Uniware Warehouse Management implementation for one of the Largest Footwear Manufacturer & Online Retailer in India
Company Overview
India’s one of the largest men & women footwear brand and manufacturer is based out of North India. The company manufactures almost 1 Lac pairs every day and the revenue exceeds more than 100 MN dollars. Ove the last 50 years, the company has made its strong presence in Indian footwear market with a wide network of 500+ distributors and sell their footwear brand through 50,000+ retail (EBO & MBO) outlets. In order to match consumer expectation, the company has also launched it exclusive online store for each of their brand and also sell them on established online marketplaces – Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong, Snapdeal and Amazon India.
Client’s Goal
The client has a complex system consisting wide network of 500+ distributors and 50,000+ retail outlets. Their goal was to make the system simplified and aligned for all the warehouse inward/outward activities:
2Mn+ Units Dispatched/Month
2.2Mn SKU Live On Sales Channels
40% Decline In Returns
30K+ Inventory Count
Challenges : Process, Operations & Management
Before implementing Uniware WMS, the company’s entire WMS operations was running on a bespoke ERP solution which could not deliver a great experience when it comes to the scalability, usability, and product features required specific to the client’s complex business model. This resulted in several operational challenges, such as:
- Lack of real time inventory visibility across all distribution centres, leading to lot of data mismatch and inaccuracy in inventoy levels
- Lack of transparency of complete order lifecycle (Pick, Pack, Ship etc.) across all distribution centres, due to no automated order status sync
- On top of it, the existing solution was not unable to handle E-commerce focused warehouse management operations which require online sales channel & shipping partner configurations
- Lack of automated solution to take care of comprehensive inbound and outbound warehouse operations leading to issues in daily operations
This was the time 2 years ago, when the client, in order to bring more automation, efficiency in inbound & outbound operations, inventory level accuracy and handle complex return process on ecommerce orders, started looking for a robust, cost effective, scalable and easy to use warehouse management solution for its multiple facilities – Both National distribution centre as well as regional distribution centres.
Collaboration with Unicommerce
The company has noticed an exponential growth in ecommerce sales and wanted to improve their B2C fulfillment operations through a tested and proven technology.
- After spending a good time in evaluating multiple products in the market across various business parameters (scalability, cost, ease of use etc.), they zeroed in and selected Uniware, an Advanced Warehouse Management Solution on SaaS platform for one of its regional facility. The solution had matched critical business parameters like
- Mature & Stable solution making the system more reliable and cost effective, with reduced cost of operation and logistics
- Integration with leading online sales channels and logistic partners have boosted and simplified the or der fulfillment processes
- Comprehensive support of inbound and outbound warehouse processes through advanced features like cycle count, FIFO, handheld support etc.
- Complete data visibility across both the HQ and regional centres about key metrics, through a completely automated system helping them manage their day to day operations
- Easy & quick to set up (complete setup done in 15-20 days) without disturbing the on-going fulfillment operations
- Centralized order and inventory management solution resulting in reduced manual e ffort, giving the client time to strategize and focus more on brand building
Results – Then and Now, How the things changed
After the successful launch of Uniware WMS, the leading manufacturer started seeing positive results – fully automated processes, lower manpower requirement, increased order flow etc. leading to a satisfied customer who has been using the solution effectively for 2+ years.
Let’s quickly review some of the benefits of the Collaboration:
- Automated system resulting in smooth fulfillment operations at ground level & cost reduction in P&L and balance sheet
- Easy monitoring of the remote facilities and ability to generate MIS required for business plans & operations
- Managing increased order flow with same manpower (35% increase in facility level) leading to higher profitability
- Inventory management at item level through complete visibility to HQ and warehouse managers through scheduled daily reports
- Effective returns management to significantly improve returns reconciliation (more than 50% benefit)
