Its time to See your warehouse run! with CQuential Warehouse Management Solutions (WMS) new partnership with ERP Experts. By unifying the ERP & WMS solutions we provide:
CQuential WMS is a sophisticated Web-based Warehouse Management System that streamlines all processes within the warehouse & ensures a structured workflow is followed from the time the stock arrives at the warehouse, is put away, picked, packed and dispatched to the customer.
Today’s warehouses are not what they used to be. New technology such as Cloud computing, Smartphones, tablets, Wi-Fi connections, big data has changed the way manufacturers and distributors manage their warehouses and distribution centers.
ERP and WMS integration is crucial to achieving the agility you need to become more competitive in your industry and increase business process efficiency.
The benefits of ERP – WMS integration are endless, In this article, we will explore how integration between your company’s ERP system and warehouse management tools can improve your chances for success.
ERP – WMS Integration Improves Data Accuracy
When you integrate your ERP and WMS solutions, concern about data accuracy suddenly becomes a thing of the past. Once you input information into one system, the other is automatically updated, eliminating the main source of data errors (reentry). The integration of these two systems allows you to stay on top of put away, good receipts, picking, replenishment, ordering, vendor returns, and reporting.
ERP – WMS Integration Helps Warehouse Managers Track Employee Progress
Warehouse management systems are designed to make inventory control easier, reduce costs, and improve order fulfillment times. Your warehouse managers can track employee productivity on a daily basis. Managers can be alerted in real-time once an employee has completed a task so they can set up the next step in the supply chain. This instant communication helps businesses stay productive and complete projects on-time.
ERP – WMS Integration Improves the Decision-Making Process
The warehouse is not a stand-alone business, and it should not be treated as such. If your WMS and ERP systems are maintained separately, you can’t easily access the information you need to make business-critical decisions. If your office team does not have access to information in your warehouse management system, they cannot effectively make decisions on an order status. This is why integration is so important; it creates a seamless connection between the two systems so no one in your company is out of the loop.
If you need help integrating your ERP with CQuential WMS or whether you’re looking to expand the size, scope and ability of your warehouse, give our experts a call on 011 712 1300; email info@cquential.com or visit our website www.cquential.com
Source: ERP Experts
The customer: Fairfield Dairy
The industry: Dairy
The implementation: CQuential Warehouse Management System
The provider: CQuential WMS
When: 2010
In 2005, Fairfield Dairy moved to new and improved factory premises in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. The business is founded on a belief that technology and world-class health standards are of the utmost importance in the production of the highest quality dairy products.
Fairfield Dairy strives to provide the best quality milk and service to its customers as well as living up to being one of South Africa’s most trusted and respected dairies. Fairfield Dairy started from humble beginnings and places great importance on the well-being of its cows, as it is only through their comfort and happiness that they produce the best milk possible to make Fairfield’s dairy products.
“At Fairfield, we believe that innovation is the key to a successful future in the dairy industry in South Africa. Technology and world-class health standards are of the utmost importance to producing better dairy products,” says Fairfield Dairy Admin Executive Steven Fly.
Fly explains that Fairfield Dairy’s product shelf-life requires adherence to strictly mandated stock rotation cycles based on best before dates (BBD) – this is also often compounded by the fact that there are different consignees with varying BBD rules.
“Controlling stock rotation requires 100% picking accuracy. Moreover, temperature and quality control management with tight transportation schedules all prove challenging.
“Returned stock can quickly become worthless, which, of course, impacts on revenues. Traceability through the pick face is crucial and replenishment management is key to both traceability and efficiency.”
Fly says the company’s business challenges include short shelf life; batch and BBD traceability; food production guidelines/regulations; varying consignee rules; and supply chain optimisation.
CQuential Customer Services Executive Rina Redelinghuys says the warehouse management innovator originally implemented its WMS at Fairfield in 2010, at a time when Fairfield consolidated its production facilities and built a new cold room with racking.
“Over the years, CQuential has optimised a few features that facilitate efficiency improvements, including allowing operations to distinguish between replenishment tasks and full pick tasks, plus providing optimal prioritisation and reduction in delays. We also introduced a system of management of shelf life and batch dates; shelf life per customer; batch expiry calculations; and releasing short picks,” she says.
