Halfords, the motor accessories retailer, has completed
the deployment of a warehouse management package to all three of
its national distribution centres.
The implementation of the system, from Manhattan Associates, is
part of a total IT overhaul at the retailer, which is one of the
largest non-food chains in the UK. The Warehouse Management
software integrates with Halfords' My SAP 4.6 enterprise resource
planning application, which is deployed in the retailer's head
office, linked by a SAP integration platform.
The new warehouse system replaced proprietary legacy systems
which were used when Halfords was part of the Boots group, and
which had recently become increasingly difficult to support.
Halfords plans to complete the overhaul of its supply chain by
implementing new stores systems in the next two years.
"We are about to embark on the third and final phase: the
replacement of our store systems.
"Within a five-year period, we will replace all our IT," said
the retailer's head of business systems, Brian Scott.
The Warehouse Management system should enable Halfords to
improve the efficiency of the two distribution centres that it
directly manages and at the third centre, which is managed on its
behalf by specialist company Unipart Logistics.
The product works with a radio-frequency network. Employees
have to scan each order they pick with handheld devices.
Each scan is time and date stamped, which enables Halfords' head
office to monitor individual employees' efficiency.
The supplier's vice-president of European operations, Allen
Scott, said, "That way you start getting some productivity. Over
the course of the day, you can see which staff are picking more
quickly."
Halfords' system
- IBM P series I6000 server running IBM's AIX Unix
- Oracle database
- MySAP ERP
- Manhattan Associates' Warehouse Management System.