Efficient warehouse management through digitalization: Wholesaler Nerlich & Lesser KG demonstrates the importance of digital processes in the warehouse. Since the implementation of REMIRA's warehouse software DILOS, Nerlich & Lesser has achieved a 60% increase in sales and warehouse throughput, as well as a massive acceleration of throughput times in goods receiving and picking. In January, a second location was converted to DILOS, followed by another in December.
When the family-owned company Nerlich & Lesser opted for the warehouse management software DILOS of the software provider REMIRA at its headquarters in Deggendorf in 2015, the direction was clear: Logistics processes needed to be restructured and made more transparent, throughput times needed to be reduced and inventory quality needed to be improved. Michael Ochmann, authorized signatory and logistics manager at Nerlich & Lesser, was involved in the selection of the system:
„"In addition to the technical aspects, it was important for us to find a regional provider or partner with whom we could successfully implement the project. REMIRA's location in Regensburg was therefore ideal." Nerlich & Lesser employs 430 people at eight locations. As a wholesaler with the divisions of building materials, tiles and building services, Nerlich & Lesser has a high assortment diversity with products from the areas of stones, dry construction, tiles, building elements, plumbing and heating to sanitary articles. This combination is unique in the region. With several deliveries a day, Nerlich & Lesser's customers are used to a high standard of logistics that the company strives to meet at all times. A suitable warehouse management software was needed to support this goal and further optimize the processes.
Warehouse throughput increase of 60 % through digital processes
With DILOS, digitization was introduced at Nerlich + Lesser. While everything used to be document-oriented and processed manually, the processes now run completely digitally. Since deploying the software, the wholesaler has significantly increased productivity, achieving a 60% increase in warehouse throughput with the same number of employees.
"We have also noticed a massive acceleration in throughput time in goods receipt and picking. We have reduced supplier complaints and errors in receiving and shipping to an average of less than 10 errors for approximately 10,000 SKUs per week. We can quickly train new employees with DILOS thanks to the clear and well-defined process specifications," explains Ochmann.
The use of the warehouse management software has also significantly reduced search and idle time due to lack of transparency. Approximately 97% of the items are picked according to the customer's exact requirements, and the IT-supported process with DILOS has been able to compensate for previous fluctuations in quality due to human error. The WMS serves as the foundation for the digitization of further logistics processes, such as route management up to unloading scanning at the goods recipient or the integration of shipping software. In any case, DILOS is the data basis for connecting further systems.
Smooth project flow also at other locations
On January 1, the Seidewinkel site in Saxony was also equipped with DILOS. There, the company operates the warehouse location with 25 logistics employees in order to supply the customers daily with predominantly own delivery traffic, which is connected to DILOS via an AIS route planning system. Thanks to the existing interface connection to the gevis enterprise resource planning system of GWS, the additional warehouse could be put into operation after a six-month planning, design and preparation period without any noise or start-up problems - not least because the Nerlich & Lesser team had built up a great deal of know-how during the process phase at the Deggendorf site. Michael Ochmann was also pleased with the smooth start-up:
"The fact that the project went so smoothly is due, on the one hand, to the trustful cooperation and good project planning with REMIRA. In addition, we also prepared the project perfectly internally. All employees were highly motivated and contributed to the smooth start-up."
Scalability for further locations guaranteed
The next roll-out is already planned for December 2023. The DILOS warehouse management system will then also be used in Pfarrkirchen, south of Deggendorf. Preparations are well underway, with several thousand storage locations to be inventoried, a warehouse layout to be created, and Wi-Fi lighting and network cabling to be installed. Employee training and an initial inventory as well as relabeling of all storage bins are also on the to-do list. But Michael Ochmann is relaxed about the tasks:
"These are all issues that can be easily handled internally with proper pre-planning.Other startups are also mostly internal preparation topics. The processes are largely unaffected by this, as we have now taken into account all the special features of the system in terms of process technology. And we can also rely on the support of REMIRA, as the very good cooperation in the past years shows."
Related link
nerlich-lesser.de
Learn more about REMIRA DILOS
remira.com/en/products/warehousing/dilos
Fotos: ©Nerlich & Lesser
