SideUp Reply™ Warehouse Management

THE SOLUTION

The SideUp Reply™ Warehouse management solution manages operational warehouse processes and provides an accurate monitoring of stock levels. The solution is designed to work effectively in any distributive or productive business setting: the software is able to manage finished products, semi-finished products, components or spare parts inventories, supporting multiple business models and enabling an easy integration with other players along the logistics chain.

SideUp Reply™ Warehouse management is an effective tool for overseeing warehouse operations, managing activities using radio terminals, optimising space, reducing turnaround times, as well as facilitating the continuous and punctual monitoring of activities and of human and automated resources.

The logistics processes are fully integrated with the management systems and are automated through the use of identification systems based on barcodes and on RFID or Voice technologies.

THE PROCESS

The many activities carried out in a warehouse can be attributed to the following operational processes, divided into two logical groups: the main flow and supporting processes.

THE MAIN FLOW AND CHARACTERISTIC OF A WAREHOUSE

Typical warehouse processes can be subdivided into 4 macro-phases, from receiving the incoming material to the processing of orders:

Entry: receipt of the material and initial loading into the system.

• Receiving - the materials arrive at the warehouse. The relative documentation (goods received note) is captured into the system, recording the preliminary quantity of stock
• Identification - the material is inspected, organised and stored. The actual amount of stock and the relative palletisation is recorded in the system

Deposit: warehousing of stock according to optimisation logic.

• Allocation - For each pallet (Work Load Unit - WLU) of material, the best location to store the stock is selected, manually or automatically, according to product characteristics such as weight, size, etc., and lists are generated for order fulfilment
• Storage -The pallets (WLUs) are moved and brought to the selected storage locations, the correct positioning is verified by reading the location barcodes and the entry document is confirmed

Planning: selection of deliveries and organisation of activities.

• Planning - Acquisition of pick orders and verification of the availability of stock suitable for picking
• Availability of material - The most suitable stock is identified, either manually or automatically, based on logistics criteria or with a focus on streamlining operations, and reserved for fulfilling the orders
• Picking organisation - pick lists are generated and organised based on criteria of maximum weight, maximum quantity and maximum number of picks

Fulfilment: picking and preparation of shipments.

• Picking - stock is moved from the storage locations. In Pick&Pack mode, the shipping unit is directly prepared during the picking process
• Packing - the shipping unit is prepared using the stock picked, selecting the appropriate packaging, weighing and labelling the parcels
• Shipping - after the order has been closed, the stock divided into parcels leaves the warehouse to be loaded onto the relevant means of transport or transferred to another department

SUPPORT PROCESSES

This group consists of all processes aimed at ensuring a proper and effective control of inventory and warehouse resources:

• Inventory Management: activities such as internal handling and quality control that make it possible to ensure the efficiency of stock
• Space Management: the configuration and logical organisation of physical spaces and loading units
• Processing: value added processes characteristic of a particular sector such as assembly, bills of materials, sampling, etc.

BENEFITS

SideUp Reply™ Warehouse management makes it possible for companies to adopt the very best operational practices and to maintain total control of the stock at all times:

• Reduction of stock stored, with the same level of service offered
• Reduction of errors and order processing times
• Real-time visibility of the progress of operational activities
• Automation of operational warehouse processes
• Automatic real-time acquisition and transfer of information
• Integration with information systems belonging to the company or its partners

The SideUp Reply™ Warehouse management solution improves operational productivity by integrating and making it possible to easily manage modern field equipment and systems:

• For fulfilment: RF (Radio Frequency) terminals, both vehicle or conveyor based, voice terminals (Voice Picking), automated identification systems (RFID or Barcode)
• For printing: dot-matrix printers, laser printers, thermal printers and labelling systems
• For automation: scales, weighing machines, Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV), automated storage and handling systems