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Driving Out the Competition

Technology Category
  • Functional Applications - Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
Applicable Industries
  • Food & Beverage
  • Retail
Applicable Functions
  • Warehouse & Inventory Management
Use Cases
  • Warehouse Automation
  • Inventory Management
Services
  • System Integration
  • Software Design & Engineering Services
The Challenge
NFT, a leading provider of time-sensitive, chilled food and drink logistics services in the UK, was facing operational challenges that were preventing it from optimizing performance. The company's traditional pick-face approach was leading to underutilization of its 220,000 square-foot warehouse, immense SKU proliferation, and almost unmanageable replenishments and put-backs. Additionally, the way manufacturers produced their products was creating issues with sell-by dates and misrotation, leading to waste, extra administrative burden, fines, claims, penalties, returns, and rejections. NFT wanted to protect its business reputation, preserve customer sales, and improve performance.
About The Customer
NFT has been at the forefront of providing time-sensitive, chilled food and drink logistics services for over 30 years. An industry leader in the United Kingdom (UK), NFT operates as the intelligent link between food and drink manufacturers and suppliers, and their retail customers. The company delivers primary and secondary services through its transport, warehousing and logistics solutions, with the objective to minimize complexity, reduce cost and drive greater customer satisfaction. On behalf of its retail supermarket and grocery customers, NFT provides a consolidated transport and distribution service point for approximately 250-400 international food and drink suppliers into the UK market. Additionally, NFT provides secondary logistics services to major UK grocery retailers, managing the entire process of collection, warehousing, consolidation and onward distribution of chilled, ambient and fresh product daily.
The Solution
NFT decided to replace its traditional pick-face approach with an automated warehouse allocation solution. After evaluating various warehouse management technologies, the company selected solutions from JDA Software’s Intelligent Fulfillment™ suite. The initial project took place at NFT’s flagship Daventry depot, and NFT is currently utilizing the solution in three of its warehouses as well as in a customer warehouse. It also leverages JDA Warehouse Management modules to handle workforce management, third-party billing, and integration functions. JDA alliance member LXE Inc., now Honeywell, provided the RF capability. The enhanced solution allowed a low-risk, phased transition by customer, delivering prioritized EBITDA wins, and NFT achieved project ROI in less than 30 days.
Operational Impact
  • Increased SKU-picking capability by more than fifteenfold to a weekly average of 1.6 million cases — peaking at almost 2 million — in less than three years
  • Increased pick rates by 15-30 percent across various customers
  • Improved picking accuracy to more than 99.95 percent most weeks
Quantitative Benefit
  • 27 percent improvement in reach truck utilization
  • Business has grown to an average of more than 1.6 million cases picked each week
  • Zero NFT misrotations in allocation and picking

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