The CQuential WMS solution is hosted in a world-class data centre, which provides the highest level of availability, performance and security.
Redelinghuys confirms the relationship is ongoing. “There is always room for ongoing improvement within all businesses, especially when it comes to re-evaluating current processes, especially in light of continual changes in technologies, customers and workplace cultures. In the near future, CQuential and Fairfield plan to review operational processes within the warehouse to identify how to optimally improve according to best practices,” she says
Source: IT Web
Teknosa Automotive – one of the leading distributors of automotive spares in southern Africa – has partnered with CQuential WMS to optimise its warehouse distribution management system and support the company’s expansion into larger premises in Gauteng.
Teknosa commenced operations in 2008 and, since that time, has experienced steady growth due to market demand for quality components.
CQuential WMS – a subsidiary of the Argility Technology Group (ATG) – is a sophisticated Web-based warehouse management system (WMS) that provides real-time visibility of warehouse operations, which enables businesses to identify and respond to issues.
Resul Eraydin, Managing Director of Teknosa, says it was vital that the move to the larger warehouse premises was as seamless as possible. “We needed a WMS to provide visibility and inventory control. In the old warehouse, staff had knowledge of where the stock was located, and they could pick and distribute from memory. But the move into the bigger facility meant we required software so that staff could randomise stock storage and not be confined to rigid predetermined storage areas for specific items. The move also meant that we were increasing volumes so paper based picking and distribution was not meeting our needs,” says Eraydin.
He adds that Teknosa’s biggest goal is to supply quality products at a competitive price efficiently and effectively – this requires a state-of-the-art WMS facility.
“Due to the vast model range in South Africa, inventory and volumes are increasing all the time and a robust WMS is needed to enable the efficient delivery of products to the customer. CQuential has helped us to provide an excellent service to our customers while at the same time allowing us to control the movement of products into and out of the warehouse,” notes Eraydin.
Daniel Schotter, Operations Executive CQuential WMS, explains that CQuential WMS is a cloud hosted solution that allows users to execute and operate the software from the cloud on a recurring subscription. It provides analysis and optimisation of inventory, labour, equipment and space. “Our solution streamlines processes within warehouses, ensuring a structured workflow is followed from the time stock arrives, is stored, picked, packed and despatched to the customer. CQuential WMS ensures there is efficient collaboration across operations within the warehouse with clear separation of responsibilities between the various functions,” he says.
The CQuential WMS solution is hosted in a world-class data centre, which provides the highest level of availability, performance and security.
Schotter confirms the new warehouse went live in late 2019, but that CQuential continually engages with customers to certify that everything is functioning to expected standards. “We have a service excellence continuous improvement programme with all customers, whereby we perform minor adjustments where necessary. In this way, all of our customer relationships are ongoing,” says Schotter.
Source: IT Web | Tech.Market | The Logistics
Issue 7 2020 Logistics (Industry)
The logistics industry relied heavily on people in the past, and to a large extent still does today. As in every other sphere of life, however, the role technology plays is increasing rapidly, with a host of solutions available to streamline supply chains and increase the efficiency of logistics in general.
Hi-Tech Security Solutions asked two experts in the field for their insights into how technology can and is changing the game.
Eamon McCann, CTO of The Argility Technology Group:
The ongoing advances in IOT capabilities have positioned technology as a strong enabler in the management and security of assets. There are various devices readily available that leverage GSM, Sigfox and LoRaWAN technologies, as well as others including RFID tags/labels and BLE beacons. These are now all potential options to cost-effectively assist in the identification of the physical positioning of assets for both static and mobile security applications.
The potential areas that could benefit are extensive, and range across multiple industries, including construction, mining, manufacturing and agriculture. Moreover, associated assets such as vehicles, machinery, fridges, crates/produce etc. can be identified and tracked to a specific geolocation, enhancing visibility and providing an associated increase in security and assisting in loss prevention.
Argility’s SkyData IOT cloud platform enables these capabilities by allowing asset tracking and exception management, thereby enabling supply chain security and the efficiency of associated processes. Geofencing allows event and alert creation for entry and exit conditions, for example, automatically raising a proof of delivery when an asset reaches its predefined destination, as well as tamper and theft alerts when assets move location without authorisation.
