FLEGGAARD OPTIMIZES WAREHOUSE AND STORES

December 16, 2019

Fleggaard optimizes warehouse and stores

In the central warehouse, mobile printers have been installed on trucks and stackers, and in Fleggaard’s 17 stores there have been delivered PDAs to control all product registration – an upgrade that makes the overall business more competitive and efficient. The mobility releases time for other tasks as well as a greater overview for the individual employee.

In Fleggaard’s 19,000 m2 central warehouse, only 10 km away from the group’s largest store in Harrislee, south of the Danish-German border, they have recently introduced mobile printers mounted on trucks and stackers. The idea is, that the employees can pick and pack the order and then, print and apply the barcode label to the pallet wherever they are. Then, they must leave the pallet for later pickup and shipment. A pallet truck with space for three pallets will periodically pick up the finished pallets around the warehouse and get them shipped.

– The warehouse is very large and a lot of time is spent when employees have to drive from one end of the warehouse to another. Today, employees often pick an order at one end of the warehouse and then, drive the long trip back to the shipment area to print and apply a barcode label. The workflow can be done both better, smarter and more efficiently with the new mobile solution, says Jørgen Jonstrup, Warehouse and Logistics Manager at Fleggaard’s central warehouse.

By mid-2017, Fleggaard and Delfi Technologies, had a dialogue where mobile printers quickly became the essence of a forthcoming efficient mobile solution for the central warehouse.

"At the warehouse, we need perfectly straight processes, skilled and alert employees, as well as equipment that supports the processes - therefore mobile printers"

Jørgen Jonstrup, Warehouse and Logistics Manager at Fleggaard's central warehouse

MASSIVE WORKFLOW REQUIRES ROUGH PROCESSES

Employees had to queue at the shipment area when they had picked and packed an order, in order to print a label for the pallet and then deliver it for shipment. The queue was often long, thereby the shipments and flow in general, were slowed.

– We deliver goods to all 17 border shops 6 days a week, so it’s highly necessary that the massive product flow is mastered in all workflows. At the warehouse, we need perfectly straight processes, skilled and alert employees, as well as equipment that supports the processes – therefore mobile printers. This may sound like a small initiative, but we have an expectation that this action will have a big impact on the efficiency of the goods flow in the future, continues Jørgen Jonstrup.

Here there will be picked, packed and printed, while the vehicles pass each other, either because they are on their way to pick an order or heading for shipping. This latter operation will soon be over. Soon, there will be finished pallets with printed labels in the middle aisles, which will be picked up for delivery at regular intervals.

– The mobile printers will surely provide a better flow in our workflow and it will be felt in the numbers and speed, compared to how much we can deliver and how quickly. The investment in mobile printers is minimal, versus the gain we anticipate and already experience, says Jørgen as he looks beyond the 19,000 m2 central warehouse.

PDAS TO ALL STORES

Because Fleggaards old handheld terminals needed to be renewed, the management looked after some new updated models. The requirements were, among other things, that the new handheld terminal / PDA should have a big screen that could give the user a better overview. It should have a long life battery and of course, it should be robust. Per Sørensen, Chief Operating Officer of the Calle and Fleggaard chains, was at the forefront of the purchase and research in order to find the right PDA for the task.

– After searching the market, I was left with three relevant PDAs. However, I chose the PM80 from Delfi Technologies because it met all the required features optimally, and it was competitive in purchasing. In Delfis PM80 we have a big screen, long life battery, which means greater efficiency and it is robust – which is necessary when working in our environment, says Per Sørensen, that has purchased 116 pieces of PM80s for Fleggaard and Calle stores.

The staff uses the PM80 for all product registration. By scanning the item’s barcode, they can order, re-order and place orders and more. According to Per Sørensen, the staff is excited about their new work tool, which is being used frequently.

– With the massive product flow we have through every single day, it’s important that we have the right tool that can make the processes smooth and efficient. The staff must have something to help them in their work tasks and that is easy to manage, and the PM80 fulfills that – emphasizes Per Sørensen, showing how the PM80 easily scans the barcode on an Easter egg from the Easter eve exhibition.