With over 200,000 sq ft of warehousing over various units, Lemonpath are looking to leverage their growing expertise and offer further added value and E-fulfilment services to its client base. Introducing LocateIT to replace the current system will provide immediate, tangible results for this Logistics company who pride themselves on flexibility and speed of response.

By utilising LocateIT, it is estimated that the time saving element achieved through the reduction of manual data entry  will save the company a considerable sum per month, and release staff time to even better serve the increasing client base.   Added to this is the scope to generate further income by increasing business levels without having to increase internal resources. 

LocateIT will competently and securely manage client inventory within the warehouse, tightly controlling stock information and providing full track and trace. This is of particular use to Lemonpath who offer Contract Packing services to demanding and high profile clients. 

Both companies have agreed to a phased installation, ensuring minimum disruption to the activity hub at the heart of operations.  Clydebuilt Business Solutions are delighted to welcome yet another new customer on board so early in the year.  Product developments are feeding through to results leading to enhanced business optimism for 2012.

Both organisations have worked together on a number of implementations over the years and at the suggestion and behest of their customers have decided that now is a good time to formally come together to offer a total integrated solutions for logistics. 

The merged company will be known as Clydebuilt Business Solutions Limited.

Declan, a local graduate, will be joining the support team on Monday 4^th of July. His addition will allow the support team to continue to provide a high level of support to our expanding customer base. Coming from a computer background, Declan also has experience working in a call centre environment, meaning he is ideally placed to serve our customers on the helpdesk.

In his personal time Declan enjoys all things computer related and also shows a keen interest in writing, and is currently in the midst of penning his first novel.

Following the acquisition of the Haulier Transport Management system, Declan’s arrival signifies an exciting time for Clydebuilt as we are expanding our product offering and continuing to secure great business partnerships with our clients.

R T Page & Sons have been providing transport services since 1946 from their original site in Littlehampton. The company moved to new premises in 1989 and began to diversify their offerings to include warehousing, distribution and logistics and now work from a 4.5 acre site in Ford, West Sussex.

R T Page pride themselves on being able to undertake any logistical problem, providing the right solution at an affordable price for its customer base. To facilitate the growth of its customer base the warehouse staff realised that to be able to continue providing the current high levels of service they would need to replace their existing warehouse management system in favour of a more modern solution with the right capabilities.

R T Page operate as a true 3^rd party logistics provider, offering various value added services for different customers and, increasingly, supporting their individual needs. LocateIT WMS from Clydebuilt Solutions was chosen as the preferred warehouse management system due to the flexibility inbuilt within the system; enabling the company to continue to serve its existing clients while providing the platform for future growth, offering new clients a wide range of service opportunities.

As well as flexibility, the ability to organise inventory in a way to support their client’s business was paramount, as was the ability to effectively monitor inventory attributes (such as BBE). These features come as standard within LocateIT as does giving warehouse staff bomb proof track and trace ability with also the assurance that products are being stored and despatched in compliance with food and drug regulations.

R T Page and Clydebuilt Solutions have already started the implementation process of LocateIT WMS and associated RF process.  Very shortly afterwards R T Page will start enjoying the benefits this will bring, including an increase in warehouse efficiency of at least 25%. The RF processes themselves are flexible as they are not written as emulator software; this means that R T Page can continue to work in partnership with its existing client base to offer truly bespoke services that continue to add value.

Interactive links enable R T Page to act as effective business partners to all their multinational clients, receiving information from their back-office systems and giving information back. Such links allow R T Pages customers to easily integrate into the LocateIT system, allowing a free flow of accurate information between the two, removing unnecessary paperwork and data entry. These links can be replicated and will be available to any of R T Pages customers to take advantage of as their system goes live.

www.rtpage.co.uk

Founded as J & J Denholm in 1866, Denholm Shipping Services is one of the UK’s leading ship agency businesses providing a range of related services including freight forwarding, storage and distribution. Still owned by the descendants of the founder who have built the business by consistently reinvesting profits, Denholm’s aim is to become a market leader in each of the fields within which it operates.

In a multi site situation part of Denholm’s activities involves the storage of timber, steel, chemicals and gas. Their operations include unit and order picking, batch, lot and serial number control both simple and complex.

Denholm Handling provides a full range of warehousing and distribution services including fulfilling specialist requirements such as bagging and blending, pick and pack, quayside handling and inventory management. Operating from sites in Kirkby, Birkenhead, Tilbury, and Avonmouth they have earned a reputation for efficiency, flexibility and quality of service.

