CHESS LOGISTICS TECHNOLOGY
PRESS RELEASES 2007
CHE07/11: VYGON GOES FOR RF AND BARCODING WITH EMPIRICA
(24 September 2007)
CHE07/09: SCOTBEEF BEEFS UP ITS WAREHOUSE WITH EMPIRICA
(23 July 2007)
CHE07/01: PERFORMANCE IS KEY WITH EMPIRICA KPI (10 January
2007)
SELECTED PRESS RELEASES ISSUED DURING 2006
SELECTED PRESS RELEASES ISSUED DURING 2005
SELECTED PRESS RELEASES ISSUED DURING 2004
SELECTED PRESS RELEASES ISSUED DURING 2003
SELECTED PRESS RELEASES ISSUED DURING 2002
SELECTED PRESS RELEASES ISSUED DURING 2001
SELECTED PRESS RELEASES ISSUED DURING 2000
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
CONTACT DETAILS
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PRESS INFORMATION (TOP)
Issue Date: 24 September 2007
Ref: CHE07/11
VYGON GOES FOR RF AND BARCODING WITH EMPIRICA
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Medical and surgical products supplier Vygon (UK) Ltd has chosen the Empirica warehouse management system from Chess Logistics Technology for its distribution centre in Cirencester. This will be the first time that Vygon (UK) Ltd has employed computerised warehouse management. The company selected Empirica because it offered an excellent technical solution to increase efficiency and maintain their level of customer service, while achieving regular, annual sales growth and can be adapted to changing business requirements. The solution devised by Chess will incorporate hand-held radio frequency barcode terminals for real time data accuracy and be integrated with Vygon’s existing business applications to deliver improved business performance.
“Chess has a very good system with Empirica which fulfils all our existing requirements but which can be modified to suit our future needs,” says Richard Collins, Project Manager at Vygon (UK) Limited. “We predict a quick return on the investment.”
The Vygon Group is a global manufacturer of single-use medical and surgical products. Internationally it designs, manufactures and markets more than 100 million products in 110 countries, all in accordance with ISO 9001 and EN 46001 standards. Its UK business, based in Cirencester, was established in the 1970s and now supplies the whole of the NHS in the UK; NHS Trusts and NHS Supply Chain.
The company had some well established warehouse procedures that were managed using a combination of bin cards and paper documents. These have worked well but as the business has continued to grow the company recognised that it could improve efficiency and achieve process savings by making greater use of the barcodes generated by its manufacturing divisions and third party suppliers. After an initial assessment of its requirements the company decided to go even further.
“We realised that we needed a WMS and not just a barcode facility,” says Richard Collins. “The warehouse was efficient but relied on lots of manual checks which we are now hoping to reduce.”
Vygon reduced an initial list of 15 potential suppliers to a shortlist of four before selecting Empirica. In addition to the functionality of the application one of the biggest factors in the decision was the commitment from Chess to work closely with Vygon to deliver a solution which met its very demanding and specific requirements.
“We wanted to work with a WMS company that would help us and not impose their system,” says Richard Collins. “Chess has been very helpful without being pushy.”
The warehouse stocks around 1300 products. One of the key operational requirements from the WMS was to support complex incoming and outgoing delivery procedures. Supplying a major customer like the NHS can be complex because each part of the organisation, from central purchasing to individual clinics, has different ordering procedures and paperwork. Vygon has developed a number of unique packing and despatch processes to ensure it meets its customers’ requirements, including special schemes devised in conjunction with the NHS to streamline purchasing, and the WMS has to be capable of working with these. The WMS also has to cope with consignments from the Vygon Group in France as well as smaller suppliers in USA, the far East and elsewhere in Europe which may be delivered by different methods.
Empirica will be deployed in conjunction with 14 handheld barcode terminals and seven label printers, installed at various points in the goods inward and despatch areas of the warehouse, to support real time inventory control and high data accuracy. It will be integrated with Vygon’s existing eProcurement and System 21 applications to enable a seamless flow of information. The system is expected to go live in the third quarter of 2007 and because this is a completely new installation Chess will be working closely with Vygon to ensure that the transition from the paper based operation is as smooth as possible. Empirica’s modular design and support for additional processes provides Vygon with potential to adapt and upgrade as its business requirements evolve.
“This is a major change programme for us and we didn’t expect to become experts from day one,” says Richard Collins. “We’re learning a lot and Chess has helped us with a number of issues, for example with advice on interfacing with our ERP and supplying equipment for us to trial. Our dealings with Chess have been rewarding and productive.”
Empirica offers modern logistics operations a powerful combination of warehouse management functionality with advanced standard interface capabilities. It provides the optimum solution for supply chain integration with customers and partners through configurable EDI and web-based access to real time stock information. Empirica covers all key elements of warehouse management and is designed for rapid implementation to support in-house, third party and contract based warehouse operations using real-time mobile RF, voice-directed or RFID applications.
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PRESS INFORMATION (TOP)
Issue Date: 23 July 2007
Ref: CHE07/09
SCOTBEEF BEEFS UP ITS WAREHOUSE WITH EMPIRICA
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Scotbeef, one of the UK’s leading meat processors, has implemented the Empirica warehouse management system from Chess Logistics Technology for its new distribution cold store. The company chose the Empirica product because it supported the underlying business processes but with the enhanced capabilities and data accuracy that will promote improved supply chain performance.
