ASG SAP SolutioNS imPlEmENtS SAP WArEhouSiNG moDulE
ASG SAP Solutions implements SAP Warehousing Module
Frucor is the manufacturer and distributor of energy drinks, fruit juices and fruit drinks, pure waters and sport waters, soft drinks and milk drinks. A market leader in energy drinks, and the holder of the market-leading V Guarana Energy Drink, today most of Frucor’s brands are household favorites in New Zealand and Australia and many have been launched internationally.
Frucor Beverages is the market leader in energy drinks in Australia and New Zealand. It also makes fruit juices and fruit drinks, pure waters and sport waters, soft drinks and milk drinks. Frucor’s Australian operation is a $200 million business that produces between 80 and 85 different lines and moved approximately eight million cases of product in 2011. The business operates from four 5000m2 warehouses in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. Frucor also has two warehouses in New Zealand.
The challenge Frucor was already using SAP ERP for routing, goods issuing and billing in Australia and New Zealand. While its New Zealand warehouses had implemented SAP’s Warehousing Module (WM), Frucor’s Australian warehouses were essentially manual operations – with the result that management lacked full visibility about stock at warehouse level. As Brendan Oconnell, Frucor’s Northern Logistics Manager, says: ‘it was evident that we needed a more robust warehousing system that would allow us to embed strong standardised processes across the country and form a stable platform to accommodate future growth’. Other requirements included: information about shelf-life expiry dates, traceability, the ability to accommodate specific customer requirements, more accurate stocktaking and greater efficiency. The first decision however, was to determine which warehousing system would be best for Australia: whether to use SAP’s WM as the New Zealand operation had or to opt for a different system that would connect with Frucor’s SAP ERP system. SAP’s WM supports warehousing processes by making it possible to define and manage complex warehousing structures; optimise material flow using advanced put-away and picking techniques; and process goods receipts, goods issues and stock transfers quickly and easily.
Organisation Frucor Beverages
Industry FMCG
The challenge Frucor’s Australian warehouses were essentially manual operations – with the result that management lacked full visibility about stock at warehouse level
The solution ASG company, Progress Pacific, implemented SAP’s Warehouse Management module across Frucor’s four Australian warehouses
The benefits • full transparency and visibility about stock levels across all warehouses in Australia and New Zealand • strong standardised warehouse management processes and a strong platform that will accommodate future growth • good shelf-life visibility allowing Frucor to better manage complex customer requirements • a more efficient warehouse with optimised pick paths, better stock rotation and space management • fewer errors in receiving and picking & packing leading to fewer returns • better stocktake and increased general accuracy
FRUCOR case study
02
To ensure work is performed efficiently and at reasonable cost, warehouse staff require a simple, easy-to-view control of each individual process. SAP WM uses a radio-frequency (RF) solution, which provides fast, error-free data communication between the warehouse and the SAP system via RF terminals. Frucor chose to use SAP WM because of its reliability and the ease of connectivity with the existing ERP system. But rather than emulate the New Zealand system, Frucor seized the opportunity to develop a brand new blueprint and implementation for Australia. After completing a pre-blueprinting exercise and building a business case in order to justify the necessary investment, Frucor invited three companies to tender. It chose ASG company Progress Pacific because of its specialised logistics expertise and because it was a SAP Partner. Frucor was also keen to work with a local company rather than a large international organisation.
The solution The implementation timeline was tight. Planning began in January 2011 with all four warehouse managers involved and Progress Pacific providing insights into the WM capabilities. Frucor’s team was then able to compare current and future processes, confirm the blueprint and develop a fixed scope for the project. The final blueprint was approved in March 2011. The plan called for Progress Pacific to build and test the system and use the Queensland warehouse as a pilot to go live in mid-May. If this project was successful the remaining warehouses would be converted one-by-one with completion in October. Coincidentally, Frucor had also decided to migrate its SAP and business intelligence systems from New Zealand to Australia during this timeframe, with the actual migration taking place the week prior to the first WM conversion. ‘We understood the risks involved’, says Barbara Ciancio, Frucor’s SAP
Project Manager. ‘We knew our first warehouse would go live in a brand new environment that may not be stable, but in the end the WM project was not affected.’ The Queensland implementation took place in mid-May – as scheduled – with no interruption to processing. Staff left on Friday afternoon and returned on Monday morning to find cut-over completed. However, it became apparent shortly after the Queensland implementation that refinements to the picking area were necessary. Progress Pacific’s advice was to optimise the picking area by splitting it into short-dated stock and long-dated stock. Progress Pacific implemented this change in a ‘mini-cutover’ in Queensland and incorporated it into the WM for application in the remaining three warehouses. The New South Wales implementation took place as scheduled in July 2011. Both Victorian and West Australian implementations were bought forward a month to August and September respectively. Ciancio makes the point: ‘the project was delivered on budget and in a month less than the proposed timeline. This meant that we were ready in ample time for our peak summer season.’
