Studii de caz

Aquila

Novensys implementation has generated visibility growth for Aquila

Our client's situation

Apart from direct operational gains, implementing correctly a complex informatic solution can bring image benefits which are hard to measure, but essential to the evolution of a business. The implementation conducted by the Novensys company at Aquila, one of the most important players on the local market of logistic services, clearly proves this fact.

With an experience of more than 13 years in active FMCG distribution, Aquila Group is nowadays one of the  most important local players on the international and internal transportation and logistic services market. With an activity area covering the Balkans and expansion tendencies towards Europe, Aquila is the only company with 100% Romanian capital, that provides integrated logistic services in our country and that has managed to keep a constant growth rate of the annual turnover (125 million euro in 2006, 150 million euro in 2007) and of the visibility in the market. The positive evolution of the company was supported by strategic investments and implementations of competitive informatic solutions performed with the help of Novensys. A first step in reaching this goal was taken two years ago when the decision of implementing a new application for warehouse activities management was made as a consequence of the natural growth of the business volume (the decision was made 14 months after the opening of the first distribution center in Ploiesti) and of the high demands of Aquila's most important strategic business partner, the Unilever company. The decision of making a change was based on the results provided by an internal analysis merged with data resulting from an audit of processes conducted by Unilever specialists.

Mircea Vasile, Warehousing Manager at Aquila Part Prod Com explained the reasons for the change: "The Aquila business expanded quickly because our customers also expanded quickly. Unilever, the main client of our company developed so much that rigorous control of operations could no longer be exerted. The growth of the amount and the increased complexity of goods that customers started to pass on through Aquila imposed the necessity of change and the first thing we had to do was to head for a new informatic solution. The software solution we owned and used at that point was no longer compatible with the ongoing activities in the company and could no longer ensure control over certain business operations. In this field of activity you're lost if you don't have control and don't master all stages of the operations that take place in a warehouse, for example."

The choice criteria

The process of identifying the solution on the market wasn't easy, because discussions with six companies took place during the stage of application selection. "An essential criteria was the desire to find a supplier of the application, that has a branch office in Romania or that works with a strong partner with great skills, who can offer real service activities, 100% effective 24/7. We managed to identify several bids from companies which have branch offices abroad, but we came to see that it was quite difficult to do an implementation by phone or email" , explained Mircea Vasile and itemized the functional criteria sought in the selection:

• The application must allow rigorous control of all operations in the warehouse (in-out)
• The solution must allow the development of a complex range of reports that show a real image of the ongoing activity (current reports specific to logistic companies - inputs, outputs, stock in trade, number of stationary pallets, but also reports that allow the analysis of the efficiency of the warehouse personnel by department - reception, picking, replenishment and of other typical activities)
• The solution must offer superior scalability which enables fast adaptation to changes imposed by the market and to customer requests. (The importance of complying with this criteria was already highlighted last year - starting June 2007 when another important client entered Aquila's portfolio, the Swedish company SCA which also benefits from repacking services besides the logistic services supplied by Aquila.)

Novensys, a traditional partner

Pursuing the mentioned criteria, the selection of the supplier of the solution was naturally bound to identifying its implementer and the winning partner for Aquila was Novensys. The complete Novensys for Logistics portfolio which includes the Logistic Vision Suite solution and industry-specific equipment represented the optimal choice for Aquila. Choosing Novensys was eased by the existence of a collaboration history between the two companies in different other activities.
"Furthermore, Novensys specialists scored best in showing us what we wanted to see and in supporting us unconditionally, especially in the first stages of the project. For example, we were offered the possibility o see the application at work in a distribution center in Greece with specialized assistance throughout the whole visit. This way we obtained the confirmation of the fact that both the editing company and the software itself are very «elastic»", pointed out Mircea Vasile.
After a period of 2-3 months dedicated to the remodelling of business processes (separate discussions with the client and with the supplier of the solution, internal analysis - in order to identify the optimal workflow which will combine the customers, the service suppliers, the customers' clients and the software supplier etc. in one functional entity) and a hardware upgrade (to the Logistic Vision Suite solution were added mobile devices from Motorola and Zebra mobile printers), the actual implementation process of the application began. It ended in June 2007 for SCA and in February 2008 for Unilever, while in march it went live for the second Aquila distribution center opened in Tureni, Cluj county. The implementation of Logistic Vision Suite was completed quickly, giving special attention to the customization of specific functionalities requested by Aquila. (For example, when the composition of the "mixed" pallets (which contain several products) is done, the system delivers a list with all products contained in the pallet, the list containing the product code, its full name and the quantity and being useful to drivers who deliver the goods, as it prevents issues with the reception of goods).
"The collaboration with Novensys during the whole implementation, but also in the «after-go-live» stage, was and still is very good. Novensys specialists came to meet our requests, facilitating our access to quality expertise even from the parent-company, whose specialists advised us in critical phases of the implementation. The answers to all our requests were prompt and very efficient. Novensys anticipated our needs and came up fast with completions and new solutions", specified the Aquila representative.

