Success Story: NCD

CHALLENGE

National Convenience Distributors (NCD) is a full-line convenience store distributor in the northeastern US that services 20,000 stores daily. NCD needed a scalable mobile application to support hundreds of users with high volumes of material movements and next-day fulfillment. Other challenges included;

• Data automation in many warehouse transactions to support their high-velocity needs
• Additional SKU derivation logic for certain products
• Support high-speed label generation and printing.

Other operational challenges in their warehouse:

• Missing Cubed Picking Sequence: The labels lacked the cubed picking sequence, complicating the picking process.
• Manual and Outdated Processes: The processes were largely manual and inefficient, leading to numerous limitations and issues.
• No Loading List Screen: There was no screen to view the loading list for trucks and coolers.
• No Picklist Screen: Users could not view the picklist while picking orders.
• Inventory Conversion Screen: There was no screen to convert physical inventory units to cases.
• Stamped vs. Unstamped Items: Based on UPC codes and location-specific context, it was not possible to distinguish stamped items from unstamped ones.
• Custom Picking Screen: There was no screen to display the list of items required for custom-picking tasks.
• LPN Reporting Function: There was no function to inform users about the number of LPNs for a particular customer to aid in building pallets for custom loading.

OBJECTIVES

The Key Objective is to provide a user-friendly and easily adaptable mobile RF application that can handle the high volumes and velocity required to support NCD operations.

• Easy to Use
• Automate data and reduce data entry

SOLUTION

To address these challenges, NCD implemented Intellinum FlexiPro, which streamlined and automated their warehouse processes. The key solutions included:

• Custom Screens: Mobile screens were created to print additional labels per user requirements and convert physical inventory units to cases.
• Print Extra Picking Labels: If users needed more LPN labels, they could print additional LPN labels, including those based on the cubed picking sequence.
  
• Reprint Labels: Users could reprint labels based on the order number or wave number to replace unusable or incorrectly printed labels.
  
• Custom Labels: Custom labels were created for frozen and refrigerated items, indicating how many LPNs/boxes were inside the cooler.
  
• Automatic Printing: After a wave is run, the system calculates the number of LPNs needed for a task and automatically prints the labels. Users then affix these labels to the LPNs for both picking and loading.
  
• Task Drop: A task-drop location field was added on the screen to close each task upon completion.
• Picklist Functionality: The functionality was integrated into the RF system to enhance order picking.
  
• Location-Specific Context: Using UPC codes based on location-specific context, the system can now identify stamped items from unstamped items.

RESULTS

Implementing Oracle Cloud WMS and Intellinum FlexiPro remarkably improved NCD’s warehouse operations. FlexiPro addressed the key challenges and significantly enhanced operational efficiency, accuracy, and productivity.

•  Identification of Stamped Items: The system’s ability to identify stamped items from unstamped ones using UPC codes based on location-specific context significantly improved inventory management accuracy.
• Increased Efficiency: Implementing FlexiPro increased the efficiency of the whole warehouse process.
  
• Meeting Business User Expectations: FlexiPro performed all business user expectations by providing visibility of required information to execute transactions.
  
• User-Friendly Interface: The user-friendly screens resulted in ease of user adoption, enhancing overall productivity.
  
• High Adoption Rate: Users now perform around 95% of transactions via Flexi Client, indicating high user adoption.
  
• Enterprise Printing Functionality: With the help of FlexiPro Label functionality, printing labels in different formats and designs streamlined business operations.
  
• Efficient Transactions: Business users now perform transactions efficiently, indicating improved operational effectiveness.

By leveraging Oracle Cloud WMS and Intellinum FlexiPro, NCD significantly improved operational efficiency, accuracy, and overall productivity. The new system automated and streamlined processes, providing users with the tools and screens to manage tasks effectively. This transformation led to better resource utilization and enhanced customer satisfaction.