KeepMe

Management had noted that oversight of stock needed to be improved, it was necessary for fulfilment to be faster and more efficient, and that any new system must be capable of managing the very different requirements of B2B and B2C operations side-by-side. With this in mind, they began to look at what the latest warehouse management systems (WMS) had to offer.

OrderFlow was one of the WMS providers that KeepMe shortlisted, in part thanks to its competitive pricing structure and B2C experience, but also because of the OrderFlow WMS’ flexibility.

“The OrderFlow warehouse management system seemed the best fit for us,” says Steve Anderson, Commercial Director at KeepMe. “OrderFlow’s B2C features looked great, but the team was also happy to work with us to modify the WMS in order to facilitate our B2B operations.”

OrderFlow also introduced handheld picking to the B2C fulfilment area as well as ‘kitting’, which allowed KeepMe to create promotional kits made up of individual products.

The first of KeepMe’s clients to move over to the new WMS was Rodial. Integration and reporting were key parts of the process, and the team set up the move in a way that allowed for seamless continuity of operations and required no changes to be made on the Rodial side of the integration.

“We went through a structured process to prepare for the go live, starting with detailed requirements gathering, followed by build, test and implementation phases,” says Phil Zoio, OrderFlow Director and CTO.

“The switch to OrderFlow has allowed KeepMe to become dramatically faster and more efficient in both its B2B and B2C fulfilment operations, while gaining full control of inventory throughout all of its warehouse processes. The pack and despatch operation is now much more streamlined and robust.”

Prior to working with OrderFlow, KeepMe didn’t have product locations on its system, which made picking quite laborious. So the first thing that needed to be done was a full warehouse inventory.

“It was a real effort, but worth it,” says Steve. “The OrderFlow team then made a lot of changes to their system to incorporate our hybrid fulfilment needs. Over a two-month period we went from not knowing where anything was in our warehouse to being in a position where we could tell you quickly what we had, how much we had and where it could be found. This dramatically improved our efficiency.”

Rodial went live on OrderFlow in October 2018 and since then KeepMe has moved a further two clients across to the new WMS – with more planned soon.

Thanks to OrderFlow, Steve has found KeepMe’s hybrid fulfilment and distribution processes “much slicker”.

“Prior to OrderFlow you had to almost be a ‘brand specialist’ to find orders, so you’d know what to look for. The locations of products in the warehouse were really hit and miss! God forbid is someone was off ill – we’d really have problems,” Steve says. “Now the system is so easy, especially thanks to the introduction of barcodes and handheld picking,” he enthuses. “Now we can take on temporary staff and train them in just five minutes.

“Promotional pack kitting is also so much quicker now, which is great for peak times like Christmas when clients want us to package up gift sets,” he continues. “Every time we want to do a promotional pack we just set it up on the system and it tells the pickers what they need to get and pack.”

The business has seen several tangible benefits to implementing OrderFlow, as Steve highlights.

“We now clear all orders by close of play 80% of the time – and that 20% exception is only during the ‘mega sales periods’. We’ve also been able to free up staff to work on other activities and mispicks have been reduced to zero thanks to the introduction of barcode technology,” he says.

“The switch to OrderFlow has enabled KeepMe’s hybrid fulfilment operations to become dramatically faster and more efficient, all while gaining full control of inventory throughout all of its warehouse processes. The pack and despatch operation is now much more streamlined and robust,” adds Phil.

“It’s been a pleasure optimising Steve’s operation and we look forward to bringing more of KeepMe’s clients onboard,” he concludes.