14-10-2009
Paris, October 14th 2009. JM Bureau, the office supplies and furniture distribution specialist estimates that it has improved the quality of its order preparation by 40% since it switched its warehouse in Les Ulis (91) to « voice ».
At JM Bruneau’s mechanised warehouse at Les Ulis, 31 of the 32 picking stations are now fitted with voice solutions. The editor a-SIS with its partners Vocollect and Psion Teklogix finished the deployment of 60 terminals controlled by its WMS LM7 in June. At JM Bruneau, this "technological switch" was the fruit of an overall reflection and a long dialogue. «Our aim was to considerably improve the quality of our order preparation. We studied the different solutions that the market had to offer and we pondered over integrating voice into our processes and the benefits that we could reap from it », highlights Vincent Combe, Organisation Engineer at JM Bruneau.
a-SIS and its partners were quickly chosen : « For many years now, we have had a-SIS’ WMS LM7 and TMS T2O, he explains. a-SIS is a partner who knows our company and the implications in integration terms. It added specific functionalities in order to be in complete adequacy with our processes and deliveries at D+1 such as the stock inventory in real time and during preparation functionality… ».
A gradual deployment
The switch to voice took place gradually. For operational reasons: to switch to voice, each station has to be completely emptied. And for human reasons: for the operators to be trained and get to grips with the solution. The gradual deployment also facilitated the integration of corrections and upgrades in accordance with the « feedback from the field » from the operators, who were involved throughout the project, in particular as far as the user-friendliness of the head-sets was concerned. In two and a half months, all the stations, except for one – dedicated to the preparation of product with a very high rotation and a low error risk -, were installed ; 90 operators trained. 5000 to 6000 boxes are now prepared a day thanks to the new system.
Optimised quality
« Gaining in productivity was not our priority, we wanted to gain in quality», insists Séverine Wywijas, the Order preparation department manager. It’s done. Preparation quality has improved by 40% since the switch to voice. « New recruits are better guided in preparation; the system operates a sort of self-control which enables us to ensure that the right products are prepared for the right orders », adds Séverine Wywijas. « The implementation of a voice solution should be accompanied by an overall reflection, about the processes and the arbitration to bring about gains in productivity and quality… The process is the key to the success », concludes Vincent Combe.
JM Bruneau’s Les Ulis site in a few figures
- Over 16.000 product references - 31 stations fitted with voice - 5.000 to 6.000 boxes prepared a day using voice - 1.6 million orders a year - Over 900.000 customers - 72.000 m2 of storage space - Nearly 900 employees - 1h maximum between the order being taken and the box being prepared |
About Bruneau
Bruneau is a major French presence in the distribution of office supplies and furniture with a turnover of 316,4 million Euros in 2008. Founded in 1955, the ensign was bought out over 10 years ago by the 3 Suisses International Group to be developed in Europe (Belgium, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands). Its success is built on a range of over 16 000 products and a wide range of associated services.
