Integratesd solutions
September 25th 2007

Prior to Gillette becoming a business unit of Procter & Gamble, the company decided to upgrade the WMS at its Reading distribution centre to the latest version of Swisslog's 'WarehouseManager' WMS.

This upgrade helped Gillette meet the increasing demands from its customers for deliveries that integrated with its own evolving logistics systems.

During the upgrade process Gillette asked Swisslog to investigate how improvements could be made to Transport Planning and Order Delivery. To meet this requirement the 'LoadBuilder' concept was created and subsequently developed.

Marc Ragot, UK/Ireland Operations Manager for Gillette explains what lead to the upgrade:

What made you decide on having a solution like LoadBuilder created for you?

“The impact of Transport 'Rate Cost Inflation' and Legislation such as the Working Time Directive created a need for improved control over transport planning. This could be achieved by providing a 'LoadBuilder' module, linked to the site's WMS, that pulled orders for planned loads through the distribution centre rather than the transport department having to make late changes to loads during and following order picking.

The decision to upgrade the site's WMS to Swisslog's WarehouseManager meant that 'LoadBuilder' needed to be an integral feature of the WMS and Swisslog was commissioned to develop the ‘Load-Builder’ concept as imagined and specified by our distribution partners, the DHL/Exel team, and myself. The module creates Load Plans of load stacks and despatch pallets that are system converted to order picking in-structions that create Stackable pick pallets.”

What opportunities were there to reduce transport costs?

“The transport department had reports that indicated the number of load stacks that each order would create but this data made no allowance for the impact of pick pallet build where a pallet comprises multiple products in layer/case quantities or changes in pallet configuration due to customers' own requirements.

The aim was maximise the number of pick pallets that could be stacked to improve the utilisation of vehicle/trailer capacity. Maximising the number of cases in a load stack and the storage capacity utilisation in each vehicle were key objectives for the development.

All orders would be passed through the 'load assessment' module to determine the number of load stacks for each order. This data would be visible to transport planners so that they could plan loads directly at a WMS workstation and select the best vehicle/trailer for each load.”

Which benefits has LoadBuilder provided you with concerning transport operations?

“As anticipated LoadBuilder plus the implementation of Voice Picking has extended the functionality of the WMS to provide a net reduction in Transport Costs, expressed as Pence/Case of over 20%. Also, the ability to order pick to specified load plans has improved picking productivity and reduced the requirement for 'Groupage' loads where the carrier has responsibility for out-sorting customer orders as well as delivery.”

Has the system driven case picking of licensed pick pallets created any operational improvements?

Yes, there has been an improved flow of goods through the distribution centre and productivity has increased. The order picking and marshalling process is more controlled and timely. This has been assisted by the voice picking system that provides targeted instructions at the start of each pick pallet 'Pick Run'.

Has Load Builder helped to improve Customer Serviceability?

There has been improved control over the presentation of orders. This control has reduced the error rate and created a reduction in claims by customers.

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