“‘The project was delivered on budget and in a month less than the proposed timeline. This meant that we were ready in ample time for our peak summer season.”
THE BENEFITS Oconnell says that the WM system more than delivers on Frucor’s wish list. ‘Now we have full transparency and visibility across all our warehouses in Australia and New Zealand. We have strong standardised processes and a strong platform that will accommodate future growth, and we now have good shelf-life visibility which allows us to better manage our customer requirements’, he adds. ‘Finally we have a more efficient warehouse with optimised pick paths, better stock rotation and space management, and fewer errors in receiving and picking. This of course, leads to a better stocktake and an increase in general accuracy.’
For further information on our capabilities please visit www.asggroup.com.au or contact your local ASG Group office: Perth Level 1 267 St George’s Terrace Perth WA 6000 T +61 8 9420 5420 F +61 8 9420 5422 E [email protected]
Bentley Data Centre Technology Park 5 Watts Place Bentley WA 6102 T +61 8 6188 5100 F +61 8 9355 1188 E [email protected]
Sydney Level 4 10 Bridge Street Sydney NSW 2000 T +61 2 8061 1700 F +61 2 9241 7746 E [email protected]
Melbourne Level 3 312 St Kilda Road Southbank VIC 3006 T +61 3 8598 5555 F +61 3 8598 5599 E [email protected]
Canberra Equinox 1, Level 3 70 Kent St Deakin ACT 2600 T +61 2 6202 9000 F +61 2 6202 9099 E [email protected]
Brisbane 19 Railway Terrace Milton QLD 4064 T +61 7 3010 7800 F +61 7 3217 2035 E [email protected]
Adelaide Level 3 97 Pirie Street Adelaide SA 5000 T +61 8 8232 9622 F +61 8 8232 4446 E [email protected]
Frucor is the manufacturer and distributor of energy drinks, fruit juices and fruit drinks, pure waters and sport waters, soft drinks and milk drinks. A market leader in energy drinks, and the holder of the market-leading V Guarana Energy Drink, today most of Frucor’s brands are household favorites in New Zealand and Australia and many have been launched internationally.
Frucor Beverages is the market leader in energy drinks in Australia and New Zealand. It also makes fruit juices and fruit drinks, pure waters and sport waters, soft drinks and milk drinks. Frucor’s Australian operation is a $200 million business that produces between 80 and 85 different lines and moved approximately eight million cases of product in 2011. The business operates from four 5000m2 warehouses in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. Frucor also has two warehouses in New Zealand.
The challenge Frucor was already using SAP ERP for routing, goods issuing and billing in Australia and New Zealand. While its New Zealand warehouses had implemented SAP’s Warehousing Module (WM), Frucor’s Australian warehouses were essentially manual operations – with the result that management lacked full visibility about stock at warehouse level. As Brendan Oconnell, Frucor’s Northern Logistics Manager, says: ‘it was evident that we needed a more robust warehousing system that would allow us to embed strong standardised processes across the country and form a stable platform to accommodate future growth’. Other requirements included: information about shelf-life expiry dates, traceability, the ability to accommodate specific customer requirements, more accurate stocktaking and greater efficiency. The first decision however, was to determine which warehousing system would be best for Australia: whether to use SAP’s WM as the New Zealand operation had or to opt for a different system that would connect with Frucor’s SAP ERP system. SAP’s WM supports warehousing processes by making it possible to define and manage complex warehousing structures; optimise material flow using advanced put-away and picking techniques; and process goods receipts, goods issues and stock transfers quickly and easily.