In order to maintain that quality Denholm knew that they should strive to add value to the service levels they could offer their customers. In the words of Denholm’s Martin Hall:-

“We felt that a WMS system would allow us to supply our customers with all the stock information
they require as well as providing us with information to ensure that all warehouse locations were
fully utilised. Since the implementation of LocateIT our service levels have increased dramatically
and we can now deal with blue chip companies because of our systems’ strength”

Denholm were an early adopter of hand held mobile processes in the warehouse with a comprehensive set of RF (Radio frequency) processes covering all aspects of warehousing from Goods In and Put Away to Picking and Despatch with all functions in between.

Martin assures us that the warehouse efficiency was improved by over 25% virtually immediately due to the ease of use and immediate adoption of the processes by the warehouse staff. Of course, they look forward to upgrading to the new improved version as this will bring even further
functionality and flexibility to their operation.

Denholm look forward to further expanding their warehousing operation into the future building further on the strong foundations of close partnership that has built up over the years with both clients and Clydebuilt.

In today’s market customers are coming to logistics providers with more complex and individual requirements. For Taygroup to function as part of their customers’ team without any gaps in the process, they identified the key elements they would need from a warehouse management system. One was to provide real-time information and set up RF and mobile processes, as well as the ability to link in with customers systems. To satisfy the needs of their high – profile clients it was thought that nothing short of a reliable, best of breed solution would do.

Taygroup have been in business since 1992 and have gained a reputation as a high quality company providing first class logistics solutions. With a multiple client base Taygroup operate over 250,000 sq ft of warehousing, in many cases acting as an extra department of their customers business; adding value to their clients by streamlining their logistics processes.

As Clydebuilt Solutions have a genuine strength and extensive experience of creating such links – Taygroup choose LocateIT WMS. LocateIT allows for real time communication with their clients as well as other internal systems, such as sales and transport. Full track and trace ability is inbuilt, from the point of receipt up until the actual delivery, allowing clients to receive up-to-date information on the location of their product at all times.

With a whole raft of EDI links available, user definable timed reports and online access for Clients across the Internet, the system allows for any number of real-time ‘snapshots’ of Key Performance Indicators to be viewed at the touch of a button, 24 hours a day.

Implementations and Projects Manager, Paul Haines, states, “with an average of around 35,000 pallet movements each week, real-time systems monitoring for our Clients is a pre-requisite. With the confidence we have in LocateIT and our partnership with Clydebuilt, we believe that anything is possible and pride ourselves by being able to offer a more flexible and cost effective service than other suppliers”.

Taygroup have fully integrated their LocateIT with many of their customers, one being Jordans Cereals (now the Jordans Ryvita Company part of Associated British Foods). This relationship could not function without the system as the two way communications removes the keying element, and the whole things runs smoothly in the background.

Leading UK logistics provider Bibby Distribution has now completed the acquisition of Taygroup Ltd.

Over time, Bibby will integrate Taygroup into its UK operations, driving efficiencies and added value to both existing and new customers. As part of this integration the business will take on the Bibby Distribution name however the Clydebuilt suite of programmes will continue to support the ongoing operational effectiveness of the ex-Taygroup business.

To see how Taygroup use LocateIT to facilitate their customer base and provide an excellent service, please visit www.taygroup.co.uk .

When Clydeport asked to install our WMS, they were delighted to discover we could do it three months ahead of schedule.

Clydeport Operations, a wholly owned subsidiary of Peel Ports, is Scotland’s major west coast intercontinental and Atlantic-facing port operator. With management of the River Clyde at the heart of the companies operations, the company have been providing port facilities and services for nigh on 50 years. When one of Clydeport’s customers, Norske Skog asked them to implement a warehouse management solution, they knew that they had to find a system capable of their stringent requirements.

An international paper manufacturer based primarily in Norway, Norske Skog needed Clydeport’s warehouse system to tie in with their global systems via the paper industry messaging network; papiNet.

