Case Study
“A huge benefit for us is the flexibility PreBilt offers of being able to use both voice and scanning simultaneously for the same picking process.”
Les Tyrell, SAP Business Analyst at EP Group.
EP Group has engaged users, increased stock accuracy and availability and increased warehouse efficiency by transforming manual, time-consuming paper processes into efficient mobile operations with an intuitive voice and scanning solution.
As a supplier of packaging products to global businesses from its manufacturing, warehousing and distribution hub in the Midlands, UK, an efficient warehouse operation is integral for EP Group to maintain a smooth-running supply chain. With 65,000 pallet locations at its 350,000sq ft warehouse facility, effective warehouse management is key to delivering an agile and flexible service to customers.
Operating SAP Warehouse Management (WM) on ECC, its previous paper-based processes caused many challenges for the operation, as Les Tyrell, SAP Business Analyst, at EP Group explains.
“The main issue we had was a lack of visibility and traceability of activities in the warehouse. Using paper pick lists and handwriting goods in activities, then handing paperwork to administration teams at the end of a shift to input into SAP, was causing inaccurate stock and location data. The nature of manual processing is prone to human error, with incorrect stock quantities and locations being written down, as well as paper going missing, all contributing to the inaccuracies, while the delay in information being updated in SAP was causing a lag in stock showing as available in the system, which affected customer ordering.”
“Using paper pick lists also meant we had no way of tracking productive pick time over a shift, as there was no visibility of the time taken to complete picks. Our main objective with a new mobile solution was to provide real-time updates in SAP, so the system accurately reflected the activities in the warehouse.”
PreBilt™ was initially deployed on handheld scanners for end-to-end processes within the finished goods warehouse, including goods receipt, putaway, stock movements, picking and outbound. The benefits were immediate, with the intuitive UI seeing each picker double the number of pick visits per shift in just two months, while stock was also updated in SAP at the point it was unloaded off the vehicle for accurate inventory.
Supplying major global retailers such as M&S, Amazon, Walmart, Costco and Tesco, it is vital that orders reach the customer when expected, to not only deliver on customer expectations, but also avoid penalties and fines due to late deliveries. This makes picking the most critical part of the EP Group operation and so the business looked for ways to increase efficiency even further, transitioning from a scanning input to a voice input for picking.
Pick quantities and location are communicated to pickers through the headset, with users confirming with voice commands once the pick is complete then PreBilt updates SAP in real-time. The efficiency gains were significant for EP Group, with pick rates increasing by another third, seeing pick visits triple since making the move from paper pick lists.
“A huge benefit for us is the flexibility PreBilt offers of being able to use both voice and scanning simultaneously for the same picking process”, continues Les, “We use a lot of temporary operators during peak periods, such as Christmas, when picking demand rises significantly so they pick by scan, with our permanent workforce continuing to pick by voice, with both input modes providing the same data to PreBilt to update SAP.”
“The benefits of voice have been huge for us in picking, but we recognise it would not be as efficient in other areas of the business, where scanning is the preferred choice, so for us it is about using the right mode for the right process to gain maximum efficiencies.”
The intuitive nature of PreBilt, whether the input is voice or scanning, means that the time taken for training and onboarding users has been cut by half, not only meaning operators are up to speed and productive quicker, but the reduction in training resources also increases productivity in other areas of the business.
It is not only operator productivity that has increased, but engagement and motivation has improved as their life is not only easier through a more intuitive UI, but they can clearly see how they are performing against targets, as Les explains.
“We now take the live data from SAP and display it on large dashboards in the warehouse, so operators can all see how they are performing each shift. The number of completed picks is displayed so they can see their current status at any given time, motivating them to ensure they finish their target for the day.”
The efficiency and productivity gains have been possible due to real-time information in SAP, as Les concludes.
“PreBilt has completely transformed our warehouse, with the biggest win for us the real-time data in SAP. Using PreBilt, updates are visible in SAP at the time it is being transacted, so we can continually monitor our warehouse performance with live information. This enables our warehouse managers to increase or decrease resource in certain areas depending on the performance against the daily targets.
“It also ensures effective resource planning, as we can clearly see the average pick times, and knowing how many orders we need to get out each day, we can ensure we allocate the right resource in advance to hit the volume needed.”
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