Efficient shipping logistics is one of the key success factors for suppliers. After all, only punctual and smooth delivery leads to customer satisfaction. A leading supplier of connection technology and C-parts management therefore relies on modular and individually adaptable shipping software for outgoing goods logistics, which takes over all the necessary steps and implements them in the background.
5000 sales items have to be converted in the goods issue per day.
Multicarrier shipping software systems become essential
In order to create the greatest possible flexibility and service in logistics and to expand storage capacity, Ferdinand Gross has installed a multishuttle system that is unique in its form. A total of 120,000 shelf locations and 20,000 panel locations are available. The handling capacity in the warehouse is 1,000 picks per hour. For the shipping logic, this poses a not inconsiderable challenge: 5,000 sales items have to be handled in the outgoing goods department every day – this is inconceivable without time-saving, efficient outgoing goods logistics to enable products to be delivered to customers quickly.
The automation of work processes has proven to be the most effective efficiency booster for faster shipping processes. Ferdinand Gross therefore works with a shipping system that automates and maps all outgoing goods logistics processes. “We have been using the Heidler Strichcode shipping system since 1994/95,” says Christian Lühr, Logistics Manager at Ferdinand Gross. “Automation was already a big issue at the time. Bundling the mass of orders was simply no longer possible without a shipping system.” The installation of the solution thus also coincided with the initial phase of the Baden-Württemberg-based company Heidler Strichcode. At that time, the specialist was already working with DPD to simplify shipping processes for all parties involved – retailers and forwarders – with labels printed by the wholesalers themselves.
Quiet and efficient: operating in the background
Heidler Strichcode is now active throughout Europe as a service provider and supplier of shipping solutions. Its HVS32 solution consists of a basic module as well as extension and carrier modules. It registers the delivery note number of a shipment via barcode scanner, electronically determines the package and prints labels with all carrier-relevant information. In addition, the solution provides a comprehensible display of the shipment data and thus ensures transparency in the processes. The solution provides location information on which carrier is currently where with which package. Likewise, the system presents data on charge and weight statistics, customer statistics, shipping lists, transit times and other various predefined statistics.
The shipping department must react quickly to incoming orders
Today, more than 20 years later, Ferdinand Gross no longer benefits with the shipping system only from automatically printed shipping labels on which all relevant information such as delivery route, carrier, end destination, hub, etc. is automatically recorded. Because the software is customizable, it can also precisely map a company’s own processes, such as route planning. This makes it possible, for example, to use the system across different locations. For the Polish site, the system could be adapted in just a few steps for carriers operating in Poland. “Due to the fact that service is becoming more and more important, it is important to be able to map customer-specific requirements and select the right carrier,” explains Lühr. “For this, the HVS32 supports us considerably by allowing us to store the necessary information in the system. Our employees in order picking are thus no longer faced with the task of having to build up the know-how themselves with detailed knowledge of the customers.” Accordingly, Lühr and other employees at Ferdinand Gross emphasize both the ease of work and the user-friendliness of the shipping system: “It is extremely convenient that our IT does not have any problems with regard to compatibility – data transmission, routing, etc. work automatically.
The system is also characterized above all by continuity, which is also confirmed by the supplier: “The menu navigation has become routine for our customers and has only been changed moderately in recent years,” explains Arndt Fromm, authorized signatory of Heidler Strichcode GmbH. The shipping system is also considered to be tried and tested and reliable, as it works exclusively in the background and does not show any abnormalities or record any failures.
Handling the mass of orders was no longer possible without a suitable shipping system