A few years earlier, Clydebuilt were the first and only company to create such links between another customer, Russells and their major paper manufacturer. The solution was based on the use of LocateIT with standard barcode processes augmented by our specialist application that manages the import and export messages in XML format to and from papiNet.
John McCafferty, IT Manager from Clydeport operations described LocateIT WMS as having a direct influence over their new contract with Norske Skog. The key elements he was looking for from a warehouse management system was the ability to link with papiNet, and also system flexibility, enabling the system to grow as the company needs expand. Outwith system capabilities Clydeport were looking for a ‘good company’ to work with as a close working relationship is key to their ongoing success.
They certainly got all that; and more. The time scales for implementation were halved and ships were scheduled to dock early in the newyear, meaning the system had to be up and running by the 2nd January i.e. effectively 4 weeks. After working out the specifications for the new system, LocateIT was ready for installation, complete with RF infrastructure and hardware complete with fully automated links to Norske Skog via papiNet.

Andrew Hemphill, the company’s Operations Director said that the staff find the system very easy to use, and the installation was both smooth and successful, despite the implementation times being drastically reduced. Operating from January 2nd, by the time of the official opening of the Norse Skog terminal in May, LocateIT had effectively handled 48,097 reels of paper ranging from half a tonne to 2.25 tonnes each. LocateIT manages discharge paperwork, any damages or alterations (eg re-wrap) to the paper reels, records and feeds this information back.
From the initial message from Norske Skog, LocateIT receives the reel numbers and weights. Ship discharge is simplicity itself and could not be quicker, operatives scanning the bar-code on the reel which allows LocateIT to ‘tick off’ the reels, ensure accuracy and automatically report on discrepancies. Clearing the ship from the dock quickly is important to avoid unnecessary charges.
During the official opening and ribbon cutting, the senior VP of Norske Skog, Ketil Lyng remarked to Tom Allison, Chief Executive of Peel Ports, Clydeport’s parent company, that the operation had the lowest error rate of any of their partner warehouses worldwide. The work of the Clydeport project team was warmly referred to as being a key element of the successful result.
Touching base with Clydeport staff, everyone is delighted with LocateIT. In the wise words of John McCafferty, ‘It does exactly what it says on the tin’

“The introduction of the LocateIT Warehouse Management Information System will ensure that we are able to maintain and even improve the level of service we offer customers.”

Bob Terris, MD Meachers Group.

Meachers Global Logistics (formerly Oast Agencies and Meachers Transport) has built an enviable reputation up over 50 years and is regarded as one of the UKs leading independent logistics providers. Meachers ‘go the extra mile’ to provide their clients with first class supply chain solutions, including freight forwarding, distribution, warehousing, logistics and contract management, as well as advisory and training solutions.

Working from 5 warehouses split over 2 sites in Southampton and Derby, Meachers, execute their unique ‘Complete Logistics Solutions’ model, which is a framework of values and work ethos that has allowed the company to delight their clients through both excellent value delivery, and excellent customer service.

One ingredient that contributes to the success of Meachers Global Logistics is LocateIT WMS from Clydebuilt Solutions Ltd. It is fair to say that before LocateIT was introduced the warehouse was run to an acceptable standard and customers were happy, however staff at Meachers quickly realised that as their customers’ expectations were growing, an investment was required to keep at the forefront of new developments and continue to offer clients the same first class service they have come to expect as standard.

Jerry Cook, IT Manager at Meachers was involved in the search for a replacement WMS, and he already had some idea as to what were the key requirements. Of particular importance, at that time, to the company was the idea of better reporting facilities including remote access to data within the warehouse (Information on Demand).  Indeed, at that time there was one particular client whose complex remote requirements had been bespoke by Jerry and his team; this complex functionality needed to be offered by the prospective new system.

LocateIT was chosen as a system as it was seen as a good all rounder, and  it has proved to be strong in all areas. The remote reporting facilities from ReportIT is a most valuable reporting tool and empowers Meachers customers with the ability to access stock details whenever they require, however Meachers also realise a benefit by proactively communicating by emails and send between 60 – 80 auto-emails to customers providing different stock balance and transaction information.  This is an example of the type of value added service that helps Meachers stand out from competitors.  What is more, since its induction warehouse staff are now handling considerably less calls from clients with stock enquiries.  Jerry says, ‘LocateIT has given us the ability to provide our customers with far more real time information. This is now seen as a key component of our customer service.’

Jerry also commented that the flexibility of the system is a real bonus to Meachers. On the face of it LocateIT seems more complex than the redundant system used before, however Jerry acknowledges that it only ‘seems’ so;  this is down to the rich, flexible functionality and LocateIT gives them all of the ‘whistles and bells’ that they didn’t have before.

