Modular software for shipping logistics at publishing houses. Companies must continually optimize their processes. That’s why a globally active publishing house delivery company relies on a modular and customizable shipping system that automates all the necessary steps in outbound logistics: from picking the goods and shipping them via various carriers to checking the shipping completions.
Brockhaus Kommissionsgeschäft, based in Kornwestheim near Stuttgart, is an internationally active publisher-delivery company and is one of the premium suppliers in the German-speaking countries. Around 120 employees of the independent family business, founded in 1827, ensure that the approximately 640,000 deliveries per year, mainly books, CDs and DVDs, reliably reach owner-operated bookstores, chain stores, Internet retailers, general sales outlets and private customers.
In order to cope with 45,000 pallet spaces, 120,000 deliverable products and around 640,000 deliveries a year, Brockhaus, the publisher’s delivery service, needs suitable IT solutions. The management of internal processes, such as outgoing goods logistics, plays a major role. The expanding family business therefore uses modular shipping software that integrates outbound logistics processes automatically
into the existing conveyor system
The Heidler Strichcode shipping system (HVS32) has already been in use for many years for this purpose. “I knew the system from my previous job. Advantages of the software in terms of the possibility of integrating various carrier modules as well as the simplified operability were ultimately also of interest to Brockhaus,” reports Joachim Bachmann, who as managing director of Brockhaus Kommissionsgeschäft is responsible for IT, organization and logistics. “Until 2006, a shipping system with rudimentary functions was in use. When creating the daily shipping lists, this still required a large amount of manual work. In the course of a growth spurt, a new, more powerful shipping system was finally needed.”
Although well-known, the solution from Heidler Strichcode, had to face a conventional selection process. “We put our shipping system out to bid, including weighing systems, scanners and printers,” says Bachmann. “The new system had to be able to integrate with the existing conveyor system.”
The HVS32 consists of a base module, as well as expansion and carrier modules. The tool determines the consignee-related data by scanning the delivery note number and prints the labels with the carrier-relevant information after automatic weighing. In addition, the tool increases presentability and transparency:
Data on charge and weight statistics, customer statistics, shipping lists, transit times and other predefined statistics can be retrieved in just a few clicks.
Shipment handling in the automated process.
Application-specific modules integrated
Since the implementation of HVS32 with the carrier modules for DPD, DHL, Deutsche Post, Dachser, Wackler, Schenker as well as special forwarders specified by Brockhaus customers, the former manual, time-consuming and error-prone creation of shipping lists is a thing of the past. The shipping data is transferred electronically to the respective forwarding agent. Via the publisher’s ERP system, the HVS not only receives the customer’s address and the theoretical weight of the shipment for weight reconciliation in order to detect differences in the number of pieces, but also the customer’s e-mail address. The customer is automatically informed that his shipment is on its way. In addition, the customer receives a pre-notification from the parcel service for delivery, when he can expect the arrival of the ordered goods. The system maps the logistical processes that have to be mastered at Brockhaus, including the book cart service. This means that overnight shipments from this industry-specific delivery service also remain transparently traceable.
“We can now also process our pallet preparation in an optimized way with HVS,” says Bachmann. “We as users can create pallet containers in HVS and define which customer order is to be placed in which container.” Since the requirements of pallet customers are complex, the shipping supplier must be able to respond to instructions at any time in the packing process and in the shipping and loading process that starts afterwards. Therefore, the user can intervene manually at this point at any time, and the creation of the shipping label and other documents takes place only after the pallet has been weighed. Various data, for example the weight, come from upstream systems, such as the merchandise management system, and are automatically printed on the label.
Customized solutions for the shipping provider
When implementing solutions, Heidler Strichcode attaches great importance to meeting customer requirements with a precise fit. Brockhaus, for example, received a quick-processing mask with trolley connection to retrieve labels with the appropriate weight classification. The label is generated on the basis of a scan. A weight comparison with the data from the previous system serves as a security check. If the weight falls below or exceeds the tolerance limits of the target weight, the label printing process is aborted and the package is sent for inspection. The customized shipping system solution also takes account of the steadily growing importance of e-commerce and the dispatch of very small consignments. The packages are assigned directly to the individual carrier containers via stitches, so-called roller conveyors.