Manhattan Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ: MANH), the global leader in supply chain execution and optimisation solutions, today announced that Halfords has completed its UK implementation of the Warehouse Management component of Manhattan Associates Integrated Logistics Solutions.
Manhattan Associates Warehouse Management solution for Open Systems operates at Halfords on IBMs eServer platform and has been running the retailers 2 national distribution centres (NDCs) at Redditch for more than 12 months. Now also live at the NDC in Cowley, Oxfordshire, the solution has been deployed across all three sites to improve accuracy, quality and speed of delivery, and to complement Halfords SAP ERP system.
The three national distribution centres each serve the UK and Eire with a different selection of products. Halfords currently occupies approximately 200,000 square feet of the Cowley distribution centre, which is operated by Unipart Logistics. The NDC contains many hard car parts, such as alternators, air filters and brake pads, along with bulky objects such as baby seats and roof boxes.
The Cowley installation of Manhattan Associates Warehouse Management solution for Open Systems represents the last stage of Halfords order fulfilment system replacement programme. The legacy system superseded by Manhattan Associates solution dated from the era when Halfords was still part of The Boots Company plc. Being largely manual it was not only complicated to use but had become increasingly difficult to support technically. Manhattan Associates solution, selected for a number of reasons including its ability to be easily integrated with Halfords SAP ERP system, is fully integrated with radio frequency barcode scanning technology from LXE and provides Halfords with greater control, accurate real time stock data and the flexibility to change operating practices as the business develops.
Although all three distribution centres are now operating on a common warehouse management platform, the final implementation was not simply a repeat of the previous two, as each facility has an entirely separate set of stock-keeping units (SKUs). Each warehouse has been configured very differently, explained Steve Whyman, supply chain and business systems director at Halfords. Manhattan Associates solution was flexible enough to adapt easily to variations in environment and specific requirements that exist at each of the facilities.
The project was delivered on time and on budget, with no interruption to service in the stores. Future benefits are expected to come from a greater level of inventory accuracy and a faster store order to delivery cycle time. Labour efficiency will also be improved following the automation of task allocation and the introduction of functionality such as task-interleaving.
Steve Smith, vice president of EMEA at Manhattan Associates, commented, Halfords implementation of our Warehouse Management solution for Open Systems is a great example of how best-in-class supply chain execution solutions are increasingly being used in high volume, high complexity supply chain network environments, to complement the respective strengths of an ERP system. With the completion of this company-wide integrated system roll-out, we look forward to helping Halfords exploit the full potential of their investment.
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