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Effects of smart warehouse management systems on industries and businesses

Effects of smart warehouse management systems on industries and businesses
In this article, by examining real case studies, we intend to examine the impact of smart warehouse management systems on different businesses and how to implement these smart devices and the positive events after their implementation for those businesses.

Smart warehouse management systems in the medical equipment industry
Introduction to Intersurgical Company
With more than 30 years of experience, Intersurgical is a multinational company that manufactures and distributes four million respiratory care products to medical and hospital departments each week, as well as solutions for use in anesthesia, intensive care, and treatment. Provides oxygen and aerosol. The company’s products are distributed directly by subsidiaries as well as by specialized distributors.

Wokingham (50 km from London) is the headquarters of Intersurgical in the UK and a warehouse for storage and shipping to the UK market. In recent years, management has become more complex due to the increase in the number of SKUs, new market challenges and the expansion of international trade.

Where did the story begin?
Following the outbreak of the Coronavirus, orders for companies specializing in the production of medical equipment increased significantly. Meanwhile, Intersurgical, which specializes in the production of medical equipment for respiratory care, also faced a large volume of orders.

The increasing trend of orders led the company to equip its most important part, its warehouse, with the most modern software. Intersurgical then decided to equip its warehouse with an easy warehouse management systems (WMS).

Warehouse management Systems
To prevent interference and reduce errors, the company has divided its warehouse into areas where different operations are performed. This big change was made with the installation of WMS (Warehouse management Systems).

This software provides more precise control over the goods, because it knows the exact location and status of more than 3000 SKU of the existing product (having accurate information about the stock of products is very important in the field of medical products).

Using this solution, Intersurgical has been able to cope well with the large number of orders due to Corona.

Warehouse management systems process
Easy Warehouse management systems (WMS) are integrated with EFACS ERP system in Intersurgical. Both systems communicate through a database, SQL Server, and exchange data and information on how to perform various operations more efficiently. As a result, logistics operations are simplified by preparing a maximum of 500 orders per day.

Intersurgical’s facilities in Wokingham are divided into specific areas that have different operations but are fully interconnected:

Receipt and storage: Products from British and European manufacturers and suppliers arrive here. This area also houses stored products from the picking area.

Preparing orders: This place is dedicated to the picking stage and all the items of this operation are collected here and then sent.

To avoid interference that could lead to errors, operators can only operate in their own area. An intermediate zone is created for the exchange of goods (for example, the transfer of stored products needed to place an order) and is always controlled under the supervision of an easy warehouse management system.

How has Intersurgical increased productivity?
WMS not only controls all processes, but also optimizes them. This software always monitors operators and tells them how to do their job effectively. As such, Intersurgical is ready to face any challenge such as increasing the number of orders.

Intersurgical relies on the tireless efforts of its team, organizing resources in installation and digitization to provide the best service and product delivery in the shortest possible time, and this process is optimized with an efficient warehouse management systems to efficient warehouse operations, including receiving and storing goods. .

Receiving and storing goods
Every day, Intersurgical installation receives an average of 175 pallets with different products from different locations, which include raw materials from suppliers, customer references, and end products. The finished goods are shipped from a manufacturing facility in Wokingham or from Intersurgical manufacturing centers in Europe, Guernsey (UK) and Lithuania.

This installation is based on the Advanced Shipping Announcement (ASN). This means that the EFACS ERP system notifies the WMS system in advance of what is to be received. The WMS then generates and prints labels that workers affix to each product during the relevant inspections.

Once identified, warehouse management system assigns them one of 5,927 locations in the warehouse. To do this, the type of product, its level of demand and whether or not it is needed to place orders are examined. Thus, for example, items with higher turnover and higher demand levels are deposited in accessible locations.

Picking operation
This is the main operation that is done. Every day, workers complete and ship up to 50,000 bulk orders. An easy warehouse management systems helps simplify operations.

On the one hand, WMS simplifies the work of employees and tells them where to find the equipment they need and how many to choose from, and creates a route during installation that helps operators travel the minimum distance.

On the other hand, it distributes goods based on their level of demand. Therefore, a product can be accessed whenever it is needed. To pick, the workers remove the boxes directly from the pallets on the lower levels of the shelves. warehouse management system ensures that the required products are available at these locations. To do this, it organizes the filling of pallets ahead of time.

Refilling pallets can be done in two ways: by placing the storage pallet – first on the top shelf level – at the required location or by moving the relevant pallets from the storage area to the harvesting area.

Send operation
ERP notifies Easy warehouse management system of destination articles. Typically, 120 pallets are shipped daily to the company’s customers in the UK. There are also orders for other Intersurgical locations mainly in Lithuania, France and Germany (400 pallets per week).

When the consignment contains items that are stored at the point of receipt and storage, the operators extract them from their place and unload them in the middle area. Subsequently, the worker stationed in the dispatch area picks them up and takes them to the appropriate pier.

“All these movements and the transfer of pallets from one warehouse area to another are monitored by the warehouse management system system,” says the Intersurgical CEO. “Therefore, the system knows exactly where all the products are at any given time, thus preventing errors from occurring.”

Precise control of goods
Intersurgical has improved its installation processes in the UK to keep pace with its growth. Digitization and automated resource management using warehouse management systems allow for precise control of goods and reduce potential errors.

Organizing a warehouse has proven to be a very effective way to monitor goods in real time. It also facilitates and accelerates the work of operators.

The increase in work caused by the Coronavirus pandemic has confirmed that the use of these soft wares is a way forward. When the corona virus is over, thanks to the WMS system, Intersurgical installation will continue to be modern and efficient. This system will help further in the future with automation and expansion.

Intersurgical CEO:
We installed a warehouse management systems to easily meet the new needs of demand and market changes. warehouse management systems allow us to record inventory in real time. Given that we sell medical equipment; it is important that the goods are stored in special conditions to ensure their quality. With such precise inventory control, we can avoid mistakes and ensure that all standards are met.

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