Consafe Logistics’ Development Team have developed a new function for Astro WMS 7.6, which utilises historic data to automatically optimise forklift truck transportation in the warehouse. The result is simplified administration and less empty running. This is an excellent example of how it is possible to make DC performance quicker, better and cheaper. Read more about Consafe Logistics Adaptive Multi Cycle.
It is no longer a company’s brand that determines its competitiveness, but rather its supply chain. It is no longer enough to focus on the strength of the consumer pull when large volumes of products have to be moved across the shop counter. These days, customer loyalty to brands is an endangered phenomenon. This is the belief of one of Europe’s leading business research Professors in Logistics and Marketing, Martin Christopher from Cranfield University.
Availability beats brand
Modern consumers are swamped by equally attractive alternatives. Modern consumers are increasingly focussing on "value" and the "availability" of a product. If my favourite brand isn’t on the shelf today, I will simply choose one of the other brands from the "portfolio". This trend also applies to B2B companies. They must provide value and, not least, this encompasses "secure, quick and cost-effective supply.
The buck stops here
Quicker, cheaper and more efficient. That, in a nutshell, is the holy grail of requirements for the supply chain of the warehouse is an essential part. Therefore, the warehouse manager's job is to optimise the DC so that it is able to function more quickly for the same or lower costs and with the same or higher level of service. It is no mean feat achieving that all at once, but the warehouse is where the buck stops.
Continuous improvement of warehouse performance
It is therefore also Consafe Logistics’ job to enable the warehouse manager to respond more quickly, more cheaply and more efficiently. "We are working constantly on a number of technical innovation initiatives in our WMS solutions which will help improve the performance of our customers’ warehouses. We have a dedicated team who not only are in constant dialog with our customers but are also developing new solutions," Product Manager Mikael Brorsson tells us.
Long innovation pipeline
Some solutions have been in the pipeline for many years. For instance, the development team has been developing the new solution "Adaptive Multi Cycle" for 6-8 years and it is only in the last couple of years that the team has been able to see, in earnest, that the solution could fill a huge gap in our customers' needs and how the solution could become a reality.
Utilise the history
The idea is actually quite simple. Production Management has been doing it for decades, and now Consafe Logistics is also introducing the principle into the world of warehouse management. It has got independent industry analysts talking about one of the biggest innovations in the field of warehouse technology in a long time.
It is all about utilising the historical knowledge you have about a given process to continually optimise the process. These days, it is normal DC management practice to configure the task flow for the truck fleet for each working day on the basis of a series of prioritised tasks. In terms of administration, it is a demanding task and in practice it doesn't take account of where the task is placed within the warehouse and does not reap the benefits of the historical knowledge the company has about the given process.
Smart, smarter…
"When a company has carried out a process 100, 1000 or perhaps even 10,000 times and has registered data such as the time it takes to complete the process, this represents a valuable piece of knowledge that could help clarify how the process could be carried out in the smartest possible way. We have incorporated this historical knowledge into our new function "Adaptive Multi Cycle" so that our customers are automatically able to optimise forklift truck journeys in the warehouse with fill pallets," explains Product Manager Mikael Brorsson.
Fewer empty miles
In many warehouses, forklift trucks are running empty much of the time. Once a pallet has been delivered, the truck driver goes onto the next job which is not necessarily the closest job in terms of location. Much of the time this will mean that the forklift truck is running without a load.
Continuous optimisation
The Adaptive Multi Cycle function take into account distance, delivery time and other parameters such as truck type and the height at which the pallet is located so that the truck’s picking route is as optimal as possible without compromising delivery times. Gradually, as the database gets filled with more and more history, optimisation increasingly improves. The upshot is fewer empty miles and yet another way of making warehousing quicker, better and cheaper.