LocateIT contains a wealth of valuable business data including Lot/Batch numbers and shelf life remaining, that was not able to be stored beforehand. Also, Meachers have set up different option parameters for each of their customers and this level of flexibility allows each customer to benefit from a unique and personalised service. The introduction of LocateIT within the warehouse, put simply, has enabled to Meachers Global Logistics to offer more, leveraging their existing warehouse staff and investment.

Summing up the installation of LocateIT, Jerry concludes, ‘Having worked with the system for some time, we would really struggle without it now. I seriously believe this facility [LocateIT] has been instrumental in customer acquisition and also in retaining contracts.’

Meachers Global Logistics have big plans for the future and staff at Clydebuilt Solutions are happy to be part of their plans. The next stage of the partnership will include the installation of RF within Southampton warehousing (Meachers have RF processes in Derby), which will help warehouse efficiencies even further, enabling Meachers to offer their customer base truly real time information, in principle even integrating into their systems.

For more information please visit www.meachersglobal.com

“I would say that the direct sharp end involvement and how LocateIT was implemented were the most important factors to the success of the result. We also dealt with a company, which knew what it was doing. That helped too.”

Eddie Smith, Distribution Manager, Mitsubishi.

Mitsubishi’s challenge five years ago was to find a system capable of translating stock as internal ownership changed whilst tracking serial numbers for warranty purposes. In addition, a system was needed for all the usual warehouse management functions with easy visibility of information plus there was a requirement to produce regular ad hoc reports.
Eddie Smith of Mitsubishi knew that the future would involve change so flexibility to respond in an evolving situation was key to success. One option was to roll out the warehousing modules of the existing SAP R3 installation to the Livingston facility but this was rejected since the cost to configure SAP to the site’s needs was seen as prohibitive. As the facility is akin to a third party warehouse an alternative was necessary since this is not SAP’s natural environment.

After looking at many offerings our LocateIT system was selected. Since installation, RF bar coding has been successfully added. This success resulted in the latest project just going live which has been to implement LocateIT Corporate including our comprehensive RF processes, delivering seamless and paperless Raw Materials control integrated into their MAPICS production control. This has resulted in:-

• Virtually 100% inventory accuracy
• A paperless warehouse (well, almost)
• Inventory visibility across the warehouse in real time
• The ability to track and trace
• Warehouse staff communicating with systems in real time

One key to success in 2002 and 2006 was to involve relevant warehouse staff directly in the,implementation process. We spent time with Mitsubishi’s people looking at the activities which were
being carried out and the data needs to support them. The company too made the difference
through active support from forward thinking management whose primary concern was for the good
of the business.
Mitsubishi are delighted with the integrated result and, according to Eddie, “I would say that the
direct sharp end involvement and how LocateIT was implemented were the most important factors
to the success of the result. We also dealt with a company that knew what it was doing. That helped
too. The staff couldn’t do without the guns now.”
To find out more about Mitsubishi Electric Europe please visit www.mitsubishi-aircon.co.uk .

“It’s the best investment made in a long time. It’s the sort of investment that not only saves the company money, but also helps drive the company forward.” – Neil Simmonds

Telford based Simmonds Transport have delighted one of their major customers by providing a completely seamless integration into their warehousing system. Simmonds have integrated their LocateIT WMS with NOM Dairies SAP, to facilitate a faster, real time flow of information between the two companies.

Strategically placed to serve the UK from the West Midlands, Simmonds Transport have been in business for 36 years, offering transport, warehousing and value added services such as contract packing.

Simmonds have expanded their operation over the years and increased their warehouse facility from 20,000 to 100,000 sq ft. During the years of working on the 20,000 sq ft site Simmonds were using a warehousing ‘bolt –on’ from a Transport Management System. Neil Simmonds, Sales Director at Simmonds, was working on the floor and quickly realised the limitations of the system in use, and more importantly he realised that if he was going to take the business forward, this definitely wasn’t the system to use.

LocateIT in Simmonds – the early years

Being a member of Palletline, the UK’s leading palletised distribution specialists, Neil asked his peers about the systems they were using with a view to selecting a new supplier. LocateIT WMS from Clydebuilt Solutions was chosen, and is currently in use at over 25% of Palletline members sites. LocateIT was chosen as it was far more advanced than the system they were using, and after seeing it in action in other sites Neil was impressed by the usability and user friendliness. In terms of functionality, LocateIT covered everything. Even now Neil comments that, ‘Constant system improvements every year enable confidence in the system,’ and he is ‘confident that it manages now and will continue to do so into the future’.

