Case Studies on the Effectiveness of WarehouseVisionTM

Slotting Solutions for an Industrial Supply Distributor

A leading industrial supply distributor uses WarehouseVisionTM to slot more than 100 of their branches around the US. The size of these branches ranges from 5,000 sq. ft. to 56,000 sq. ft., and they contain as many as 50,000 SKUs. The implementation of their slotting strategy is managed by a centralized branch services group.

The branch services group uses WarehouseVisionTM to process a given branch’s warehouse inventory file. The software then calculates the placement of the SKUs into proper locations to minimize the space required and to maximize the productivity of the branch warehouse operations. WarehouseVisionTM is able to process as many sites as needed from one copy of the software.

After conducting this process, the branch services group can also utilize WarehouseVisionTM to create a Bill of Materials for required racking. This automated feature saves considerable time in the procurement process for the racking and ensures the correct purchases for the ultimate implementation of the optimized branch storage configurations and product placement.

WarehouseVisionTM is used not only to slot and optimize new branches but also to allocate SKUs and improve retrofits within existing branches. In some cases, the slotting of existing branches includes new racking for a fully optimized environment. In other cases, productivity is optimized by utilizing existing racking, thus minimizing capital expenditures while still gaining efficiency.

The optimization of branches has led to as much as a 50% reduction in capacity utilization. In one case, a branch operating with products in the aisles and in exterior branch storage facilities was reduced to about 65% capacity utilization and optimized for productivity.

Preferred by a Large Hardware Co-Op

One of the largest hardware cooperatives has standardized using Warehouse Vision as the solution to meet their distribution center slotting goals. Their network of 12 distribution centers ranges from 200,000 sq. ft. to more than 1 million sq. ft. On the other hand, their SKU populations range from about 45,000 SKUs to 65,000 SKUs within the various distribution centers. Their SKUs vary in size and shape. They handle a wide range of items including the following:
  • Nuts and Bolts
  • Snow Blowers
  • Hot Water Heaters
  • Large/Heavy Items

Because of the large range of sizes when it comes to their facilities, distribution centers face challenges that vary considerably. In smaller centers, there is insufficient space for storing all the required products. WarehouseVisionTM maximizes capacity and assists in bringing products into these distribution centers from offsite storage facilities.

For larger distribution centers, space is less of an issue. However, productivity is a bigger concern. By using WarehouseVisionTM, you can optimize product placement with a primary emphasis on various productivity issues.

You can also use WarehouseVisionTM to address safety issues on a concurrent basis. Best of all, you can configure WarehouseVisionTM to prioritize certain concerns. Because of easy user-defined parameters, WarehouseVisionTM can handle virtually any warehouse environment.

Slotting for Entire Industrial Supply DC Network

An industry-leading supply distributor has implemented the use of WarehouseVisionTM in all of their distribution centers. Their nationwide network of distribution centers ranges from 400,000 sq. ft. to more than 1 million sq. ft. with more than 250,000 SKUs in their universe. Their SKUs vary from tiny parts to very large products of all shapes.

In addition to significant capacity improvements, productivity was improved by approximately 20% over the previous slotting completed using software other than WarehouseVisionTM. The implementation of their initial slotting requirements for all the distribution centers was completed by a group in their logistics department at the corporate level by utilizing the WV Planner module.

The WV Auditor module is implemented locally within their distribution centers to properly maintain them. In turn, the client was able to keep their distribution centers optimized on an ongoing basis. As quantities and activities for items change, WV Auditor assists the users to identify item moves that would enhance and continue to optimize productivity and capacity.

New items are also entered into WarehouseVisionTM on a daily basis. When items that do not currently have an assigned location within a distribution center are received, they run the unassigned SKU through WarehouseVisionTM to find the most appropriate open spot in the distribution center.

WarehouseVisionTM interfaces with both their legacy WMS system and their future ERP implementation. Prior to implementing WarehouseVisionTM, this customer conducted slotting with both internally developed software as well as other commercially available applications. WarehouseVisionTM has enhanced capabilities, which led this client to choose it as the standard slotting software in their distribution network.