Background

U88-AM-B-Air-3-[Dynamic]-R

Vax is the UK’s best-selling floorcare brand and the only floorcare specialist to offer a comprehensive range of carpet cleaners, upright and cylinder vacuum cleaners, cordless, steam and hard floor cleaners.

Although probably best known for their iconic orange tub – launched in 1979 and still going strong today – Vax is constantly updating and introducing new and innovative products.  The first Vax machine was made in Droitwich, England in 1979. The machine was unique – it washed carpets, sucked up spills and vacuumed.

It became the best-selling vacuum cleaner in the UK in less than 8 years – and Vax is still the UK’s best selling floorcare company today.
Vax is now the fastest growing floorcare business in Europe, growing more than ten-fold over the last decade. The brand extends across Europe, the Middle East and as far as Hong Kong and Australia.

Vax distribution is managed from two sites in the heart of England, overseeing the distribution to both their wholesale clients and directly to their end customers, as part of their business focus on support and customer service.

Challenge

All inventory control was carried out via their Microsoft ERP system and was a paper driven solution. The challenges posed to their warehouse environment were significant, due to complex issues such as, the number of sales channels, time delays while inventory is shipped to the UK, high volumes of machines and accessories/spares distributed by the company and the ever increasing demands of the modern retail environment.

This net effect of these business pressures was:

• High levels of system administration, requiring data     manipulation and system work arounds.

• Labour management involved a substantial paper trail and communication was always challenging to maintain.

• Stock rotation was difficult to manage.

• Perpetual Inventory checks difficult to carry out and maintain.

• Goods out marshalling and meeting specific TI-HI/Pallets type requirements from their customers was very time and labour intensive.

A detailed assessment of their warehouse operation was carried out and Vax found their current systems and processes did not have the flexibility or capacity to scale to the level they needed to meet the increasing demand for their growing numbers of product lines and business levels.

In order to meet these demands and continue to move the business forward, the company embarked on a project to significantly improve supply chain capabilities, reduce operational costs and increase service levels to their widespread customers, without requiring substantial capital investment or affecting the day-to-day running of their busy warehouse operation.

C88-AM-B-Air-Mini-3Qtr

Solution

Following a comprehensive review of the WMS market, Vax compared a short list of vendors on their merits. The company required:

• A sophisticated WMS, to meet the needs of their complex business operations

• Confidence in the vendor, with a proven and demonstrable track record

• A streamlined and efficient implementation process, without substantial IT resource requirements

• A proven Warehouse Management System, with several reference sites to visit

• Simple interfacing capabilities to reduce administration

• Minimal capital outlay and proven returns on investment

The one company that could demonstrate these key points successfully and meet their budgetary demands was Snapfulfil SaaS WMS.

Snapfulfil is the United Kingdom’s leading SaaS WMS, from a vendor with over 30 years experience, supporting companies such as SCA, Coca-Cola, Unipart and Vodafone. Their proven track record in the UK, combined with a ‘No Capex’ business model and sophisticated WMS functionality really hit the mark with Vax.

The Snapfulfil warehouse solution was delivered across both UK sites simultaneously, with onsite support provided across both locations. Implementation was carried out in just 3 months, with full ERP interfacing, system specification and RF implementation, all without a penny in Capital expenditure required by Snapfulfil.

Your-Home-LogoBenefits

Following the implementation of Snapfulfil SaaS WMS, Vax have identified the following benefits to their operations:

• Increased productivity and efficiency

• Increased numbers of despatches with no increases in labour

• Decreased indirect costs for correction of pick errors and product returns

• Improved customer service across all of the channels

• Decreased administration across all areas

• Huge improvements in Inventory control, including goods received pallet identification and shipping container management.

• Decreased time for Stock Take and Improved PI management

• Decreased lead times for sales orders

• Reduced obsolescence due to improved stock rotation

• Improved Warehouse space utilisation

• Reduced requirements for temporary/agency staff

• Improved scalability for future business growth

Comments are closed.