Broman Group Oy, a Finnish company specializing in the sale of car spare parts and accessories as well as home and leisure products, built a 14,000 square, 40,000 item logistics center in Hyvinkää in 2011. In connection with this, a warehouse management partner was searched for.
The idea behind the build was the strategic goal of shifting the focus of logistics from direct store deliveries to a central warehouse.
“Our new logistics center is many times bigger both in area and item numbers than the previous smaller warehouses. The old warehouse management system that was based on paper lists would not have been able to manage the new workload. We wanted an agile and reliable warehouse management system that would make picking in particular more effective,” says Logistics Manager Petri Nietula.
The starting point was the process specification created by Leanware and the customer, which was further developed as the project moved forward. Prioritization classes by order and batch picking were implemented. In 2014, the shift was made from product picking to order picking. Additionally, the EAN codes are now read from products and not from storage locations, as previously. This way, it can be ensured that the right products and orders leave at the right time and to the right destination. Development has continued actively after implementation also.
“The strength of LeanwareWMS is in that it conforms directly to our processes and it can be flexibly corrected and modified in the future. The fact that the system is operated in Finnish and that it is easy to use are also a big advantage,” Nietula says.
Positive changes were visible at Broman Group right after the LeanwareWMS was implemented. According to Nietula, both customers and staff are now more satisfied, so it’s a win-win situation.
“Especially delivery times and efficiency have improved significantly. For example, a basic weekly order can now be delivered several days quicker than before. The reduced row price is a clear indication of improved efficiency and the EAN codes have resulted in fewer picking errors,” Nietula summarizes.
The Broman Group project was realized in fall 2010. The first half of the warehouse was taken into use in the beginning of 2011 and the extension in January 2014. This makes the current total area of the warehouse 23,000 square meters. Nietula wants to specially thank the administrators:
“One of the best features is reliability. Sadly, many warehouse management systems crash – this one doesn’t.”
Broman Group Oy is a Finnish, family-owned business that specializes in car spare part and accessory sales as well as in home and leisure products. The group has three independent subsidiaries: VaraosaMaailma Oy, Motonet Oy and Bg Varasto Oy. The AD VaraosaMaailma chain has 18 stores and the Motonet chain has 21 stores. The turnover of the company, which was awarded the European Family Business Award in 2013, was almost 217 MEUR in 2013, with a growth of 6% from the previous year. The company’s new logistics center was completed in Hyvinkää in 2011, and its extension was completed in 2014.