“Empirica supports our warehousing and distribution functions and provides us with the real time data accuracy we need to maintain the high standard our customers expect,” says Robert Kennedy, Finance Director at Scotbeef.
Scotbeef produces the highest quality beef and lamb products for retail customers throughout the UK as well as exporting to Europe. The company works closely with farmers to enable it to offer the highest quality of beef and lamb which is fully processed through to retail packed products. It procures directly from accredited farms and maintains traceability right through the supply chain.
The company had previously been operating a small cold store supplemented by external facilities but decided that a new purpose-built in-house distribution centre would serve its needs better as the business continued to grow. Opened in October 2006 at Queenslie, near Glasgow the new production facility which includes a 5500 pallet location warehouse is designed to provide Scotbeef with a highly efficient retail packaging and storage operation to help it maintain an edge in this competitive market. The company decided to install mobile racking to maximise the storage capacity and minimise running costs.
“This new warehouse represents a significant investment for the business and we required a system to meet the associated increased demands,” says Robert Kennedy. “The life of the product is critical to the business and we need to maintain integrity of data and stock movements. We decided to implement a warehouse management system which would provide the levels of traceability and reporting that can only be achieved with accurate and trustworthy figures.”
Scotbeef approached a number of potential warehouse management system suppliers including Chess, which had been recommended by another cold storage company with a similar operation. The company also considered modifying the software used to manage its production process and assessed a completely bespoke system before finally choosing Empirica.
“We wanted something that would manage the warehouse, maintain the integrity of the operation and provide good value for money,” says Robert Kennedy. “Empirica does all of this.”
Empirica operates in a standalone environment managing stock movement and order picking by generating paper task lists used by lift truck drivers in the warehouse. All stock movements are full pallet and with the new system the company can track individual loads and report by various criteria to create a complete and accurate audit of all products that can be used as part of its quality assurance commitment to customers.
Empirica offers modern logistics operations a powerful combination of warehouse management functionality with advanced standard interface capabilities. It provides the optimum solution for supply chain integration with customers and partners through configurable EDI and web-based access to real time stock information. Empirica covers all key elements of warehouse management and is designed for rapid implementation to support in-house, third party and contract based warehouse operations using real-time mobile RF, voice-directed or RFID applications.
“The key benefit is the real time stock information that is now available,” says Robert Kennedy. “We also have an audit trail of what comes in and what goes out of the warehouse.”
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PRESS INFORMATION (TOP)
Issue Date: 10 January 2007
Ref: CHE07/01
PERFORMANCE IS KEY WITH EMPIRICA KPI
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A new KPI module for the Empirica warehouse management system from Chess Logistics Technology allows users to track and report a wide range of warehouse metrics that help them to monitor, analyse and confirm performance. This information can be used internally to help drive a performance improvement programme and externally to audit and verify performance for third parties. Web enabled facilities allow authorised users to access data and reports.
“Empirica KPI provides users with the information they need to prove performance as part of their service level commitments,” says Alex Mills, Sales and Marketing Director at Chess. “It will be especially useful for verifying performance in the growing number of third and fourth party logistics contracts but can be used in any warehouse to demonstrate inefficiencies and potential for improvement.”
Empirica KPI monitors and reports key warehouse performance indicator information across a wide range of user-defined parameters. Users can choose which metrics they want to track and set threshold levels so that reports can isolate above and below par performance. Any information available to the WMS can be monitored and reported separately or in combination to provide a sophisticated view of operations. For example, inbound supplier and contractor performance can be measured for delivery and order compliance. Internal productivity factors include receipt processing times, load and offload times and picking and loading by operative. Customer service KPIs include load and despatch criteria and full order OTIF (on time, in full) statistics. Users can build a profile of their operations to develop greater understanding of underlying processes and identify areas where performance can be improved.
Third and fourth party logistics operators can deploy Empirica KPI to provide information to their clients in customer and business-centric ways that are meaningful to managers without direct responsibility for the logistics function. Used in conjunction with Empirica’s web-enabling facilities and modules Empirica KPI provides authorised users with access to data and reports from any intranet location or over the web.
Empirica is a modular application with a wide range of warehouse management functions and powerful standard and web-based interface capabilities. Available at two entry levels – Lite and WMS, Empirica has been designed for ease of use and rapid implementation for in-house, third party and contract based operations using conventional, RF or voice-based applications. Each version of Empirica offers an optimised solution for supply chain integration by providing customers and partners with access to real time inventory and stock information.
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION (TOP)
Chess Logistics Technology Limited has provided software for logistics and distribution applications for more than twenty years and is recognised as a specialist in its field. The company has an extensive client list of national and international companies.
Alternative images available on request.
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For further press information, please contact (TOP):
Alex Mills
Marketing Director
Chess Logistics Technology Limited
Tel: 0161 888 2580
alex.mills@chess.uk.com
http://www.chess.uk.com
Keith Wootton
Public Relations Consultant
Tel: 01327 830675
chess@keithwootton.co.uk
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