S3, together with Korus Consulting, increased the speed of assembling Internet orders by 40%

2022: Completion of the project to optimize order picking

KORUS Consulting Group announced on July 12, 2022 the completion of a project to optimize the configuration of orders for S3. The integration of the current WMS platform Manhattan SCALE with Pick To Light racks made it possible to significantly increase the build speed, combine the post of checking and packing Internet orders and thereby double the post-control performance.

S3 found a way to reduce the number of packaging containers, increase the speed of selection and inspection of goods using the installation of racks. The technology allows you to transfer order information electronically through WMS. Then the collector receives tasks using light modules installed for each cell - they show the place of the product on the rack and its required amount for selection. The integration of WMS Manhattan SCALE installed in warehouses with the Pick To Light S3 system was entrusted to its long-time partner KORUS Consulting.

The working group not only integrated the racks with the warehouse management system, but also made changes to the work with conveyor equipment and to the module for forming tasks for picking. This made it possible to organize parallel assembly of several orders at the same time. The installation of Pick To Light racks significantly reduced the number of containers on the conveyor - from 1200 boxes to 40. Small orders are now collected in one container - as a result, the number of approaches to cells has decreased, and the assembly speed has increased by 40%. A full-screen form has also been developed to support the process of sorting combined freight units.

The use of this technology reduces the burden not only on collectors, but also on post-control employees. Previously, due to more containers, employees barely fulfilled the standard of 180 lines per hour: they had to check, confirm and close each container. Reducing the number of boxes, introducing a web-based sorting interface and the Pick To Light system allowed the reviewer to hire up to 30 orders at a time and spend no more than 5 minutes on one such mix container. As a result, the overall productivity of post-control increased by 2 times.

The shipping speed has also significantly decreased. Previously, it took 1.5 minutes to pack the order into a box and mark it, now the entire processing process takes 30 seconds. Thanks to the automation of marking printing and the combination of packaging with the Pick To Light sorting area, the speed increased by 3 times, and the total time spent by one employee was reduced from 30 to 6 hours.

The idea of ​ ​ creating an updated process for the warehouse arose after the rapid growth of online sales and an increase in shipments by FBS type (in packaging for the end consumer). In the first months of work with well-known trading platforms, the number of orders completed increased from 30 to 900 per day. The old system of selecting goods on the conveyor line could not cope with such volumes. Together with colleagues from KORUS Consulting, we developed the concept of combining orders into one assembly unit and sorting the assembled order on the "last mile" of the conveyor line. At the same time, we began work on the selection of Pick To Light equipment, and colleagues were developing an interface and software. As a result of the joint work, we achieved excellent results: the performance in the assembly area of ​ ​ piece orders increased significantly, said Vadim Urin, General Director of SLS LLC.

An excellent result can be achieved only with the coordinated work of two teams. At the very beginning, we distributed roles: S3 covered the tasks of comprehensive process testing, including integration, end-user training, preparation of WMS-related equipment - Pick To Light racks. KORUS Consulting integrated the system with WMS Manhattan SCALE installed in the warehouse and made the necessary changes to the operation of conveyor equipment and the module for forming tasks for procurement. As a result, we will achieve a significant reduction in time and labor costs, noted Andrey Chmyrev, Head of WMS GC KORUS Consulting.

2021: Warehouse Process Automation

On March 15, 2021, Korus Consulting Group of Companies announced the automation of complex warehouse processes for: Russian distributor Single Source Suppliers (S3) acceptance, sorting, placement of goods returned from the client, their movement for processing at the production site, management of replenishment and selection of small-scale goods on the conveyor line and much more. The system on the base WMS Manhattan significantly increased the turnover of the warehouse by speeding up the assembly and picking processes.

In the global logistics market, a trend is gaining popularity for the delegation of the configuration of orders - including piece-by-piece fulfillment - from manufacturers and retail chains to distributors, which leads to an increase in the load on their warehouses. Therefore, in an effort to reduce labor costs for assembly, companies are increasingly introducing complex solutions that include mechanization and automation of processes.

A multidisciplinary distributor Single Source Suppliers (S3) faced a similar situation. To quickly form orders with one-by-one equipment, the company back in 2011 modernized the warehouse and introduced a conveyor passing through six areas of storage of goods. But with the increase in their number (as of March 2021, there are already 20 of them) and the transition to full automation of additional pipeline operations, the old WMS ceased to cope with the volume of tasks. To improve the level of service and speed up order processing, the distributor decided to switch to a more functional and productive system.

After a thorough analysis and review of European practices, the company opted for global market representative WMS for the Manhattan Associates warehouse. To implement the solution, the company turned to KORUS Consulting, the official representative of the vendor in Russia.

As part of the first stage, KORUS Consulting specialists implemented WMS and integrated it with conveyor equipment. The following subproject and pick-by-voice connection allowed warehouse employees to interact conveniently with the system via a voice interface. The technologies of processing the movement of goods and the methods of automation of processes that are not taken into account in the previous system, as well as the visualization of key performance indicators made it possible to speed up the processing of orders. All this led to a significant increase in warehouse performance, significantly increased the accuracy of personnel operations, reduced the time to perform standard procedures and the number of errors.

For March 2021, the system fully automates warehouse processes, and also supports the ability to quickly adapt to changing business requirements. The plans are to switch to an interaction scheme in which the customer will take over part of the development. This will increase its independence and help significantly reduce the cost of introducing new modules.

Despite the rather compact size of the S3 warehouse, the concentration of different process options per square meter is very high. In this case, automation becomes not just an important part of business transformation, but a critical item in cost optimization. Thanks to the high involvement of specialists and top management of the company, as well as the readiness to work on the project in 24/7 mode, we managed not only to fulfill the tasks set, but also to provide S3 with tools for the further development of the warehouse, - notes Andrey Chmyrev, Head of SCALE Department of Logistics of KORUS Consulting Group.

We are pleased with the results of the joint project with KORUS Consulting. The tasks that were set for our joint team were fully achieved. WMS resources have not yet been fully used, and therefore we continue to work on expanding the functionality and subordinating the system to other in-house operations, - comments Vadim Urin, Logistics Director of S3 Group of Companies.