Irish Cold Stores (ICS), part of the Loadwise Group of logistics companies based in Ireland has recently installed a state-of-the-art warehouse management system from Dublin software house Sirona Technologies Limited.

Unlike traditional warehousing systems, this new Sirona designed solution incorporates the very latest radio frequency (RF) wireless data capture and communications terminals within the comprehensive SIRONA distribution system which itself is interfaced to the 'best of breed' Sage accounting system.

ICS's parent Loadwise is a logistics service provider focused on supplying warehousing, distribution and supply chain management services to manufacturers, retailers and distributors of frozen, chilled & ambient food and drink products throughout Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe.

As one of the fastest growing warehousing companies in Ireland the ICS management team recognised that they could not meet their ambitious business targets if they continued with their existing system.

As Jason Mallon the firm's general manager said, "Before we decided on Sirona Technologies as our 'partner' in this new venture, we looked at all the major software and hardware suppliers. We recognised that we were entering into somewhat uncharted waters, therefore it was critical that our IT partner had a proven track record in the warehouse and distribution market, as well as a reputation for excellent customer service. We also recognised that it was important to deal with the authors of the software as we wished to retain our existing Sage accounting system and would therefore require an appropriate interface to it."

In the months prior to the installation of the SIRONA solution, ICS was struggling to process all its inventory. However, according to Mr Mallon, the company is now "…coasting along on significantly more throughput. We are now set fair to increase our business without needing to increase staffing levels by a similar proportion, thereby increasing our profitability."

After many months of careful planning and market research the solution chosen.

AS already stated, one of the many reasons why ICS chose SIRONA was the fact that they could integrate their distribution software into ICS's existing best of breed accounting system Sage.
In addition Sirona also offered a state of the art warehouse management module capable of being adapted to provide ICS with a Directed Radio Frequency (DRF) system. As Mr Mallon said, "Apart from having some very sound supply chain software and excellent reference sites, Sirona Technologies also offered to develop new DRF software and incorporate it as an additional module within their overall integrated distribution system. They also offered ICS the ability to use state of the art DRF hardware through their association with one of the market leaders in this field, Teklogix. However, of all the reasons why we chose Sirona Technologies I must admit that the opportunity to deal directly with the author of the software rather than with a third party was hugely attractive. Plus nothing was ever too much trouble, their attitude throughout the project was excellent."

The SIRONA DRF system can incorporate portable and forklift truck mounted Teklogix bar code scanning data terminals that communicate with the central computer via wireless radio frequency (RF) links within the warehouse. Therefore not only do the terminals capture information for transmission to the central server, they also receive information that then directs the operatives next task. The use of DRF means that all the warehouse operations, from 'putting' to 'picking' are conducted in real-time under the total control of the warehouse management software.

Once ICS had decided that the Sirona Technologies was the ideal 'engine' around which to develop the 'ideal system', they began discussing how best to include a state-of-the-art DRF system within the warehouse. The result was that Sirona Technologies decided to incorporate the development of the various software interfaces and links to the Teklogics RF terminals into the SIRONA standard product.

When asked to comment upon the implementation process, Mr Mallon commented; "When you are considering the implementation of such a radically different system like DRF, you have to anticipate some element of adverse staff reaction and plan accordingly.

"We invested a significant amount of time and money planning the DRF implementation process. We were convinced that the more time we took in the planning stage, the greater degree of success we'd achieve in the shortest possible time scale and I'm pleased to say that we were one hundred percent correct.

"In conclusion, Sirona Technologies provided excellent training, which met our requirements precisely and when coupled with our own strategic approach to the implementation process, proved to be a great success."

Business Benefits
When asked to list the principal benefits of the new system, Mr Mallon commented, "We have experienced many benefits to our business, both from the DRF warehousing software and the other SIRONA software modules.

"Firstly we wanted a system that we could add to and develop without incurring massive additional costs and that's what we've obtained from the SIRONA system. As far as the hardware is concerned, we've found the terminals to be robust and reliable and the company provided excellent step by step training. And from a software perspective, Sirona Technologies has been both helpful and truly professional in all their dealings with us.

"One of the many benefits we have obtained from this new system is the fact that as the stock control databases are updated automatically, we have been able to improve the efficiency of our staff enormously through the implementation of 'Dual Cycling'. This is achieved by the system knowing where in the warehouse each operative is at any moment, knowing where each stock item is and hence optimising the movement of both stock and people. For example, when a truck travels to location X with a pallet load of product, the system instructs him to pick up his next pallet from a location physically close to position X. The objective being to minimise the time the trucks move around the warehouse empty.

" Everyone within the firm has seen the benefit of the new system. From a purely financial management point of view, once a pallet or case has been scanned an invoice is immediately raised and sent to the customer, something that we simply couldn't do with the old paper system. You can imagine the impact this one single improvement has had on our cash flow. Nothing is now ever missed, every single thing that moves in the warehouse is tracked by the system and when bills need to be produced they are produced automatically without fail. In addition to these very practical and important business benefits, the new SIRONA system has helped us to incorporate more structure and hence discipline into our organisation, something that is an essential element of any growing business."

Another significant business benefit noted by other users of Directed Warehouse Management systems involves stock integrity. For example some users have recorded stock variances of only 0.03% a level of accuracy that is simply fantastic. Traditionally anything below 2% has been viewed as an acceptable result. The reasons for this massive improvement in stock control are principally the DRF software, the investment in staff development and the improvement in the company's business process controls through the implementation of a more structured and efficient system.

The Future
ICS intend to invest in additional warehouse capacity, both in Ireland and overseas, which will mean that they will undoubtedly be implementing additional SIRONA distribution systems in these new depots.

Jason Mallon concluded, "The next step in the development of the system is its implementation in our other Dublin warehouse and then 'tying' of these two operations together within the one SIRONA system. Although this development will provide an almost ideal warehouse management solution, we are confident that when we want to implement it, Sirona we will be able to do so, quickly and efficiently.

"We're also confident that in the future we'll be installing a full Sirona E-Business supply chain solution, within both our Irish ICS facilities as well as in all new depots, irrespective of where they are."