The initial implementation of the system afforded Simmonds immediate benefits. LocateIT helped to speed up all of their processes and allowed for easier access to more accurate information. Neil describes LocateIT as being clear and concise, and not complicated. The speed of loading orders and issuing picks increased significantly and of particular use to Simmonds was the Grid View, providing users with a graphical representation of the warehouse floor, with the ability to click on a location to view the status of pallets housed there.

Delivering Excellence

Simmonds Transport has an excellent reputation for delighting its customers, and is in the proactive realm of 3pl providers, constantly seeking new ways to engage with and satisfy customer needs.

Simmonds were approached by NOM Dairies, the Shropshire based dairy who manufacture high quality, great tasting yoghurts from natural ingredients, as they were looking for a new third party warehouse to store raw materials. NOM were impressed with how Simmonds were running the warehouse and decided to use them as their outsourced warehousing partner, and suggested that Simmonds implement a SAP terminal, and carry out all NOM work on that terminal. Looking to maintain consistency within their operations, and more importantly, not wanting to create any duplicate entry, Neil suggested that system integration between LocateIT and SAP would be the most effective route, as he knew that Clydebuilt had completed similar integration work before.

Working with NOM account managers within Simmonds, Steve Powell and Dave Smith, as well as Jamie Barr from Clydebuilt, Neil’s team helped define requirements with NOM staff. The whole process took 6 weeks from start to finish, and the day the link switched on Simmonds received 250 pallets into the warehouse, and despatched 50 – with no hic-ups. Neil said, ‘I was confident throughout that it would work having confidence in Clydebuilt, and at no point did I worry that it wouldn’t work’, he continued, ‘Clydebuilt’s experience in integration was fantastic. They gave specifications of file formats and helped NOM map out required fields and the data flow.’

Jamie Barr, Managing Director of Clydebuilt Solutions, added, ‘When Simmonds first approached us with the requirement to put together a full EDI integration in a matter of weeks, I was concerned – the timescales were short, and there was no margin for error.’

He continued, ‘I believe the secret to the success of this project was that our development and project staff formed an extremely effective and efficient team with key staff from Simmonds and NOM, the communications were good and any problems were raised and eliminated with minimum of disruption.’

Utilising Clydebuilt’s RF processes with the link, Staff at Simmonds virtually don’t have to touch the computers any more. NOMs system sends an EDI file to Simmonds that automatically creates  pre Advised Goods In, and this in turn triggers the automatic printing of a Goods In check sheet. The operator is also notified of the order via an email. The picking operation is similar, an order comes in electronically, a pick list is automatically printed and issued to the operator.

Steve Powell, NOMS account manager at Simmonds says, ‘It’s faster and easier. For put away it’s virtually impossible to put pallets away in the wrong location. On the pick its fool proof. Errors could only be made if the operators physically overwrite something.’

Some of the success of the project can be attributed to Neil getting complete buy in from his staff first. Before implementing a new solution Neil quite rightly is of the view that he should understand the main principles of how it works. To that end, he researched some information that was historically given to him from Clydebuilt and was trained on the Do’s, Dont’s, In’s and Out’s or bar coding and RF. He communicated his knowledge to his staff who agreed on the benefits and from the start everyone at Simmonds was ready to welcome the change.

As for NOM, they are noticing the massive benefits throughout all of their interactions with Simmonds. The fast flow of information between companies has made massive improvements in processes, by the removal of spreadsheets and manual data entry. NOM has gained extra man hours since the introduction of the system, and the length of time taken to receive a full load has reduced from 3 – 4 hours to 20 – 30 minutes!

Focusing on the future

The whole integration process has changed Simmonds Transports view for the future. The ability to streamline the operations with so many added benefits including the speed of delivery,  and an increase of accuracy, it is obvious to Simmonds that the way forward is to bring more customers on board with the same principles. Since the system went live 3-4 weeks ago potential clients have visited site and Simmonds are now practically winning business without trying due to system expertise.

Summing up the whole integration, Neil concludes, ‘Fantastic. For such an important fast flowing customer as NOM, with their 24/7 production facility, I knew how important it was to get it right.  It’s the best investment made in a long time. It’s the sort of investment that not only saves the company money, but also helps drive the business forward’.