Other applications like the tracking of pallets and cages with RFID capability when entering receiving bays or leaving dispatch areas can assist in reducing loss and driving efficiencies through the warehouse and the wider supply chain. Configurable alarms and alerts, with various levels of severity, can be routed to the appropriate level(s) within the organisational hierarchy to ensure visibility and auditability for any such event.
SkyData can integrate into any business operational system, feed from and to multiple data sources and deliver data sets to any mobile device. It provides for Web-based administration plus configuration and it includes mobile apps for both Android and iOS for remote access – anytime, anywhere. The bottom line is that this IoT platform is set to transform asset and resource monitoring management.
Shaun O’Brien, CEO of CQuential
If you are not considering technology within your business or do not at least have a strategy around implementing technology, the company may be at a disadvantage when compared to its peers. Technology is the name of the game. It’s not seen as a luxury anymore but a necessity to do business in a highly competitive environment.
Supply chains have been one of the business functions that have benefited the most when it comes to technology and the capabilities it has to offer. A modern supply chain is at the point where it will not be relevant or valuable to an organisation if there is no intention of implementing technology to keep up with industry standards.
Technology enables businesses to automate manual processes and get people to focus on other areas that can add value to the organisation. The company is also in a better position to handle complexity and meet the needs of a customer with high expectations concerning turnaround time and service. Information sharing and collaboration across partners and departments is also crucial when it comes to running an efficient operation.
Warehouse management is a specific function within the supply chain that has benefited from technology over the last 10 years. The technology has driven the following benefits:
Technology is changing the way the warehouse operates for the better. It’s becoming more affordable and readily available to any size of business. The key is to have a digital roadmap and prioritise the different items based on operational requirements. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to technology. The first step is to understand the current business and processes. Once this is understood the next phase will be to understand the functionality and business proposition of the various solutions and how they can be applied to your specific use case. The last step will be to review and measure to understand if the business is achieving the business benefits that it set out to achieve in the beginning.
Source: Hi-Tech Security Solutions
SA Tyre Distributors, the country’s largest passenger tyre wholesaler, has selected leading warehouse management software (WMS) specialist, CQuential Solutions, to provide a solution aimed at moving its warehouse operations in-house while optimising service delivery.
According to Arthur Ledgerwood, head: finance, business development and operations at SA Tyre Distributors, when the company decided to bring its warehouse operations in-house instead of outsourcing, they sought a solution that would position the company to launch new and improved service offerings.
“CQuential’s feature-rich, cloud-based WMS solution and the company’s strategic partnership approach delivered phase one of the solution at our Jet Park warehouse in less than eight weeks, and immediately started delivering business benefits. Offering significantly more than traditional functionality, the system is highly flexible and was ‘tailored’ to meet all of our requirements. The system is integrated with SA Tyre’s accounting system, delivery system and call centre and allows SA Tyre to easily rotate stock, track expiry dates, manage stock levels and reduce shrinkage,” says Ledgerwood.
He adds that with automated and ‘system directed’ picker functionality embedded in the software, all staff on the warehouse floor use mobile handheld scanning devices, eliminating the need for manual and paper-based traditional systems.
According to CQuential CEO, Steve Mallaby, the system is supporting a massive increase in productivity while delivering efficiency, speed and accuracy. “Importantly, this increased efficiency supports SA Tyre’s competitive speedy delivery model. The company is building its competitive edge on its ability to deliver any tyre required by any fitment centres within a remarkably short time frame (as little as 40 minutes from order for fitment centres within an 80km radius of the Johannesburg warehouse, and under two hours for fitment centres within 100km of its Cape Town and Durban warehouses). The CQuential system has cut average picking times from 20 to 40 minutes down to 7 to 13 minutes, which allows the company to make its fast deliveries even faster.”
Mallaby says that what is particularly exciting is that SA Tyre is now positioned as a next generation innovator, poised to enabling the supply chain with innovative new services. “Thanks to the cloud-based digital platform, SA Tyre can build on the solution in future to integrate features such as mobile ordering, CRM and customer alerts.”
Ledgerwood concludes: “We can now leave stock and warehouse management to CQuential and focus on growing our business and delivering world class service.”
Source: BizTech Africa | IT Online
