Extensive automation helps Locinox to deliver within 24 hours

Extensive automation helps Locinox to
deliver within 24 hours
Locinox, a supplier of fence components, has taken the strategic decision to carry
out extensive automation. So the firm turned to Ad Ultima Group to automate its key
business processes, using Microsoft Dynamics AX. Locinox can now pinpoint precisely
how many units of each product are on stock and where they are located.
By integrating a digital product catalogue and e-commerce software, Locinox customers
can now easily create a custom-made order online and visualise it in graphic form.
Locinox employees use scanners to register every product movement in the warehouse.
Locinox is seeking to introduce further automated processes in the future, including
electronic invoicing. The systems are all now in place to assemble custom-made orders
and deliver them within 24 hours, with the aim of doubling turnover every five years
with the same number of employees.
Profile
For 25 years, Locinox has been a major international supplier
of components for gates and fences. From its head office in
Waregem, the company distributes to customers in more than
60 different countries and employs 50 people.
www.locinox.com
The challenge
Locinox aims to succeed over its competitors by offering a
rapid service, the target being for all custom-made orders
to be assembled and delivered within 24 hours. Its ambition
was looking difficult to achieve at a time when the company
was growing quickly. In addition, its product flows are rather
complex, given that Locinox works with suppliers, distributors
and individual customers.
The solution
Ad Ultima Group assisted Locinox in introducing a number of
key automations, based on Microsoft Dynamics AX. Ad Ultima
Group also incorporated a product database and web portal
in the ERP package it supplied. In addition to this, Locinox is
now using scanners to record every product movement in its
warehouse.
The benefits
•
Quick tracking of all orders
•
Greater efficiency
•
Better overview of products in stock
•
Enhanced customer service
•
Integrated product catalogue and e-commerce platform
•
« Our entire goods flow is now
completely digital. This has
enabled us to gain better insight
into product stock and as a result,
to work more efficiently. »
Mik Emmerechts,
CEO at Locinox
TESTIMONIAL LOCINOX
Locinox is aiming to automate more of its business and has
partnered up with Ad Ultima Group. “As the market leader in
Europe, we mainly stand out through our innovation, with ten
of our fifty-strong workforce employed in R&D. The service
that we offer is also a key factor,” explains General Manager Mik
Emmerechts. “Our aim is to provide a rapid service, delivering
every order within 24 hours.”
Complex product flows and swift deliveries
These ambitious delivery times have become increasingly difficult
to meet in view of the company’s growth. That’s why Locinox
made the strategic decision to invest in automation. “Our logistical
processes are highly intricate, since we combine the aspects of
a production business with those of a distribution one,” says Mr
Emmerechts. “We have around 5,000 different articles (SKUs) in our
warehouse. We design these in full ourselves, but the components
are largely manufactured by external suppliers. We then carry out
the intensive QC and assembly procedures ourselves. We produce
hundreds of articles and receive between 12,000 and 15,000 orders
every year.”
A partner who looks towards the future
The considerable time pressure of delivering so quickly demands
maximum operational efficiency. This is what led Locinox to the
experts at Ad Ultima Group, who were able to make a number of
structural improvements, based on Microsoft Dynamics AX. All of
the processes – from ordering through delivery to invoicing – have
now been automated further.
“We grow by between 10% and 15% each year, so we were looking
for a partner who could guide us through that growth,” explains Mik
Emmerechts. “In Ad Ultima Group we have found a robust partner
with a great deal of expertise. We started working together some
five years ago and have been collaborating even more closely ever
since. Where necessary, Ad Ultima Group has been able to adapt
Dynamics AX in line with our specific needs.”
Integrated product catalogue and web
shop
Ad Ultima Group has also implemented Perfion Product Information
Management – software that we use as a product database. The
digital catalogue even supports seven languages. “We can now
print a new copy of the latest catalogue at any time with ease,” says
Mr Emmerechts. Ad Ultima Group also integrated a B2B web shop which uses Sana e-commerce software – into Dynamics AX.
“Clients can now assemble and visualise their custom-made product
online in graphic form. Once the order has been confirmed, it is
then forwarded straight to the production system. Our warehouse
management is now also more automated. Previously, we knew how
many units of a certain item we had in stock, for example, but what
we did not know was where they were stored. We now have all of
this information as we work with locations and sub-locations. Every
product movement is recorded in real time using RF scanners, which
means our entire goods flow is now completely digital. This has
enabled us to gain better insight into product stock and as a result, to
work more efficiently.”
Growing number of orders
Locinox is now reaping the rewards of its chosen strategy. “We have
observed that our customers don’t like to plan very far in advance.
Just like when you book something or order clothes online, customers
would rather wait until the last minute to make a decision, and it’s
the same for our products. They also expect delivery to be swift and
hassle-free. Our customer base primarily consists of metal and wood
processing companies who manufacture driveway gates, perhaps
on behalf of a landscape architect for example. They order the
technical parts for the gate – the hardware – from us. We also supply
distribution companies, but they don’t want to keep everything in
stock either.”
Plans for the future: continuing to automate
It is not yet mission accomplished for Locinox and its automation
process, as Mik Emmerechts explains. “We want to take our
automation to the next stage, so we will soon be moving to
electronic invoicing. This is fine at a national level of course, but on an
international level it gets more complicated. We still have to provide
electronic billing however as around 85% of our turnover is generated
by exports. We also intend to integrate online payment into the web
portal and capitalise on the marketing potential of the web shop.
For both of these ideas, we will be calling in the experts at Ad Ultima
Group.”
The creation of a fully-automated warehouse is also in the pipeline.
As Ad Ultima Group does not deal in conveyor belt and warehouse
system automation itself, the Locinox automation team will be working
with other partners to achieve this. The data and processes will
nevertheless originate from Dynamics AX and be integrated into the
new warehouse management system (WMS) by Ad Ultima Group.
The standard order picking process will then be carried out by robots
overnight, meaning employees need only intervene for exceptional
orders.
“Everything is now in place to assemble custom-made orders and
deliver them in the packaging requested by the customer within
24 hours. This will allow us to reach our secondary objective of
doubling turnover within five years with the same number of staff,”
concludes Mik Emmerechts.
AD ULTIMA GROUP
Beneluxpark 7
8500 Kortrijk
Tel: +32 (0)56 740 740
Fax: +32 (0)56 740 700
eMail: info@adultimagroup.com
URL: www.adultimagroup.com