Episode 3: Labeling Your Warehouse. Learn How.
In concrete terms, process optimization is about identifying waste or opportunities in the warehouse processes, and, most importantly, finding solutions that can be implemented in
Party In A Box: Expansion of the warehouse
21/03/2022
Author
Christian Mikkelsen, CCO
Growth and expansion
In 2020, Party In A Box implemented the Apport Pro WMS, but the party did not stop there. Even more customers have obviously needed a little more party and colour in their lives – and Party In A Box benefits from that. A greater demand for festive products creates the need for a larger warehouse, and in a large warehouse, a warehouse management system is important if you want to be able to deliver quickly and on time.
At Party In A Box, owner Trine Hansen has learned that having a warehouse involves many aspects, and these do not all have to do with the common notion that a warehouse only concerns sending orders out to customers. Rising demand may be harder for an entrepreneurial company to tackle than you would think.
“One of the things I thought about a lot was how to navigate so many item numbers – and this was where we needed a system that could do so“, owner Trine Hansen explains.
Trine from Party In A Box found it necessary to think in new directions for optimising the company’s warehouse and logistics processes. But the thought of having to optimise and expand can quickly turn into a lurking headache while growth continues on the sidelines.
“So, what I did was to write to Apport and tell them that we are now going to stage 2.0 – how can you help us?“, Trine Hansen states.
Party In A Box contacted their existing partner, Apport, when the need to expand became urgent – which in itself proved to be profitable and made it easy for owner Trine Hansen to go from thought to action.
Many people know only too well what it feels like to be left with the baby in a new system when the company is moving forward at full speed. For Trine Hansen, the most important thing was that an expansion of the system was easy and efficient.
“The rate of growth in the business is good, so therefore I needed to get another warehouse management system or to expand the possibilities in my current one“, Trine explains.
Scaling of the warehouse management system
The Apport Pro system, already implemented in the warehouse at Party In A Box, has been developed exactly for the purpose of supporting growing companies. With the Apport Pro warehouse management system, Party In A Box can handle a larger warehouse with more locations, products and employees. It would prove to be all-important when it came to being able to navigate and manage the warehouse during the company’s progress.
For Trine, the warehouse management system evolved to be a helping hand on her growth journey. The system is scalable and can thus be escalated as the company grows – and Trine emphasises that the whole process becomes easier when it is possible to continuously adapt the system to the company’s development horizons. As a result, Party In A Box has expanded the capacity and capabilities of the warehouse and the company.
- More square meters in the warehouse
- More employees
- More storage racks and locations
- More handheld terminals
Adaptation of processes and warehouse structure
As a scalable warehouse management system, Apport Pro operates within the same inventory processes. This allows you to easily scale and make changes to the system configuration – which makes it possible to handle new and more items as well as make changes in the existing warehouse structure. Thus, in the expansion process, the Apport Pro system has been developed to be a faithful companion that continues to ensure efficient picking routes as well as the optimal placement of goods in the now larger warehouse.
And with a larger warehouse comes more options. At Party In A Box, the expansion is noticeably experienced through the newly created options for handling multiple sales and purchase orders as well as the tangible integration of a new webshop. It is important to note that the expansion not only makes it easier for owner Trine Hansen and Party In A Box’s other employees, but also that the increasing number of happy customers now find it even easier to order their festive decorations and receive them on time.
“We have had trainees in our company who could actually on day one get a terminal in hand and pick a real order. It facilitates the process for us a lot, as we do not feel that a long training time is needed before you can dispatch in the warehouse”.
People first
For an entrepreneurial company like Party In A Box, becoming acquainted with IT terms and solutions is not at the top of the priority list. That’s why it’s important to have an warehouse management system that does not require you to also be an IT house; and this is exactly the way of thinking that we are at the forefront of here at Apport:
CCO at Apport System A/S, Christian Mikkelsen, explains: “The thing is that we must be able to handle this in a way that takes people into account – which is also what separates Apport Pro and Apport from the rest of the world of logistics providers.”
In principle, warehouse management solutions must always focus on the logistics, in which IT remains a supporting element in making it all work. At Party In A Box, Trine explains that it is safe to navigate the Apport Pro system, as the terminal guides you and operates in an intuitive setup:
“We have had trainees in our company who could actually on day one get a terminal in hand and pick a real order. It facilitates the process for us a lot, as we do not feel that a long training time is needed before you can dispatch in the warehouse”, Trine Hansen explains.
At Party In A Box, Trine has found it a huge help that the Apport Pro system makes order handling and the shipping process of goods in the warehouse easy and fast – and she finds it reassuring that everyone will be able to handle the terminal and pick goods in the warehouse.
Throughout its growth journey, Party In A Box has thus experienced the importance of an warehouse management system, as a decisive factor has been to avoid ending up in a product-related chaos, which no one finds particularly festive.
Hvad kan et lagerstyringssystem hjælpe mig med?
The commissioning of a technical and digital WMS solution has partly streamlined Party In A Box’s previously manual logistics solution, created overview and clarity, as well as optimized their processes further, and made it easy for the employees. “All manual work can very easily go wrong. And outwardly, it seems more professional to have a WMS system”, says Trine Hansen.
For Party In A Box’s strategic development plan, implementing a WMS has been a groundbreaking element. Trine Hansen is aware that in order to support the current and future competitive situation, it is important to reduce handling costs while making the best possible use of capacity.
“I was challenged on how to run my warehouse. Instead of looking at the situation here and now, I was challenged to look long-term. A good challenge in my eyes, as the company’s speed meant that a WMS soon had to be implemented anyway”, says Trine Hansen.
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Would you like to know more about Warehouse Management?
Are you interested in learning more about Warehouse Management and how it can benefit your warehouse? Let me know if you need any help or have any questions.
Christian Mikkelsen
CCO, Apport Systems
E: [email protected]
T: +45 4177 6304
Christian Mikkelsen
CCO, Apport Systems
E: [email protected]
T: +45 4177 6304
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