Pricecheck Case Study
Pricecheck Case Study
“We are meeting and exceeding our business growth ambitions. We would not have been able to do so without Socius24 and Blue Yonder Dispatcher WMS.”
Mark Lythe, Joint Managing Director, Pricecheck
About Pricecheck
Pricecheck is a multi-award-winning international wholesaler and distributor of branded FMCG goods. It has more than 8,000 products in stock at any one time ranging from health & beauty, fragrance and toiletries to food & drink, alcohol, household and vaping.
Established in Sheffield in 1978, it now exports to more than 80 countries and provides a full supply chain solution whilst remaining true to the family values it was founded on – embracing technology, talent and trends to ensure it provides a world class service.
Background
Pricecheck’s vision is to be the first choice distribution partner for brand owners and customers across the world. Its customer base is varied and ranges from big-name high street brands to small independents. Its plan is to double turnover within the next five years, to achieve this Pricecheck needed a solution that not only provided support for the scale of its current operation, but would not restrict its business growth strategy moving forward.
For Pricecheck, customer service is a key driver, with the aim to offer its customers the broadest range of stock from a diverse supplier list, and be able to achieve distribution within a 48-hour delivery window. To do this requires both agility and operational efficiency.
Key Challenges
Pricecheck’s warehouse operations were run on paper-based manual systems with all of the inherent drawbacks. As a business, it had very limited visibility of real-time stock levels, orders being picked and staff productivity.
This paper-based approach meant that Pricecheck was unable to embrace any sizeable increase in order volume without the need to significantly increase staff numbers. Without a WMS in place, a three-stage picking process was required for certain types of orders to ensure accuracy. Daily manual checks of locations were needed to find free pallet space and there was no automated way to deal with product attributes such as ‘Best Before End’ (BBE) dates, batch management and restricted goods.
The result was that these manual operations were unable to provide the responsive service that Pricecheck wanted to deliver with most orders requiring a three-day lead-time.
Solutions Delivered
Socius24 implemented the Blue Yonder Dispatcher WMS, along with its User Service Portal (USP) into two Pricecheck warehouses in South Yorkshire: its 133,000 sq ft head office in Beighton, Sheffield and its newly leased second warehouse nearby in Manvers, Rotherham which is 245,000 sq ft.
Outcome
Blue Yonder Dispatcher WMS has totally transformed operations at Pricecheck; it has provided the visibility and traceability that just wasn’t possible with manual systems and has increased efficiencies across every part of the process, from receiving stock to fulfilling orders:
STREAMLINE ORDER FULFILMENT – Through the introduction of Blue Yonder Dispatcher WMS, Pricecheck has been able to reduce the lead time on order fulfilment from three days to two days across customer orders.
INCREASED EFFICIENCY & QUALITY – Pricecheck has been able to optimise the efficiency of operatives by automating business logic within Dispatcher WMS to deliver structured pick and put-away routines which reduces errors and improves quality of orders.
INCREASED VISIBILITY – The Socius24 USP has unlocked a wealth of information and insights within Blue Yonder Dispatcher WMS that is easily accessible across the business. Buyers and brand owners have the insights they need to align selling strategies and managers have far greater control over the operation.
ENABLING GROWTH – The depth of functionality provided by Blue Yonder Dispatcher WMS is enabling Pricecheck to expand its operation, not only significantly increasing order throughput, but also to grow the range of products it offers to clients.
Blue Yonder Dispatcher Warehouse Management System
Blue Yonder is one of the most recognisable and implemented solutions in the world.
Socius24’s expertise comes from our involvement in the design and development of the original RedPrairie Dispatcher solution, which enables us to fast-track deployment and ensure that our clients use its capabilities to the full. This reduces the cost and risk of deployment, leveraging a broad set of pre-built templates and plug-ins, allowing our customers to quickly gain the functionality they require.
