Furnitura32 (IP Avdeev Dmitry Alexandrovich) (Kleverens: Warehouse 15)

2023: Down with the human factor: Furnitura32 would have fired her storekeepers if it hadn't...

"Three warehouses - one mess": what went wrong?

Furnitura32 The company - the largest supplier of furniture fittings in the region and an exclusive distributor brand Boyard - is facing a situation familiar to many growing companies. Warehouse logistics turned into a real nightmare.

Physically, the goods were stored in three clearly divided zones: LDSP, fittings and countertops. However, in the "1C:ERP 2.5" accounting system, all this was displayed as a single warehouse. Imagine: 30,000 SKUs, manual data entry, disparate invoices for each direction.

Storekeepers received documents from the accounting department, checked them against the actual receipt, signed invoices and only then began unloading. At the same time, for fittings, placement on racks took place only after complete unloading, which created additional confusion.

Customers increasingly complained about errors in shipments, managers spent hours looking for the right goods, and financial losses from reassignment and complaints grew like yeast. The management understood: this cannot continue any longer.

"We have already tried - it did not help": doubts before automation

Furnitura32 wasn't new to trying to put things in order. The company has already experimented with various accounting systems, but no solution has yielded the expected result. Each time it was either too complex systems that required a complete overhaul of business processes, or superficial solutions that did not touch the root of the problems.

Especially frightening was the lack of barcodes on most of the goods. Suppliers sent products without labeling, and their own barcode generation capacities were not involved - after all, accounting was always carried out manually.

The warehouse manager was skeptical of the proposal to automate the execution of operations. It seemed that this would not be possible to realize in the realities of their chaotic accounting.

"Let's figure it out": how a solution was found

The turning point came after a call from Information Technology in Business.

It was a normal cold call. But the director Furnitura32 showed unexpected interest, Alexander Tarasov, CEO of Information Technology in Business.

After a detailed discussion of the problems, Alexander was invited to Bryansk to audit the situation. Upon arrival, he saw three warehouses under one roof, a huge nomenclature and a complete lack of consistency in accounting.

And he proposed three solutions:

1. Switch to the order warehouse with a lot of rework;
2. Fully split storage locations in 1C;
3. Preserve the existing mechanisms, but with the introduction of mobile software Kleverens and its minimal modifications.

The third option turned out to be the middle ground. He only required the addition of a sign of processing documents by the storekeeper and barcodes in printed forms and the purchase of a license for Warehouse 15. The client has selected the last item from the list, Alexander Tarasov.

"Barcodes are our main enemy": the beginning of implementation

The first and most difficult stage was to solve the problem with labeling. About 70% of the goods had no barcodes at all. Integrators began the project with a massive labeling request from suppliers.

Where suppliers could not provide barcodes, they launched their own encoding directly in 1C.

It was a hell of a job - tens of thousands of positions had to be labeled. But in a week we coped with the bulk of the goods, Alexander Tarasov.

In parallel, the system was configured:

• Refinement of Cloverens integration with 1C: ERP;
• Create a mechanism to automatically split invoices into warehouses
• Set up QR codes to quickly search for documents.

We found an error in integration processing. In conjunction with "1C:ERP," new barcodes were not saved. I had to quickly rewrite the code,

'Employees in shock ': First difficulties

The adoption of new technologies is always met with resistance. Storekeepers looked at the terminals as alien devices. Especially those who worked in the warehouse for 10-15 years.

Problems arose at every step:

• Employees forgot to scan barcodes;
• Confused in new procedures;
• They were afraid to do something wrong.

We have prepared detailed instructions with screenshots for each operation. Conducted field training for responsible persons. But the main thing is that the first successes convinced the skeptics, Alexander Tarasov.

'First inventory without panic ': The main test

This exam was the first large-scale inventory after implementation. Everyone was waiting for a catastrophe, since earlier discrepancies of 10-15% were the norm.

But the system did not fail:

• The data converged to within one;
• The inspection time was tripled;
• The number of errors was going to zero.

It was a moment of truth. The management of the company Furnitura32 finally believed that automation really works.

"Errors disappeared, speed increased": implementation results

Within a month, impressive results became visible:

1. Resort decreased by 50%.
2. The speed of processing orders has increased 2 times.
3. Time to search for goods decreased by 70%.

Now all documents are created in 1C, transferred to the shipping documentation, and after shipment they are returned to the system. The human factor is practically excluded, and the remnants are always relevant,

Especially the client is pleased with the disappearance of complaints. Because earlier it was necessary to analyze dozens of claims for incorrect shipments every month. Today it was possible to almost completely exclude their occurrence.

The new reality

Today, the Furnitura32 warehouse is a completely different story:

• 3 Newland MT65 Beluga IV terminals in permanent operation;
• Clear regulations for each operation;
• Automatic division of invoices by direction.

The most pleasant thing is to see how the warehouse employees Furnitura32 stopped getting nervous. A month ago, every day resembled an endless fight against a fire, and now it is a calm workflow, Alexander Tarasov.

The company has big plans for the future: to scale the shipping documentation fleet, automate retail branches and implement a KPI system for storekeepers.

We have specifically laid down the functionality for tracking KPIs. While the client does not use it, but this is a matter of the near future. Already, Furnitura32 management admits: "If we knew how much work would change, we would have implemented automation five years ago." For those who doubt, I advise you to simply count your losses from errors and downtime - the numbers speak for themselves, Alexander Tarasov.

The main thing is not to be afraid to start. Yes, the first weeks will be difficult, but the result is worth all the temporary difficulties. The introduction of Cloverens and data collection terminals did not just eliminate the problems - it changed the philosophy of the company. From constant "extinguishing fires" to transparent and effective warehouse management. From fear of inventories to confidence in every figure. This is the case when technology really makes business better.