Customer advantage

Even though it's premature to quantify the efficiency of the application, because the first stage of reaching an optimal level of usage of the Logistic Vision Suite application hasn't ended yet, several direct benefits generated by the application are already visible. Several operational gains have already been highlighted and are visible in productivity improvement in the warehouse through:

• operations control in the warehouse;
• managing of the warehouse performance indicators;
• traceability of batches;
• specialization of warehouse operators;
• indentifying and defining several algorithms for storage, picking etc.;
• control of the distribution and warehouse activities from a single command center;
• superior reporting possibilities.

This last improvement was one of the main goals targeted by the beneficiary of the implementation - the most complete image of all warehousing and logistic activities through a large portfolio of reports, which can offer a good overview of the entire business. Besides a better control over our operations, we also gained higher speed in data and documents processing, which is increasing continuously.
"It's premature to even estimate financial earnings brought by the implementation of the Logistic Vision Suite solution, but I can already say that its first effect is the increased visibility on the Romanian market. Important clients who wish to outsource their logistic activities are looking out for us more than ever. And this increase of notoriety is also due to the implementation of Logistic Vision Suite by Novensys. At the same time, the increase in notoriety is accompanied with an increase of business volume deployed with our customers. For example, related to our activities with SCA, after one month of accommodation and adjustments from both sides, as we constantly managed to improve the business processes we were carrying on with them - like reducing reception time, making order closing procedures more effective, increasing speed of feedback on their new requests etc., the people from SCA understood that the advantage is on their side. The results speak for themselves: after four months from the start of the collaboration with Aquila, SCA doubled its business volume. Furthermore, starting with this year they have requested the extension of activities in the repacking area, which we have reconsidered to up to 70% compared to how it was done 2-3 months ago. We have greatly improved this area because it contributes significantly to our business", explained the Warehousing Manager of Aquila Part Prod Com.

Superior capitalization through top equipment

The advantages of the Logistic Vision Suite application were also assured by the hardware infrastructure provided by Novensys, as the Novensys portfolio includes the most efficient mobile devices and printers currently on the market. Being one of the strategic partners of Motorola and Zebra for its region, Novensys assured a superior capitalization of the capabilities of the application by integrating the equipment: Motorola AP-5131 and MC9090-G, as well as Zebra S4M printers in a complex hardware architecture for complete infrastructure support of the logistic activities.
Motorola AP-5131 equipment provided superior wireless connectivity with an optimal security level and at lower cost. This device offers high flexibility through dual-radio architecture, allowing fast connection to VPN, internet and to the local resources network, insuring real-time communication. AP-5131 offers superior efficiency by integrating router capabilities, firewall, VPN, DHCP, AAA, hotspot gateway and other services, which makes it easy to configure and manage the network. The security standards with Motorola equipment enable completely safe connection of many types of mobile devices. The large variety of administration options allow identification and real-time reporting of unauthorized connection attempts in the network. AP-5131 provides the possibility of creating a complex multinode, multilink network, with a large, easy to configure coverage area, leading to low implementation and ownership cost.

Specific voice and data communication needs of Aquila were covered by the multimode wireless Motorola MC9090-G device. Specially designed to face rough environments, the device offers high reliability, doubled by a top technical specifications. Built with cutting-edge technology, MC9090-G provides optimal access for mobile users to the company's data and to critical applications, allowing wireless operations by LAN/PAN (WLAN radio).

Featuring the latest Intel processor, the device runs two of the most stable Windows operating systems (Windows Mobile 5.0 or Windows CE 5.0) ensuring the needed flexibility and making it easy to use and integrate with other applications. The ergonomic pistol-grip design offers end-users increased comfort in scanning and inventory management operations through multiple capture options. Superior autonomy and advanced power options, as well as the reliability of the MC9090-G mobile computer, make it possible to have both low TCO and increased efficiency in warehousing and logistic activities, by reducing errors and improving productivity and profitability.

The Novensys for Logistics hardware portfolio is only complete by integrating the Zebra S4M printers in the network. Designed to ensure both low cost of ownership and superior reliability, the Zebra printers represent the warranty for quality in product labeling. The special design featuring a front panel that allows simple and fast navigation between options, as well as the ease in changing the consumables of the printer, allow users to save precious time and to focus on productive operations. Fast 10/100 Ethernet or wireless 802.11b network integration is provided by a variety of connection options through parallel and serial ports and USB interfaces. Zebra S4M is compliant with most industry standards and covers customer needs, ensuring superior print quality at 203dpi/8 dots per mm or 300 dpi/12 dots per mm (optional) at a speed of 6"/152 mm per second.

"By using the new solution we are able to extract from the system a report about the goods with the lowest circulation. After highlighting this hard-to-market stock we try to move it in order to create new storage room. Thus, we manage to obtain double efficiency - for us and for our customers. Also, making our activity more efficient is one of our priorities this year, a goal we intend to achieve through a series of guidelines that we started to define and quantify as a result of the experience we gained. (...)The Novensys implementation gives us confidence and a feeling of security through the more rigorous control we have over our business. And the further developments will allow even greater control." - Mircea Vasile, Warehousing Manager, Aquila Part Prod Com.