Wattmaster markets and distributes electrical components, cable management and tools to the electrical wholesale market.

The business has flourished and the company found itself stocking multiple pallets of most products where previously it had struggled to purchase one pallet.

As a result, its warehouse needed to move from simple pick management to a more advanced replenishment model.

“Process reviews showed that we needed to move to a two phase ‘pick-face and replenishment’ logistics model,” says Wattmaster operations manager Jason Hill.

“We immediately looked at warehouse management software that would deliver this functionality. We also had a closer look at what was available from our current OneOffice ERP.”

It turned out OneOffice, from Strategis Solutions, could deliver the required functionality, meaning Wattmaster got what it needed without the complexities of integrating a third party product and with minimal investment.

The OneOffice warehouse management module provides full two-phase and three-phase pick functionality, including:

• a dynamic task queue for managing and scheduling workload in the warehouse and making job volumes and priorities visible to the total company;
• pick face storage defined with size and replenishment rules;
• bulk storage for full boxes / packs from broken pallets;
• pallet storage for with pallet location controls;
• pick control rules to manage where a product should be picked from (pick face and/or bulk) based on pack size and volume;
• automated “replenish to pick” process;
• full replenishment functionality;
• barcode management and picking tools;
• dashboards to monitor overall warehouse performance real time.

“We have always considered our ERP to be a major source of competitive advantage,” says Hill.

“We just hadn’t realised how complete it really is as a supply chain product.”

Mike Carroll, New Zealand country manager for Strategis Solutions, says more than 10 customers in the electrical products distribution business currently use its OneOffice solution.

“With margins under increasing pressure in this sector, businesses need to work smarter and think faster than your competitors,” says Carroll.

“Improving customer service to build loyalty is a key factor, particularly trade and volume discounted pricing agreements and after-sales service. And with inventory costs under the microscope, you need to look at stock optimisation – achieving the right mix from extensive and growing product ranges, taking into account seasonally adjusted sales forecasting.”

Carroll says online competition is now a major factor, with some new entrants in the e-commerce space competing on price alone.

“To hold your place, you need e-commerce functionality capable of managing warranties, through-life costs, spare parts programmes and customer-specific pricing agreements,” he says.

“If you’re dealing with significant quantities of imported goods, landed costs management is also important.”

For more information

Strategis Solutions
www.strategisanz.com
Mike Carroll
Ph: 09 521 0724

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