Millano conquering new markets
Millano is one of the largest manufacturers of chocolate products in Poland, their leading brand being Baron Excellent. Since the opening of the plant a significant role was the export of goods, particularly in the Eastern market. Currently, recipients of the products from Millano are contractors from the whole world. The development on new markets would not be possible without the effective support of logistic processes.
Millano consists of two plants, production and shipping, which operate as two separates units. Within a single database, the company keeps stocks of the two plants. Implementation of the system has allowed this single physical database to holds stocks belonging to different organizational units.
Smooth warehouse operations
The process of handling the warehouse focuses on the processing of orders from customers.The aim of the project was to create a system focused on efficient management of order processing. This was achieved by proper management of warehouse space, warehouse work and organisation of book inventories under orders integrated with WMS.
The fundamental organisational solution was to split the warehouse into functional areas – a zone of full pallets, completing and shipments zone and raw material zone. The WMS system allows efficient organisation of work of each of these areas. The warehouse is equipped with a WiFi network and mobile terminals integrated with the system.
In the project a mechanism called “wave planning” has been applied, which allows the grouping of warehouse orders, and therefore better visualisation and control when executing the orders. Packages of work are created for the warehouse, which are gradually released. At the time of receiving orders from the customer, logistic employees plan the process of shipping to the customer, checking the availability and supply of the stock. If this is sufficient, a work package is created (wave planning), which is a specific purchase order. This is then implemented at the warehouse, where is assigned to a member of staff to be completed. If the goods are to be shipped on pallets , the order is routed from the zone of full pallets to the dispatch area. If the customer expects the delivery in boxes, the system directs the employee to the picking zone. After preparing the order, the cartons are sent to the shipping zone where appropriate documents are prepared (release, shipment).
In accordance with the needs of business
With the introduction of the system the fully automated warehouse operation was achieved. The management gained transparency about the location of the goods and particular shipments. The warehouse is organized in the model of the First In First Out (FIFO), meaning the first products are issued in accordance with the shelf life. If the customer wishes the product newer than the date specified by the system, then it is assigned a commodity that meets its conditions.
– The management of company can truck the status of the shipment to the customer, checking the area in which the goods are located and when the lorry with the order will be sent. In the case of parallel running of several orders at the same time, the company’s management can monitor on a single screen the work of employees and control the entire process. – added Arkadiusz Dankowski, DSR consultant, responsible for the project implementation of QAD Warehousing.
… and industry standards
The system works closely with the quality department. In the case of a certain batch being put on hold the system automatically eliminates the ability to ship these goods. In this way the manufacturer can be sure that the faulty batch never goes on the market.
– With the QAD Warehousing, Millano gained much more control and transparency of the store. The company’s management decided to delegate the warehouse to the Solid-Logistic company. The implementation of WMS system has allowed to realise this goal. Without the system operation of the outsourcing model would not be possible – added Paweł Bacik.
The Solid Logistic Company is a logistic operator with their offices in Poland, Germany, China and Taiwan. They have modern logistic centres in Gdansk, Poznan and Warszawa. The scope of business includes the organisation of complex logistic services, among others, based on: maritime transport, air transport, domestic distribution, warehousing services and advice in the field of logistic services.
– Millano entrusted us to care for the store which supports two plants manufacturing and shipping. We act as one of the outsourcing partners of Millano, responsible for effective implementation of the warehouse management. The efficiency and experience of the employees of Solid Logistic during the implementation of the WMS enabled the effective implementation of inventory management, which in turn resulted in lower costs eliminate errors and speed up the process of handling by warehouse worker. Industry experience of the DSR consultants turned out to be invaluable to this project – says Jarosław Dłużak, Head of Logistic at Solid-Logistics, which is responsible for the Millano’s storage.
The system provides management with a full insight into the external partner, thanks to a variety of system metrics. With data being visible on the number of transfers between storage locations, the company has accurate information about the scale of settlements financial recompense. The management of company also uses the capabilities of QAD’s Reporting Framework, a convenient reporting system for the creation of visual analysis. .
The company’s plans envisage the extension of the system to support internal logistic processes, thus automating the process of shifting inventory within the company. It will cover the area of procurement of materials for production.
– Millano is a rapidly growing company that has for years requires the highest standards in the field of applied solution. In a recent project the implementation of a management system for high-storage warehouse a common challenge was to combine the requirements of the food industry, the specific of the business processes of Millano with an effective WMS solution. The completed project has been positively assessed by the Client. Currently, we launched a new project to optimise the production area with the implementation of an advanced system of scheduling APS Preactor. –says Kinga Frączyk, Account Manager In DSR, responsible for the food sector.
The list of obtained benefits:
- Warehouse management implemented in an outsourcing model with full control of the external firm’s work.
- Full control and transparency of warehouse processes.
- Acceleration of warehouse operations by automating warehousing tasks.
- Increasing the efficiency of the warehouse, thanks to the organisation of work by stock.
- Elimination of errors in inventory .
- Providing smooth integration with the quality department.
- The ability of monitoring the status of orders.
- Convenient and transparent reporting.
- Service across one physical store of two organisation units.