Organisation Frucor Beverages
Industry FMCG
The challenge Frucor’s Australian warehouses were essentially manual operations – with the result that management lacked full visibility about stock at warehouse level
The solution ASG company, Progress Pacific, implemented SAP’s Warehouse Management module across Frucor’s four Australian warehouses
The benefits • full transparency and visibility about stock levels across all warehouses in Australia and New Zealand • strong standardised warehouse management processes and a strong platform that will accommodate future growth • good shelf-life visibility allowing Frucor to better manage complex customer requirements • a more efficient warehouse with optimised pick paths, better stock rotation and space management • fewer errors in receiving and picking & packing leading to fewer returns • better stocktake and increased general accuracy
FRUCOR case study
02
To ensure work is performed efficiently and at reasonable cost, warehouse staff require a simple, easy-to-view control of each individual process. SAP WM uses a radio-frequency (RF) solution, which provides fast, error-free data communication between the warehouse and the SAP system via RF terminals. Frucor chose to use SAP WM because of its reliability and the ease of connectivity with the existing ERP system. But rather than emulate the New Zealand system, Frucor seized the opportunity to develop a brand new blueprint and implementation for Australia. After completing a pre-blueprinting exercise and building a business case in order to justify the necessary investment, Frucor invited three companies to tender. It chose ASG company Progress Pacific because of its specialised logistics expertise and because it was a SAP Partner. Frucor was also keen to work with a local company rather than a large international organisation.
The solution The implementation timeline was tight. Planning began in January 2011 with all four warehouse managers involved and Progress Pacific providing insights into the WM capabilities. Frucor’s team was then able to compare current and future processes, confirm the blueprint and develop a fixed scope for the project. The final blueprint was approved in March 2011. The plan called for Progress Pacific to build and test the system and use the Queensland warehouse as a pilot to go live in mid-May. If this project was successful the remaining warehouses would be converted one-by-one with completion in October. Coincidentally, Frucor had also decided to migrate its SAP and business intelligence systems from New Zealand to Australia during this timeframe, with the actual migration taking place the week prior to the first WM conversion. ‘We understood the risks involved’, says Barbara Ciancio, Frucor’s SAP
Project Manager. ‘We knew our first warehouse would go live in a brand new environment that may not be stable, but in the end the WM project was not affected.’ The Queensland implementation took place in mid-May – as scheduled – with no interruption to processing. Staff left on Friday afternoon and returned on Monday morning to find cut-over completed. However, it became apparent shortly after the Queensland implementation that refinements to the picking area were necessary. Progress Pacific’s advice was to optimise the picking area by splitting it into short-dated stock and long-dated stock. Progress Pacific implemented this change in a ‘mini-cutover’ in Queensland and incorporated it into the WM for application in the remaining three warehouses. The New South Wales implementation took place as scheduled in July 2011. Both Victorian and West Australian implementations were bought forward a month to August and September respectively. Ciancio makes the point: ‘the project was delivered on budget and in a month less than the proposed timeline. This meant that we were ready in ample time for our peak summer season.’
“‘The project was delivered on budget and in a month less than the proposed timeline. This meant that we were ready in ample time for our peak summer season.”
THE BENEFITS Oconnell says that the WM system more than delivers on Frucor’s wish list. ‘Now we have full transparency and visibility across all our warehouses in Australia and New Zealand. We have strong standardised processes and a strong platform that will accommodate future growth, and we now have good shelf-life visibility which allows us to better manage our customer requirements’, he adds. ‘Finally we have a more efficient warehouse with optimised pick paths, better stock rotation and space management, and fewer errors in receiving and picking. This of course, leads to a better stocktake and an increase in general accuracy.’
For further information on our capabilities please visit www.asggroup.com.au or contact your local ASG Group office: Perth Level 1 267 St George’s Terrace Perth WA 6000 T +61 8 9420 5420 F +61 8 9420 5422 E [email protected]
Bentley Data Centre Technology Park 5 Watts Place Bentley WA 6102 T +61 8 6188 5100 F +61 8 9355 1188 E [email protected]
Sydney Level 4 10 Bridge Street Sydney NSW 2000 T +61 2 8061 1700 F +61 2 9241 7746 E [email protected]
Melbourne Level 3 312 St Kilda Road Southbank VIC 3006 T +61 3 8598 5555 F +61 3 8598 5599 E [email protected]
Canberra Equinox 1, Level 3 70 Kent St Deakin ACT 2600 T +61 2 6202 9000 F +61 2 6202 9099 E [email protected]
Brisbane 19 Railway Terrace Milton QLD 4064 T +61 7 3010 7800 F +61 7 3217 2035 E [email protected]
Adelaide Level 3 97 Pirie Street Adelaide SA 5000 T +61 8 8232 9622 F +61 8 8232 4446 E [email protected]
