Intercom-Auto has optimized the process of shipping orders to customers using Axelot WMS X5

2022: Optimization of the process of shipping orders at the warehouse in Astana with the help of Axelot WMS X5

According to the results of the first days of use of AXELOT WMS X5, the management of the Intercom-Avto warehouse noted that the assembly of orders for the flight now takes much less time. This was announced on December 19 by Axelot.

The company's warehouse located in Astana is responsible for shipping orders to customers and supplying products to the retail network. Its area is 5000 sq. M. m, the number of SKU is 40,000. But the main feature is the structure of the warehouse: this is an eight-story mezzanine, from floors 1 to 5 there are shelf racks and front racks with a capacity of one europalet and static storage of goods is carried out, and from 6 to 8 floors are given for floor storage - one cell with a capacity of 10 pallets. Street storage is also used.

On each floor there is a transit cell for replenishment and unfolding operations, the selected storage places (specialized plastic boxes) are sent to the consolidation zone using an elevator and conveyor, where they are combined into pallets. To fulfill wholesale orders, the goods are shipped from the pallet storage area, and to perform piece shipping, the goods are taken from the mezzanine area. A pickup service is available for any type of shipment to customers of the Intercom-Auto company. The development strategy of Intercom-Auto is inextricably linked with an increase in the level of customer service, including due to an increase in the speed of assembly of orders. The warehouse plays a key role in this task, or rather, its optimized processes managed by a flexible and productive WMS, which became AXELOT WMS X5 and which was implemented by AXELOT specialists.

The main problem of the warehouse before automation was the low speed of assembly of orders due to the "complex" structure and the lack of a specialized system that would centrally manage all intra-warehouse processes. Thanks to automation, this problem has been fixed.

In the process of goods acceptance, at the time scannings barcode of packaging, informs the contractor's system about the required type of container, thus, at this stage, pallets and boxes are formed taking into account the final addresses. The capacity of the specific mezzanine cell where the received product will be placed is also monitored.

Several scenarios are possible when planning a location:

1. Placement of the accepted goods with subsequent unfolding is carried out through transit zones with further unfolding in mezzanine cells:

• Stage 1. The system plans the placement of the received pallet in the transit zone of the rack depending on the type of pallet to be moved, corresponding to the desired mezzanine transit cell.
• Stage 2. After the received pallet is placed in the transit cell, the tasks for item placement (unfolding) are planned.

2. Cross-docking is used in the warehouse, part of the incoming products can be placed in storage with a breakdown by quantity in accordance with the existing customer orders, followed by shipment from the storage area without additional cargo processing.

3. Placement of the accepted goods entirely with pallets without unfolding.

4. if during the acceptance process the system realizes that there are no free cells, it invites the user to place the goods in a special buffer, from where they will subsequently be placed in the storage area.

Depending on the shipping type, the selection tasks are planned in full pallets, packages, or pieces. In the unit sampling zone, cluster selection can be performed for two orders at the same time, the contractor disposes the selected goods in different plastic boxes, each of which is tied to its order. The individual sampling cells are replenished according to the regulations according to the established min/max balance indicators, the tasks for replenishment are formed during the period of operation of the warehouse when the personnel load is minimal. The selected goods in plastic boxes are transferred from different floors of the mezzanine using a lift elevator to the conveyor to the consolidation zone. Consolidation is carried out on orders, the selected article in plastic boxes is collected on pallets. After the order is fully selected and consolidated, tasks are automatically generated to move it to the control and packaging area.

In the process of packaging the selected goods, the procedures for checking the correct selection are carried out, as well as additional data on the shipped goods are entered, the goods are brought into line with the requirements of customers, packing lists are printed and unique cargo item numbers are generated.

The order then goes to the shipping area, and if the order is set to pickup, it is moved to a special pickup shipping area. Shipment to vehicles is carried out according to the directions specified in the document Flight, which is unloaded from the CIS to the WMS. The exchange of information between the AXELOT WMS X5 and the CIS of the enterprise is implemented using the DATAREON ESB service data bus. When performing tasks for shipment, the procedure for placing cargo items in the vehicle is observed.

Changes in warehouse processes were recorded by the company in the first days after launch: now staff collect a flight in an average of 4 hours, while earlier it took up to 12 hours to complete this task. Increasing the speed of shipment will help the company increase its customer base and expand the number of services offered.