CASE STUDY Retail Non-food GAME Stores Retain Competitive Edge with Automated Distribution Operation The operation handles nearly twice the volume on 10 percent less floor area >> Customer challenge: Need to keep pace with business growth and become less resource dependent, especially at seasonal peaks of Christmas and school holidays. Improve efficiency and flexibility. >> Solution: Integrated distribution operation based on a batch pick and sortation system, including fully automated miniload storage and retrieval, automated handling, and overall warehouse management system. >> Benefits: - Lower operational costs - Lower resource dependency - Improved efficiency and flexibility - Improved service level to stores >> Outlook: - Designed with future expansion and flexibility in mind - Ability to accommodate growth in number of stores served - Ability to increase throughput capacity by over 30% >> The customer challenge: In a market where having the latest blockbuster game or console in stock at the retail outlets first is a significant competitive advantage, specialist video-game retailer GAME Stores (UK) recognised that their existing logistics operation would be a constraint on future growth and success. The market leader had been operating from a combined warehouse and headquarters in Bracknell, Berkshire. Having evolved over time the national distribution centre was beginning to struggle with their growth. GAME Stores’ Head of Logistics, Tony Lewin: “The NDC was not purpose designed and had expanded either side of our original operation. We were very resource dependent, especially at the seasonal peaks of Christmas and school holidays.” “We needed to increase shift patterns and had begun to struggle with volume as we were competing with other local employers such as Royal Mail,” Lewin continues. “We already used conveyors and flow racking but we wanted a more efficient picking operation. We also wanted to improve our accuracy.” CASE STUDY Accuracy is far better, currently around 99.5 % >> The solution: With the lease due to expire on the existing Bracknell headquarters, GAME Stores decided to move to a new site, take a fresh look at distribution centre operations and develop a solution which would support their market leading performance into the future. The solution was to move to a purpose designed operation on a brownfield site in Basingstoke, where space and staff were more readily available. After careful examination of alternatives, GAME Stores chose Vanderlande Industries to provide an integrated solution. “Their reputation was important, as we needed the system to deliver first time and be supported, and their sales team worked closely with us to develop and refine ideas,” expands Lewin. “A great deal of our product is presented in DVD sized cases and is suitable for sortation. Coupled with our business process the concept developed into a batch pick and sortation system. Vanderlande Industries’ cross belt sorter was the best fit and it worked.” This sorter technology also offered the flexibility to handle peripheral products, and the ability to cope with future changes in games software case dimensions. The solution encompasses key sortation technology, fully automated miniload storage and retrieval, automated handling, and also the overall warehouse management system (WMS) that controls the batch picking process, as well as manual and automated operations on the site. The entire operation is managed and controlled by Vanderlande Industries’ VISION™ warehouse management system, closely integrated with a JDA business system. Key to the success is the ability to be as flexible as possible when assigning product to the variety of picking techniques used in the warehouse. “It is very easy to change the type of picking for a product,” comments Lewin. Lewin is confident that the new distribution system has future proofed logistics operations. “The sorter will handle the vast majority of SKUs and almost everything we will handle in the future, but we still have several ways of picking any product and can change depending on volume and urgency, we’ve covered every eventuality.” “Implementing a WMS will formalise your procedures but Vanderlande Industries have implemented a WMS which gives us ultimate flexibility. The system also gives us excellent statistical analysis and we can always see how we are performing.” “With the new WMS, processes can be automated that previously required manual intervention. This means that we are now more flexible, we can plan for the expected volume and even if something does come in late we can react to it.” GAME is flexible in assigning product to a variety of picking techniques used 02. VANDERLANDE INDUSTRIES / GAME STORE CASE STUDY The new installation operates with less than half the staff requirement of the old site >> Processes are automated that previously required manual intervention The benefits: GAME Stores are convinced that the new integrated distribution operation has achieved the goals of increased efficiency and flexibility, while being able to cope with extra volume and achieve rapid distribution of critical new products. “There has been a vast improvement in performance. Our accuracy is far better, currently around 99.5 per cent and it is virtually impossible to pick the wrong product,” states Lewin. “This has a knock on effect for the stores; they know they will receive the right product at the right time, which gives confidence in on-shelf availability.” “The new Vanderlande Industries system is able to give us the edge over our competitors. We are also now able to place more emphasis on making the stores’ life as easy as possible, making sure stock is available quickly and efficiently which helps build our customer loyalty as well.” Although the operation has future capacity to handle over 120,000 items per day, the new installation operates with less than half the staff requirement of the old Bracknell site. Lewin adds; “we also have an allocation team that looks at forward store requirements and makes sure we can deliver off-peak efficiency.” Despite being able to handle almost twice the volume of the old distribution centre, the new site actually has 10% less floor area at 9,400 square metres (101,000 sq ft). Having the latest blockbuster in stores first is key . VANDERLANDE INDUSTRIES / GAME STORE 03 The sorter can be readily expanded to accommodate future growth >> Outlook: “The new Vanderlande Industries system is able to give us the edge over our competitors. We are also now able to place more emphasis on making the stores’ life as easy as possible, making sure stock is available quickly and efficiently which helps build our customer loyalty as well.” GAME Stores Head of Logistics, Tony Lewin Contact name: Roger Peart, (Sales & Marketing Manager) Vanderlande Industries UK Aragon House, Hampton Court, 59 Marsh Lane, Hampton-in-Arden, Solihull, West Midlands, B92 0AJ United Kingdom Phone +44 (0)1675 44 37 43 / Fax +44 (0)1675 44 31 69 www.vanderlande.com be expanded in the future to increase RF directed manual picking as well. Lewin is confident that as games and customers change, the new distribution system will be able to evolve with them to keep GAME Stores at the forefront of the industry. This capability also includes incorporating acquisitions such as Gameplay and absorbing their activities into the Basingstoke site. PUBL 2253 EN/08-07 This information is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment on the part of Vanderlande Industries. The operation has been designed from the outset with future expansion and flexibility in mind. Space has been allowed for an extra miniload. The design of the sortation system includes provision for two more induct stations, increasing throughput capacity by over 30%. Additionally, the sorter can be readily expanded to accommodate future growth in the number of stores served. Although the sortation already operates on a mezzanine, this level can