CASE STUDY GAME Stores Retain Competitive Edge with Automated Distribution Operation Retail Non-food

CASE STUDY
Retail Non-food
GAME Stores Retain Competitive Edge
with Automated Distribution Operation
The operation handles nearly twice the volume on 10 percent less floor area
>> Customer challenge:
Need to keep pace with business growth and become less
resource dependent, especially at seasonal peaks of
Christmas and school holidays. Improve efficiency and
flexibility.
>> Solution:
Integrated distribution operation based on a batch pick and
sortation system, including fully automated miniload
storage and retrieval, automated handling, and overall
warehouse management system.
>> Benefits:
- Lower operational costs
- Lower resource dependency
- Improved efficiency and flexibility
- Improved service level to stores
>> Outlook:
- Designed with future expansion and flexibility in mind
- Ability to accommodate growth in number of stores served
- Ability to increase throughput capacity by over 30%
>> The customer challenge:
In a market where having the latest blockbuster game or
console in stock at the retail outlets first is a significant
competitive advantage, specialist video-game retailer
GAME Stores (UK) recognised that their existing logistics
operation would be a constraint on future growth and
success.
The market leader had been operating from a combined
warehouse and headquarters in Bracknell, Berkshire.
Having evolved over time the national distribution centre
was beginning to struggle with their growth.
GAME Stores’ Head of Logistics, Tony Lewin: “The NDC
was not purpose designed and had expanded either side of
our original operation. We were very resource dependent,
especially at the seasonal peaks of Christmas and school
holidays.”
“We needed to increase shift patterns and had begun to
struggle with volume as we were competing with other local
employers such as Royal Mail,” Lewin continues. “We
already used conveyors and flow racking but we wanted a
more efficient picking operation. We also wanted to
improve our accuracy.”
CASE STUDY
Accuracy is far better, currently around 99.5 %
>>
The solution:
With the lease due to expire on the existing Bracknell
headquarters, GAME Stores decided to move to a new site,
take a fresh look at distribution centre operations and develop a solution which would support their market leading
performance into the future. The solution was to move to a
purpose designed operation on a brownfield site in Basingstoke, where space and staff were more readily available.
After careful examination of alternatives, GAME Stores
chose Vanderlande Industries to provide an integrated
solution. “Their reputation was important, as we needed
the system to deliver first time and be supported, and their
sales team worked closely with us to develop and refine
ideas,” expands Lewin. “A great deal of our product is
presented in DVD sized cases and is suitable for sortation.
Coupled with our business process the concept developed
into a batch pick and sortation system.
Vanderlande Industries’ cross belt sorter was the best fit
and it worked.” This sorter technology also offered the flexibility to handle peripheral products, and the ability to cope
with future changes in games software case dimensions.
The solution encompasses key sortation technology, fully
automated miniload storage and retrieval, automated handling, and also the overall warehouse management system
(WMS) that controls the batch picking process, as well as
manual and automated operations on the site.
The entire operation is managed and controlled by Vanderlande Industries’ VISION™ warehouse management system, closely integrated with a JDA business system. Key to
the success is the ability to be as flexible as possible when
assigning product to the variety of picking techniques used
in the warehouse. “It is very easy to change the type of
picking for a product,” comments Lewin. Lewin is confident
that the new distribution system has future proofed logistics operations. “The sorter will handle the vast majority of
SKUs and almost everything we will handle in the future,
but we still have several ways of picking any product and
can change depending on volume and urgency, we’ve covered every eventuality.”
“Implementing a WMS will formalise your procedures but
Vanderlande Industries have implemented a WMS which
gives us ultimate flexibility. The system also gives us excellent statistical analysis and we can always see how we are
performing.”
“With the new WMS, processes can be automated that
previously required manual intervention. This means that
we are now more flexible, we can plan for the expected
volume and even if something does come in late we can
react to it.”
GAME is flexible in assigning product to a variety of picking techniques used
02. VANDERLANDE INDUSTRIES / GAME STORE
CASE STUDY
The new installation operates with less than half
the staff requirement of the old site
>>
Processes are automated that previously required
manual intervention
The benefits:
GAME Stores are convinced that the new integrated
distribution operation has achieved the goals of
increased efficiency and flexibility, while being able
to cope with extra volume and achieve rapid distribution of critical new products. “There has been a vast
improvement in performance. Our accuracy is far better, currently around 99.5 per cent and it is virtually
impossible to pick the wrong product,” states Lewin.
“This has a knock on effect for the stores; they know
they will receive the right product at the right time,
which gives confidence in on-shelf availability.”
“The new Vanderlande Industries system is able to
give us the edge over our competitors. We are also
now able to place more emphasis on making the
stores’ life as easy as possible, making sure stock is
available quickly and efficiently which helps build our
customer loyalty as well.”
Although the operation has future capacity to handle
over 120,000 items per day, the new installation operates with less than half the staff requirement of the
old Bracknell site. Lewin adds; “we also have an allocation team that looks at forward store requirements
and makes sure we can deliver off-peak efficiency.”
Despite being able to handle almost twice the volume
of the old distribution centre, the new site actually has
10% less floor area at 9,400 square metres (101,000
sq ft).
Having the latest blockbuster in stores first is key
.
VANDERLANDE INDUSTRIES / GAME STORE 03
The sorter can be readily expanded to accommodate future growth
>> Outlook:
“The new Vanderlande Industries system is
able to give us the edge over our competitors.
We are also now able to place more emphasis
on making the stores’ life as easy as possible,
making sure stock is available quickly and
efficiently which helps build our customer
loyalty as well.”
GAME Stores Head of Logistics, Tony Lewin
Contact name: Roger Peart, (Sales & Marketing Manager)
Vanderlande Industries UK
Aragon House, Hampton Court, 59 Marsh Lane,
Hampton-in-Arden, Solihull, West Midlands, B92 0AJ
United Kingdom
Phone +44 (0)1675 44 37 43 / Fax +44 (0)1675 44 31 69
www.vanderlande.com
be expanded in the future to increase RF directed manual
picking as well.
Lewin is confident that as games and customers change,
the new distribution system will be able to evolve with them
to keep GAME Stores at the forefront of the industry. This
capability also includes incorporating acquisitions such as
Gameplay and absorbing their activities into the
Basingstoke site.
PUBL 2253 EN/08-07 This information is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment on the part of Vanderlande Industries.
The operation has been designed from the outset with
future expansion and flexibility in mind. Space has been
allowed for an extra miniload. The design of the sortation
system includes provision for two more induct stations,
increasing throughput capacity by over 30%. Additionally,
the sorter can be readily expanded to accommodate future
growth in the number of stores served. Although the
sortation already operates on a mezzanine, this level can