SPAR Wholesaler C J Lang Extends BCP's Accord® Voice WMS to Frozen and Chilled Operations

CJ Lang and Son, SPAR whoilesaler for Scotland, has extended use of BCP's Accord® Voice WMS to its brand new frozen and chilled warehouse facility and is already reaping the benefits.

Stpckport, UK (PRWEB) June 26, 2009 -- CJ Lang and Son has extended use of BCP's Accord® Voice WMS to its frozen and chilled operations with the opening of a brand new frozen and chilled warehouse facility in January 2009. As a result, warehouse operations at the company's RDC in Dundee are now entirely based on Voice with over 110 warehouse staff using the technology. In the few weeks since implementation the improvements in frozen and chilled are already matching those achieved in the ambient warehouse with picking errors eliminated and stock accuracy greatly improved.

Scotland's largest independent retailing and distribution company and SPAR wholesaler for the country, CJ Lang services over 45% of Scotland's independent retailers from its dedicated Retail Distribution Centre in Dundee. Always seeking ways to increase efficiency and enhance its service to retailers and customers, the company was the first SPAR RDC to adopt Voice technology in the warehouse, transforming its ambient warehouse at Longtown Road from a predominantly paper-based operation to one entirely based on Voice several years ago.

Resulting in productivity improvements in the order of 10% and more on already high pick rates, together with the virtual elimination of picking errors, the Accord® Voice implementation "exceeded CJ Lang's expectations in all areas" and is widely regarded as "the best thing we've ever done". It had always been the intention to extend the technology to frozen and chilled operations, but while these were located at a separate facility several miles away, this simply wasn't feasible. So the implementation of Voice was planned to coincide with the opening of a new extension to its Longtown Road Distribution Centre and the transfer of frozen and chilled operations to this new facility.

Having worked closely with solutions partner BCP on the initial Voice implementation, CJ Lang felt confident to handle the roll out to frozen and chilled themselves. The success of the project reflects CJ Lang's carefully planned approach and the close liaison between IT staff, warehouse operators and warehouse management. As soon as work on the new 30,000 sq ft building started in September 2008 weekly meetings began to plan and progress the project. At the same time a training cycle was initiated, with frozen and chilled operators across all warehouse roles spending time with their counterparts in the ambient warehouse to gain valuable hands-on experience of the Voice system. The IT team also worked closely with the building contractors, timing their cabling and wiring installations, for example, to coincide with the installation of general power facilities.

On 17th January 2009 the company closed its old frozen and chilled facility and moved to the new one, continuing its 24 hours a day, 6 days a week, 3 shift operation without any break other than the usual Sunday off. They started operating with Voice immediately, using the system, in the first instance, to Put Away stock moved across from the old warehouse. Goods Receiving was the next operation to use Voice, checking in new deliveries from day one. Operators were then given a couple of weeks to become familiar with the new warehouse environment before introducing Voice Picking which was phased in over a period of 5 days. In less than three weeks the new facility was operating purely on Voice, handling around 1000 chilled and 300 frozen lines and some 250 chilled and frozen orders per day.

Benefits have come through quickly and are already matching some of those achieved in the ambient warehouse with pick accuracy at 99.99% and stock accuracy, resulting from the real time nature of Voice, at 99%. Administration and stationery savings equating to 2-3 man-days per week are allowing administrative staff to be redeployed to more productive areas of the business while productivity improvements are already matching the 10% average achieved in the ambient warehouse. Improvements are expected to increase further as operators benefit from the hands-free nature of Voice and no longer have to cope with labels in the thick gloves they must wear to handle frozen goods.

Graham Murdoch, CJ Lang IT Director: "Voice is again fulfilling our expectations and delivering dramatic improvements. It's good to finally use Accord® Voice technology across our entire operations and achieve the productivity and service goals that we aspire to for our customers."

For further information or photographsplease contact:

Pauline Higgs at BCP:

+44 (0)161 355 3000

Pauline.higgs @ bcpsoftware.com

About BCP - www.bcpsoftware.com

Founded in 1979, Business Computer Projects Ltd (BCP) is a leading systems house specialising in supply chain solutions. Our Accord® systems offer end-to-end, web enabled supply chain solutions for delivered wholesale, cash & carry and retail distribution. Dedicated versions are available for the food and drink sector where we are regarded as one of the market leaders.

BCP clients include SPAR, Musgrave, BWG, Woodward Food Service, Pets at Home, William Morrison Supermarkets.

About CJ Lang - www.cjlang.co.uk

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