LINFOX has automated three of its warehouse sites using a custom “digital warehouse solution” developed with support from SAP.
Software company SAP helped Linfox implement the DWS to optimise the operations of its warehouses and streamline customer onboarding processes.
SAP said Linfox has integrated various automation systems that were running across different sites to centralise and streamline inventory management, picking, putaway, cold chain storage, dock appointment scheduling, cross-docking and dangerous goods management.
The three automated warehouse sites use technology including automated storage and retrieval systems and robotic palletisers.
SAP said the DWS has reduced the previous onboarding timeline from four months to between four and six weeks.
Linfox chief information officer Nick Delija said DWS had allowed team members to focus on higher value tasks, increasing flexibility at the company.
“This was particularly crucial during the pandemic when managing distribution of vaccines,” he said.
“DWS has also increased our speed to market, bolstering our competitiveness and exceeding customer expectations.”
Damien Bueno, president and managing director at SAP Australia and New Zealand, said Linfox had been able to centralise systems and streamline processes through real-time visibility of warehouse operations.
“[This] has enabled them to better respond to market changes and disruptions, free up resources from administrative activities, and focus on driving business growth,” he said.
“The transport, logistics and supply chain sectors have undergone significant change over the last few years, driven by ongoing pandemic-related disruption, and being able to react quickly to unexpected market and supply chain disruptions is critical to success.”
The custom DWS was created with the SAP Warehouse Management application. It was first rolled out at Linfox’s warehouses sites at the end of 2020.
