Peak has developed an advanced, comprehensive WMS that consolidates fulfillment of orders for online customers and Shoe Zone’s stores. With the use of wearable computers and scanners from Zebra to collect data, the system enables goods to be tracked from the moment they arrive at goods-in to storage, picking, palletization and shipment providing real-time visibility over stock levels. During daily pick cycles, teams are provided, via their mobile computer, with a list of goods to pick, where they’re located and the quantity required. The system also coordinates stocktaking. It manages the return of goods from stores and the redistribution of these to sites that are likely to sell them faster.

LISTENING, LEARNING AND DELIVERING

The decision to work with Peak was based on several factors. Humphries mentioned, “The Peak team listened closely to our requirements and clearly understood our business objectives, recommending the development of an advanced WMS tailored to our exact requirements. This really appealed to us because many of the options we reviewed were inflexible and required us to shoehorn our requirements into vendors’ products. Peak also responded quickly to any requests to amend the system. And with its experience across hardware, application development, and integration – the core elements of this deployment – we gave the team the green light to build a WMS that consolidates fulfillment of direct online orders from customers and the stock requirements of stores.”

COMPLETE SYSTEM

With the hardware, Peak advised Shoe Zone to equip staff with Zebra’s wearable computers and ring scanners, as Stephen Godman, Sales Director, Peak, explains:

“The devices must address three simple expectations. First, the scanner must be accurate and fast to use. Second, it has to be comfortable to wear and allow users to work efficiently with their hands free. Third, it should provide rugged, reliable operation. In our view, Zebra devices best deliver against these demands.”

APPLICATIONS

The devices that use the standard Windows CE operating system are empowered by a range of applications written using Peak’s robust Meteor platform. Meteor is designed to manage large volumes of simultaneous transactions and provide robust, continuous performance. The applications interface with Shoe Zone’s ERP system (using standard text and CSV files) and support a wide range of activities. Core tasks include order fulfillment for online customers, tracking

FULFILLMENT OF ONLINE ORDERS

Typically, in warehouse operations, online order management and store replenishment are overseen by two different systems. This increases operating costs by replicating deployment and maintenance – Peak’s WMS reduces mistakes by managing orders for both online customers and stores. Online orders are integrated into pick cycles with teams taking the goods to a post-picking area. Here the order manifest is scanned and the Zebra printers provide the shipping label, invoice and return label to be packed with the product. The order is passed to a separate team that sends the goods on to the customer. “It makes life much easier to consolidate on and offline requirements in the one WMS, and ensures we have complete and accurate real-time visibility

GOODS TRACKING AND TRACING

Goods are tracked and traced across warehouse processes from goods-in to storage, picking, packing, palletization and finally distribution. Goods are scanned when they are picked, with the Peak WMS automatically updated for accurate replenishment planning. It also identifies when teams should be diverted to complete a pressing order flagged by the WMS. For instance, Shoe Zone has stores in Ireland and vehicles for these outlets need to be ready to leave at a certain time to make the ferry.

PICKING SUPPORT

With the picking, manifests are sent to users’ wearable computers each day with clear instructions of the quantity of goods to pick and where to find them. When a shipment box is full, the team member prints a label using their mobile Zebra printer with the store name, store code and the order details, using the label to seal the box. “One of the great assets of the system is its efficiency. The hardware ensures teams work with their hands free and receive highly accurate orders and instructions,” says Humphries.

STOCKTAKING

As well as supporting tracking and tracing of goods, the scanners are used to efficiently complete Shoe Zone’s major annual stocktake – adding further productivity gains to the system’s business advantages.