Fastenal Transforms Vending Machine Channel Fulfillment with Oracle Cloud WMS + Intellinum FlexiPro
BACKGROUND
ODL, established as a small woodworking shop in 1945, is now a third-generation family-owned business. The company specializes in manufacturing decorative glass, enclosed blinds, and specialized glass for doors. As a long-time Oracle EBS customer, ODL sought to expand its technological footprint to support growth and scalability. They selected Oracle’s comprehensive Fusion ERP, WMS, and OTM Cloud solutions to achieve this. Intellinum was engaged to assist with the WMS implementation and meet specific customer labeling requirements
CHALLENGE
ODL, a Michigan-based manufacturing company, faces several challenges due to its oversized finished goods (FG) products and unique customer requirements. These challenges included:
- Handling and distributing thousands of component materials.
- A Distribution base spanning greater North America.
- Specialized customer labeling requirements beyond Standard WMS capabilities.
- Automating tasks with standard controls and processes.
- Maintaining granular inventory visibility for planning and fulfillment.
- Addressing scalability concerns to accommodate growing business demands and market changes.
- Replacing offline and disconnected scanning solutions.
OBJECTIVES
Automate directing warehouse labor: Implement standard controls and processes to streamline manufacturing and fulfillment operations.
Improve Reporting: Enhance reporting capabilities in addition to instantaneous inventory transactions to ensure accurate, real-time data for effective, informed decision-making.
Build for Scalability: Design a scalable system to adapt to business growth, market changes, and future 3rd party software.
Upgrade Scanning Solutions: Replace outdated, disconnected scanning systems with integrated, real-time solutions.
SOLUTION
Intellinum assessed and took over the WMS implementation late in the project, which was facing difficulties. Our team redesigned integrations, waving, picking, inventory control, and putaway, All while accommodating Customer-specific labeling requirements. Intellinum FlexiPro Label, a leading enterprise label printing solution integrated with Oracle Fusion, was implemented to calculate SSCC barcodes and provide a comprehensive label printing solution with Oracle Cloud WMS. Lastly, training middle management with facility-specific knowledge is vital to their self-sufficient operation and adaptation.
RESULTS
Despite a late takeover of the project, the full system go-live occurred on schedule, leading to significant improvements in inventory visibility and operational efficiency. The complete end-to-end system change took approximately ten months, and resulted in:
- Automated production schedules
- Improved customer satisfaction with tailor-made products
- Quicker fulfillment for both B2B and B2C
- Real-time Inventory visibility at each physical site.
- Labor reduction in material handling with the removal of guesswork
- Inventory traceability across the organization
- A scalable system for years to come
ODL now benefits from a robust, scalable, and efficient warehouse management system, supporting its continued growth and success.