Collaboration with international and consulting partners automates and transforms warehousing and logistics for one of South Africa’s largest retailers
Körber Supply Chain, a global provider of supply chain solutions, today announces, that in collaboration with global distribution consulting firm Fortna and independent software developer and team augmentation partner iWMS, the company enabled omnichannel fashion value retailer Mr. Price Group Limited to evolve its operations by taking advantage of automated supply chain capabilities.
Meeting today’s consumer expectations is driving the industry to change. Supply chain professionals need technologies to handle stressed traditional logistics systems, new business models and deconsolidating networks. Together with the Körber Supply Chain Warehouse Management System (WMS) and the expertise of Körber Supply Chain professional services and Fortna, this became possible for South Africa-based Mr. Price Group Limited.
“This is a revolutionary time for the supply chain industry, with technologies emerging rapidly to enhance processes like never before,” said David S. Houser, senior vice president, international sales and operations at Körber Supply Chain. “The success of this project with our long-time customer Mr. Price Group Limited is a testament of our and our partners’ commitment to empower companies worldwide with creative, automation-aware solutions to reach their full potential today and in the future.”
In just four months, the project team migrated the entire business, consisting of five business divisions from two non-automated sites to a single, highly automated 61,000 square meter facility. Mr. Price Group Limited’s new facility utilises carton and unit sortation combined with inline label printing. The transition also required onboarding 500 new employees. Capitalising on the simplicity and adaptability of the Körber Supply Chain WMS to evolve with the business and enable the latest technologies, the companies worked together closely to assure the design of the building, automation requirements, processes and the FortnaWES™ (Warehouse Execution System) integrated smoothly. The entire move was seamless and completed prior to Mr. Price Group Limited’s peak trading season.
The migration could not have been as successful without the collaboration of all parties involved. The project required the adoption of an innovative, problem-solving approach, during which Körber Supply Chain and Fortna were pivotal in working with Mr. Price Group Limited’s logistics and IT teams during testing and implementation. The requirement to migrate quickly demanded flexible support, testing and development resource strategy across the existing and new distribution facilities. iWMS was the right partner to assist with resources at the right skill level.
“This distribution centre in Hammarsdale is one of the most automated facilities on the continent,” said Marc Austin, managing director for Fortna EMEA. “Fortna and Mr. Price designed and implemented all of the operations and systems to meet Mr. Price’s specific requirements and make this a world-class facility that will allow them to best serve their customers going forward.”
“Given the size, complexity, and length of the project, Mr. Price and iWMS created a unique engagement model to assure we removed the complexity around having multiple vendors heavily involved in implementing Körber Supply Chain,” said Richard Evans, CEO, iWMS. “Both companies continue to see substantial benefit in challenging the traditional thinking around the supplier-vendor relationship to ensure a successful outcome for everyone involved.”
Chief Delivery Officer at iWMS
