Leading meat wholesaler Scotbeef goes live with Empirica WMS

Scotbeef, one of Scotland s leading meat processors, has selected the Empirica warehouse management system from Chess Logistics Technology for its new distribution cold store. The company chose the Empirica product because it supported the underlying business processes but with the enhanced capabilities and data accuracy that will promote improved supply chain performance.

"Empirica supports our warehousing and distribution functions and provides us with the real time data accuracy we need to maintain the high standard our customers expect," says Robert Kennedy, Finance Director at Scotbeef.

Scotbeef produces the highest quality beef and lamb products for retail customers throughout the UK. The company works closely with farmers and offers a complete end-toend service from live animals through to the processed and packed products. It procures directly from accredited farms and maintains product identification right through the supply chain by participating in initiatives such as Scotland s Beeftrack quality assurance programme.

The company had previously been operating a small cold store supplemented by external facilities but decided that a new purpose-built in-house distribution centre would serve its needs better as the business continued to grow. Opened in October 2006 at Queenlie, near Glasgow the new 5500 pallet location warehouse is designed to provide Scotbeef with a highly efficient retail packaging and storage operation to help it maintain an edge in this competitive market. The company decided to install mobile racking to maximise the storage capacity and minimise running costs.

"This new warehouse represents a significant cold storage investment for the business and it was no longer adequate to run it using spreadsheets and paper, says Robert Kennedy. The life of the product is critical to the operation and we need to maintain integrity of data and stock movements. We decided to implement a warehouse management system which would provide the levels of traceability and reporting that can only be achieved with accurate and trustworthy figures."

Scotbeef approached a number of potential warehouse management system suppliers including Chess, which had been recommended by another cold storage company with a similar operation. The company also considered modifying the software used to manage its production process and assessed a completely bespoke system before finally choosing Empirica.

"We wanted something that would manage the warehouse, maintain the integrity of the operation and provide good value for money, says Robert Kennedy. Empirica does all of this."

The implementation is straightforward compared with many warehouses. Empirica operates in a standalone environment managing stock movement and order picking by generating paper task lists used by lift truck drivers in the warehouse. All stock movements are full pallet and with the new system the company can track individual loads and report by various criteria to create a complete and accurate audit of all products that can be used as part of its quality assurance commitment to customers.

Empirica is designed for logistics operations working in the Internet Age . Its wide range of warehouse management functions and powerful standard and web-based interface capabilities offers the optimum solution for supply chain integration by providing customers and partners access to real time inventory and stock information. Empirica covers all key elements of warehouse management and has been designed for ease of use and rapid implementation for in-house, third party and contract based operations using conventional, RF or voice-based applications.

The key benefit is the real time stock information that is now available, says Robert Kennedy. We have an audit trail of what comes in and what goes out of the warehouse."

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