Wholesaler completes implementation of WMS from 3i Infotech to control rapidly moving inventory
Edison, NJ — June 30, 2006 — Book wholesaler Bookazine has completed the implementation of a warehouse management system (WMS) from 3i Infotech to manage and control rapidly moving inventory in its 125,000 square foot warehouse and distribution center.
With access to more than 1.2 million titles and relationships with over 25,000 publishers world-wide, Bookazine turned to 3i Infotech when it realized it could not keep up with the rapidly growing number of titles and customers in its database.
By deploying the provider's ORION WMS, Bookazine has streamlined its warehouse operations to now handle full and partial cartons of books directly from the receiving dock, integrate with in-line scales to determine best fit in available slots and communicate in real time with its conveyor systems to sort and divert correctly.
As a result of these improvements, Bookazine is now able to optimize its inventory and maximize warehouse productivity through the use of radio frequency (RF) bar-coding, RFID tagging and automated, handheld data collection devices, according to 3i Infotech.
"As our business continued to expand in terms of the number of titles and customers, our current software could not keep pace," said Allan Davis, vice president of distribution for Bookazine. "We looked to ORION WMS to handle the increased volume and still keep up with the demands of the business."
"The rule-based logic of the system allows Bookazine to configure the warehouse to changing conditions, which are common in our industries," said Al Silon, receiving manager at Bookazine. "The exceptional reporting capabilities and manpower analysis enable us to quickly respond to product availability questions and properly schedule resources."
Silon continued: "In our business, space is at a premium, and turnover of book titles is fierce. We rely heavily on software's inventory control and management to suggest inventory moves to consolidate stock and free up inventory slots for the next shipment of books. As rapidly as consumer tastes change, so do the subjects and titles of books arriving on our inventory docks."
"The warehouse software has laid the foundation for Bookazine to achieve its goal of becoming a paperless distribution center," added Davis.
"Bookazine needed integration tools that would complement its AS/400-based backend system and update common data systems cross platforms," said Sharad Vajpayee, vice president of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for 3i Infotech Inc. "ORION WMS replaced a weak link in Bookazine's existing inventory process without affecting the positive features and benefits of the picking, packing and shipping function. While integration with any third-party software is never easy, we did it successfully without minimizing existing benefits"
Additional Articles of Interest
— Financial accountability laws offer an opportunity to elevate the importance of Supply Chain to the C-level suite. Find out more in "The Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on Supply Chain Management," in the April/May 2006 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
— Long-time e-procurement users share their best practices for driving value in an article that highlights initiatives underway at leading manufacturers. Read more in "The Veterans," cover story in the April/May 2006 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
Edison, NJ — June 30, 2006 — Book wholesaler Bookazine has completed the implementation of a warehouse management system (WMS) from 3i Infotech to manage and control rapidly moving inventory in its 125,000 square foot warehouse and distribution center.
With access to more than 1.2 million titles and relationships with over 25,000 publishers world-wide, Bookazine turned to 3i Infotech when it realized it could not keep up with the rapidly growing number of titles and customers in its database.
By deploying the provider's ORION WMS, Bookazine has streamlined its warehouse operations to now handle full and partial cartons of books directly from the receiving dock, integrate with in-line scales to determine best fit in available slots and communicate in real time with its conveyor systems to sort and divert correctly.
As a result of these improvements, Bookazine is now able to optimize its inventory and maximize warehouse productivity through the use of radio frequency (RF) bar-coding, RFID tagging and automated, handheld data collection devices, according to 3i Infotech.
"As our business continued to expand in terms of the number of titles and customers, our current software could not keep pace," said Allan Davis, vice president of distribution for Bookazine. "We looked to ORION WMS to handle the increased volume and still keep up with the demands of the business."
"The rule-based logic of the system allows Bookazine to configure the warehouse to changing conditions, which are common in our industries," said Al Silon, receiving manager at Bookazine. "The exceptional reporting capabilities and manpower analysis enable us to quickly respond to product availability questions and properly schedule resources."
Silon continued: "In our business, space is at a premium, and turnover of book titles is fierce. We rely heavily on software's inventory control and management to suggest inventory moves to consolidate stock and free up inventory slots for the next shipment of books. As rapidly as consumer tastes change, so do the subjects and titles of books arriving on our inventory docks."
"The warehouse software has laid the foundation for Bookazine to achieve its goal of becoming a paperless distribution center," added Davis.
"Bookazine needed integration tools that would complement its AS/400-based backend system and update common data systems cross platforms," said Sharad Vajpayee, vice president of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for 3i Infotech Inc. "ORION WMS replaced a weak link in Bookazine's existing inventory process without affecting the positive features and benefits of the picking, packing and shipping function. While integration with any third-party software is never easy, we did it successfully without minimizing existing benefits"
Additional Articles of Interest
— Financial accountability laws offer an opportunity to elevate the importance of Supply Chain to the C-level suite. Find out more in "The Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on Supply Chain Management," in the April/May 2006 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
— Long-time e-procurement users share their best practices for driving value in an article that highlights initiatives underway at leading manufacturers. Read more in "The Veterans," cover story in the April/May 2006 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
- More articles about 3i Infotech.
