Reckitt Benckiser soups up supply chain with R1m RF solution

Reckitt Benckiser, a manufacturer and distributor of household cleaning products in SA and globally, has implemented a R1 million radio frequency (RF) solution from RangeGate at its warehouse and production facilities. Implemented in a phased roll-out ending late last year, the solution has improved productivity, increased customer service levels and streamlined the company`s operations.

Dave Buller, head of planning and logistics at Reckitt Benckiser, says: "We operate in a very competitive environment and felt it necessary to improve and enhance customer satisfaction levels to retain our competitive advantage. We own our entire supply chain - from raw materials to production, packaging and distribution facilities - and ensuring the correct stock levels and that production output meets customer demand is critical to ensure customer satisfaction."

The company looked at a number of technology offerings but selected the RangeGate solution as it had the widest experience in the FMCG arena and its solutions were proven, says Buller. The solution comprises an RF application enabling scanning of production and warehouse processes, with real-time updates to JD Edwards World version 7.3 using RangeGate`s InterGate connectivity tool. Symbol RF equipment, PDT6846 scanners and Access Points 4121 11meg were installed at the company`s Elandsfontein warehouse.

Tanya Bester, business consultant at RangeGate, notes that Reckitt Benckiser had already seen the benefits of barcode scanning in its production facility. "There was, however, a further requirement for an optimisation and accuracy tool to streamline the flow of goods in and out of the company`s warehouse. With the implementation of JD Edwards version 7.3, they recognised the opportunity to upgrade the existing RangeGate solution."

The solution provides real-time data, enabling management to make decisions based on accurate information. There is also a reduction in the duplication of effort as the user on the warehouse or production floor performs the transactions directly into the JD Edwards ERP suite via a simple interface.

"The solution kicks in at production declaration, the last point of the production line, and the start of the warehousing phase. Our aim is to keep our pipeline constantly full, which means improved management of stock and tracking of raw materials and finished goods. The RF solution has supported the drive to increase our customer service rate to above 98%. This means that of 100 orders requested, we are able to fulfil 98% of them accurately. This figure is up from 94% a year ago," says Buller.

He adds that other benefits have been getting the stock count time down from five hours to under 60 minutes. "The invoice generation that is usually done after the stock picking has taken place can now also be done in one minute, down from an average of 20 minutes," he adds.

To ensure availability - as downtime of the ERP system or the connection to the ERP will result in a loss of revenue - the RangeGate solution provides business continuity until the connection to JD Edwards is re-established.

The simultaneous implementation of the JD Edwards ERP suite proved to be a challenge, complicating matters for users and for the RangeGate implementation team. Despite this, Buller notes that the RangeGate team provided outstanding service: "They were highly proficient at problem resolution, were extremely professional and interacted with us at a senior executive level. Change management is never easy and we thus involved shop-floor workers from an early stage, incorporating their recommendations and allowing them `ownership` of the solution."