Armour gets warehousing in peak condition with Davies & Robson
May 16, 2012
Logistics consultancy, Davies & Robson, has completed a successful warehouse optimisation project for award-winning consumer electronics firm, Armour Home.
Armour Home is a UK consumer electronics group within the home and in-car communication and entertainment markets, committed to designing, manufacturing and distributing leading-edge audio and visual products and solutions. The company is part of AIM-listed Armour Group plc which employs more than 300 people across its Armour Automotive and Armour Home divisions, with eight operating locations in the UK, Sweden and Hong Kong.
Following the merger of Armour Home's Electronics and Alphason Design business units, the company recently consolidated its warehousing activities into a single facility in Wigan.
With margins tight and competition fierce within the consumer electronics market, Armour Group commissioned Davies & Robson to ensure the merged warehousing operations were efficient and effective and, in particular, could meet throughput and service expectations leading up to the Christmas peak trading period. Particular challenges included the differing business processes, remote sales and purchasing teams, poor product recognition, multiple communications channels and a lack of accurate management information.
Davies & Robson undertook detailed process mapping and investigation as well as a review of the shift patterns and performance of the warehouse. A number of recommendations were made and introduced including standardisation of business processes and implementation of revised receipts, put away and picking processes to minimise handling and errors within the warehouse.
The project also involved clarifying roles and responsibilities within the warehouse, the introduction of a weekly performance dashboard comprising simple, measurable and relevant performance indicators and the introduction of regular formal communication between the purchasing, operations and sales teams and performance based team briefings for the warehouse staff.
The performance of the warehouse now regularly hits 99.5% on time in full and, with the formalised review of failures and rectification plans, is expected to continue to increase.
George Dexter, CEO of Armour Group plc, said: "We are not supply chain experts so it made sense for us to buy in some skills and knowledge to ensure that this vital part of our business runs smoothly. Davies & Robson worked efficiently, without causing any disruption to our ongoing operations and yet were able to deliver a highly successful solution. I would have no hesitation in working with them again."
