for the client's business processes, conducted training and provided printed and video instructions for Multipacking employees.

Now all operations in the warehouse are performed completely mobile - with the help of shipping documentation and Warehouse 15 from Cloverens. The system automatically pre-creates the necessary documents, Andrei Popov, specialist of the company "VIANT."

Project details

Raw material acceptance

Any work with the product begins with its acceptance. But what does a standard operation look like if you don't have a accounting system? First you recalculate each item unit, record the quantity on a piece of paper, then enter it in the table? So Multipacking had it.

And now the integrators have implemented 1C":" and ERP set up the system in such a way that the receipt into the warehouse is carried out according to the documents "Purchase Order" and "Subcontracting Order." It's much more convenient and transparent.

After the VIANT specialists "cheated" on the accounting system and mobile software from Cloverens and set up business processes, the acceptance of products to the Multipacking warehouse is as follows:

1. The operator creates packing lists in the system according to the instruction document and prints free barcodes on the thermal printer, which help to identify the QP in 1C;
2. Storekeepers accept products and form pallets (packing lists) using shipping documentation. Each pallet is pasted with a free SC, which contains a list of packaged goods;
3. When scanning by the terminal, the batch and shelf life of the goods are taken into account;
4. After the completion of the "Acceptance" operation on the mobile device, goods are added to 1C already taking into account their series and quantity.

Placement of goods and pallets in cells

I figured out a little with 1C and primary acceptance, but I want to simplify the work of warehouse employees even more? Please!

In the standard 1C:ERP configuration, it is not possible to place a pallet in cells. We have modified the system in such a way that you can take into account and see the nesting as a kind of matryoshka: a cell, a pallet, a product inside a pallet, Andrei Popov, specialist of the company "VIANT."

How it now works:

• Firstly, in the task "Selection (placement) of goods," the accounting system itself offers a suitable cell - a notification is displayed on the shipping documentation - in accordance with the weight and size characteristics and the approximate height of the pallet.
• Secondly, the "Change cell" button on the mobile device makes it possible to select other cells for storing goods if necessary: the system automatically selects and offers a new storage location that is suitable for all parameters, including the commodity neighborhood.

Moving Through Cells

Okay, Google, how to optimize storage space? Well, you could go this way. But Multipacking again trusted the experience of integrators who approached the process as thoroughly as ever. Now it is enough for storekeepers to create a transfer document to the shipping documentation order to begin checking for the presence of a cell and pallet in 1C when scanning the barcode.

This process is completely mobile. As soon as you indicate the receiver cell, the system checks the pallet for compliance with the weight and size characteristics. And the data is transmitted to 1C online, Andrei Popov, specialist of the company "VIANT."

Shipment to production

What if the production is not planned and sometimes it is necessary to additionally repack the products after or separately from the production? And is it necessary that the documents reflect all information about the department, cost grouping, BOM, consumed materials, activities, labor?

Integrators worked on this process in great detail. Now it is carried out according to the document "Production without order" - according to the specification, and looks like this:

• A Multipacking employee creates a "Production Material Order" based on the subcontractor order and selects a BOM;
• The system automatically calculates the demand for make-up of materials using the FEFO method with mandatory inclusion in the list of products with a shelf life of more than 80%. After that, the storekeeper receives a formed list of entire pallets for transfer to production.

Warehouse employees can partially complete the task and return to it later. Thus, we tried to minimize possible errors and free storekeepers from unnecessary work if he was distracted by a more urgent operation, Andrei Popov, specialist of the company "VIANT."

Ivan Ivanyuta, head of the automation project at Multipacking, describes the receipt of goods at the production warehouse as fast and effective.

• First, storekeepers scan the barcodes on the pallets with the terminal - to confirm the arrival of goods.
• As soon as the operation and document are completed on the mobile device, the balance information is automatically updated in 1C - manual data entry is not required.
• Accordingly, the work time of storekeepers is reduced, accounting errors are minimized.

Production

So we came to the most, perhaps, responsible moment - production. At this stage, employees are just most often "mowing": I switched my attention from picking finished products to creating documents - I was mistaken. And if you keep records in Excel, and not in a specialized program, there will be even more errors.

But Multipacking storekeepers no longer need to manually create a Production Without Order document in 1C. This occurs automatically immediately after the first ShK reading. And the mechanism for performing this operation has become even easier: scan the packing list, fill the pallet with products and indicate the number and series of goods right on the screen of the mobile device.

