RFBS have completed an upgrade to Unique Health Products' Navigator warehouse solution to support end-to-end
batch and expiry date tracking of selected products.
UHP partnered with RFBS in 2010, implementing the Navigator WMS solution to improve inventory management
and reduce picking mistakes. UHP make
extensive use of all of the available transactions, including purchase order receiving, put away, replenishment, zone based order picking, cycle counting and despatch.
Navigator enables seamless data exchange between MYOB EXO, TNT's freight
management application and MYOB EXO's Clarity reporting engine.
The Opportunity
With sustained growth in their range of health-food products, UHP saw an opportunity to reduce waste and improve customer
service by further tightening their inventory processes by recording batch and expiry dates of inwards and outbound stock.
The Solution
RFBS worked closely with UHP to perform an in-place upgrade of the WMS, after which selected stock items could be marked as 'batch' or 'batch and expiry' tracked.
The entire Navigator solution, from goods inwards, through bulk storage, replenishment, putaway and picking is now 'batch aware'.
Tracked items are labelled at receipt time using using
Zebra QLn420 portable label printers.
Each label contains the part number, description and a multi-part
GS1-128 barcode. RFBS
ensured compliance with the standard, and included the
EAN number,
batch number and expiry using the relevant application identifiers.
Navigator's batch labels are compliant with the
Voice Pick Code initiative,
which allows customers to accurately put-away, replenish, cycle count and pick batch tracked stock in both scanner driven and
hands-free
voice picking applications.
The Result
Unique Health Products now have enhanced visibility on their biggest asset. With batch information now available at the click of a button, the company
can effectively manage 'short dated' stock, reducing write-offs and ensuring compliance with customer shelf-life mandates.