The Solution
Gamma Powersports needed advanced ERP applications to manage their fast-growing business efficiently. To provide a fresh perspective on sales patterns, an ERP with analytics capabilities and mobile functionality would be required, in addition to warehouse and inventory management procedures. To dispatch and fulfill urgent customer needs, Gamma Powersports would benefit from a faster order fill-rate.
The company decided to deploy S2K Enterprise, an ERP system from VAI to align with the company’s business perfectly. As part of the project, Gamma Powersports also implemented S2K Analytics – a reporting and analysis solution built on IBM® Cognos® software. The new ERP and analytics platform has transformed the way Gamma Powersports operates its warehouse.
Previously, warehouse employees had to manually update their records by writing down the products they had chosen or moved. All the products in the warehouse have barcodes. Staff members use wireless mobile devices to scan the products they move, and the VAI ERP system is updated instantly. Gamma Powersports can now clearly see where items always are and their inventory accuracy has already increased by 15%, with near-perfect accuracy expected over time.
“The Cycle Counting feature in S2K WMS automates the whole process for us and the flexibility is phenomenal and efficient. It allows us to count exactly what we need daily, it will remind us of parts we have not counted yet, and we can set up scheduling, so that we count a specific time or certain cycle every month year. The customer has a lot more flexibility as well because they can access shipping data online as well as phone in and get tacking numbers right away. S2K is very consistent, and it makes our jobs a whole lot easier,” said Bisson.
With VAI WMS, picking performance has significantly increased. Based on the data and metrics returned by VAI, the system modifies the warehouse's layout by keeping track of the number of items that employees have selected and calculating the percentage of material that is picked from the pick location as opposed to the bulk site. The business can track and locate individuals based on scans identifying their current location, as well as view the location of every item in the warehouse.
Because its employees can work so much more productively, the company’s daily order fill-rate has increased significantly, which means they can get deliveries to their customers faster than ever before. As the business grows, even if the volume of orders doubles, Gamma Powersports will be able to raise their fill-rate to meet the demand.
“The wireless mobile devices also help us locate employees within our huge warehouse in real time, so we can get a better understanding of how people work,” continued Bisson. “The software helps us identify ways to reorganize the warehouse to put the most frequently chosen products in the most accessible places. On top of that, it is now much easier to train new hires, because the system automatically allocates incoming tasks to appropriate members of the warehouse team and tells them what to do next.”
Order and inventory data in the S2K ERP system is managed by S2K Enterprise Portal to provide an online store. The VAI Portal enables customers to check stock levels and monitor the progress of their orders in real-time. This information is available to employees too, so when a customer phones the call center, sales teams can offer relevant advice and recommendations based on the customer’s purchase history.
Bisson remarks: “By analyzing seasonal trends such as year-on-year sales, we can see how many products we are likely to sell each month or year. These insights help us purchase the right products at the right times and in the right quantities to avoid overstocking. We can also make better decisions about the viability of our product lines. For the first time, we can easily drill down into product families and look at each individual SKU. So, for example, if a certain product line seems to be performing well overall, but one style or color is not selling at all, we can adjust our purchasing – and our marketing – accordingly.”
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