The project manager from the VIANT company explained that the formation of the QP and the document "Transfer of products from the pantry" in the system, the write-off of materials from the warehouse according to the FEFO method, the creation of the "Receipt Order" and the assignment for the placement of finished products in the warehouse in accordance with its weight and size characteristics occur according to the same principle.

Preparation of documents for shipment of finished products to customers

And what if your company, like Multipacking, works with customers on a subcontracted basis? Integrators have also provided for this moment.

The responsible manager in the subcontractor order allocates the items and the quantity of the item to be shipped in order to start the shipment of finished goods to customers. That's it, his work is over. Further, the case is for special processing, which automatically creates an expense order and the document "Selection/Placement."

In the "Order Selection" for shipping documentation, storekeepers see which pallets from which cells need to be removed in order to move to the shipment zone. When the selection of the order is completed, the document "Expense order" is re-posted, and the task "Shipment" is unloaded to the shipping documentation, Andrei Popov, specialist of the company "VIANT."

Shipment to customer

Well, you packed everything you need. And then what to do? The main thing is not to rush.

Here it is important to exclude even the slightest possibility of resorption. To do this, we take a data collection terminal - an excellent assistant, by the way - and check each pallet on the ShK of the packing list. When you are finished, all items will receive the status "Shipped."

It is very convenient that "Write-off from warehouse" and the creation of the document "Transfer to subcontractor," which writes off goods from the balance sheet of the organization, occur automatically. This saves storekeepers time several times, Ivan Ivanyuta, Automation Project Manager from Multipacking.

Additional goods movements from the production warehouse

But what if there are many materials left after the production of the current order, and you need to start packing completely different products for another client? It is clear that quickly and in a convenient format, return the rest of the materials to the warehouse and place them in cells.

The algorithm of actions is identical: we open the document "Return of materials from the pantry" on the shipping documentation, scan the ShK of goods and form pallets. Which are then placed in storage.

After the operation is completed in 1C, a "Receipt Order" and packing lists are automatically created for each pallet formed during the selection of goods, taking into account weight and size characteristics, Andrei Popov, specialist of the company "VIANT."

Return Subcontracting Materials from Storage Location

What to do with the rest of the products that remained after production? How to return the raw materials to the subcontractor? First, you need to create the Return Subcontracting Materials document and select the item and the quantity to return. After that, the task with the indication of packing lists will come to the shipping documentation.

When the operation is completed, the system generates an "Expense Order for Shipment" and "Selection," which are automatically filled with QPs and their storage addresses. Next, you can start shipping with a re-check of the packing lists, Andrei Popov, specialist of the company "VIANT."

Summary of Software and Hardware Used

To implement the project, integrators used software from Kleverens - Warehouse 15 (Advanced), and 6 Mertech Seuic AutoID Q9C data collection terminals.

Additional work

Reports

Without production reports, the accuracy of accounting will be reduced. After all, it is they who allow you to plan the work of the warehouse with greater accuracy and track the movement of finished products.

These reports help us to optimize our production processes in the first place. And improve inventory management and overall warehouse efficiency. At any time, we can look at the data on the availability and receipt of raw materials, finished products, on the shipment of finished products, on the quantity of goods shipped over a certain period, Ivan Ivanyuta, Automation Project Manager from Multipacking.

Training

The new scheme of work is, of course, good. But if no one knows how to work in a new way, no automation will save. Therefore, training was a separate item in the entire project.

Our printed and video instructions for all operations and for working with data collection terminals will help employees of all Multipacking departments understand each operation and the functions of new technical equipment. In addition, we developed manuals for working with deviations. They describe in detail the capabilities of 1C to analyze and eliminate such deviations, and which reports should be used in a specific situation, Andrei Popov, specialist of the company "VIANT."

Results

You can talk about the advantages of automation only when the result is visible. For example, if the speed and overall efficiency of employees increased several times, the burden on staff decreased and it became possible to redistribute storekeepers to more important tasks. Or if specialized software and equipment helped to three times reduce the likelihood of human errors. The project manager from VIANT noted that the transition of Multipacking to automated accounting reduced the number of interactions and simplified communication between departments.

Now the client promptly receives information about the state of affairs in the warehouse and production. Accordingly, it can better plan a development strategy. Switching from accounting in Excel tables to accounting in 1C increased the total performance of the company by a factor. In addition, "Warehouse 15" from "Cloverens" allows you to mobile take into account the specific characteristics of goods - batch, shelf life, weight, volume and other parameters important for optimizing the storage and processing of goods, Andrei Popov, specialist of the company "VIANT."