Article
Warehousing
Your warehouse is an essential link in your supply chain, working efficiently it can create competitive advantage, keep costs down and enhance the customer experience. We work with companies across many sectors, including retail, e-commerce, manufacturers and distributors, to help improve warehouse processes to reduce cost, improve service and make the business more profitable.
About our service
Warehousing
Your warehouse is an essential link in your supply chain, working efficiently it can create competitive advantage, keep costs down and enhance the customer experience. We work with companies across many sectors, including retail, e-commerce, manufacturers and distributors, to help improve warehouse processes to reduce cost, improve service and make the business more profitable.
Designing and implementing improvements
Whether the challenge is around space constraints, out of control costs, poor productivity or inventory control, we will work with you and your operations teams to identify issues, design improvements and help you implement them.
Experienced, independent teams
No matter what the challenge, our experienced, independent teams can help to reconfigure existing warehousing space, improve slotting processes, review and optimise your WMS and even design and build new state-of-the-art warehousing facilities. We’ll also help you consider whether warehouse automation could help your business and can design, develop and implement your warehouse automation solution.
Warehousing: How can we help you?
I want to...
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Increase my warehouse capacity
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Benchmark my warehousing operations and costs
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Make my warehousing operations more efficient and reliable
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Outsource my warehousing operations
We act completely independently to help you outsource your warehousing operations. From creating tender specification, RFIs, RFPs and RFQs, we’ll advise suppliers to invite and manage the process, evaluating responses, recommending the right supplier, as well as drafting and negotiating contractual agreements.
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Redesign or build a new warehouse
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Automate my warehouse operations
Hatmill helped us transition to a central distribution model. This involved managing the development of a new distribution centre, designing the processes, negotiating with suppliers, implementing a warehouse management system and supporting the operational team. I’ve been delighted with the projects we’ve done together.
- Chief Financial Officer, A leading auto parts distributor
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More about Warehousing
Warehouse Automation
Optimising your supply chain with warehouse automation technology can help you create an advantage over competitors, improve the customer experience and increase efficiency. But with so many options, how do you know what automation solution is right for your business? From smaller-scale operations to large, complex state-of-the-art warehouse facilities, we can design, develop and implement your warehouse automation solution. We work with you and automation providers to collaboratively develop the best solution for your business.
Logistics & 3PL outsourcing and tender management
We’ll work with you to create the tender specification, and to create RFI, RFP and RFQ documentation. Acting completely independently, we can advise on who to invite to tender according to your requirements. We have our methodology that manages the tender process and responses, including co-ordinating contract development alongside bid refinements. We can then recommend the right supplier for you and support the transition.
Warehouse process improvement
Well-designed warehouses processes that improve productivity and increase efficiency will help to drive profitability and enhance the customer experience. Working closely with your warehousing teams, we can identify, design and implement improvements to your warehouse operations processes. We can identify and eliminate non-value adding activity, reduce the number of touches a product receives, shorten distances travelled and remove all unnecessary costs.
Warehouse layout design
We can help you to redesign and reconfigure your warehouse to reduce costs and potentially avoid expensive upgrades of your warehouse facilities, or the need to invest in new warehousing. We’ll also help you assess whether warehouse automation is a viable solution to increase productivity or storage density for your operations.
Warehouse slotting optimization
Incorrect or inefficient warehouse pick slot locations and slotting processes can lead to waste through unnecessary travel time, unproductive activities or waiting time. We’ve developed an advanced analytical tool to assess your current layout and suggest improvements to remove excessive travel. It produces clear visual dashboards to help communicate opportunities to warehouse teams.
Warehouse design & build
Moving warehouse is often a daunting and significant challenge. It’s also one that very few warehouse managers have tackled. We have a proven methodology that starts with business strategy and guides the project through the development, transfer and go live of the new site. It includes evaluating potential new locations, managing developers, architects, equipment providers and working with operational teams for a smooth transition. We’ve used it on over 4 million square feet of successful warehouse moves.
Warehouse Management System
We can review your existing WMS software and processes and help you plan and deliver improvements to get more out of your existing WMS system, or we can help you select and implement a new WMS system. Using our analytical tools we can extract data from your WMS to identify problem areas in your warehouse operation.
E-fulfilment
Whether you’re an established retail business looking to grow online volumes, or an e-commerce business with 24/7 demands, we’ll help you to plan and implement e-fulfilment operations. We’ll work with you to design e-fulfilment layout, workflows, process flows, resources and systems to be agile, scalable and adapt to changing consumer behaviours.
About our service
Warehouse Automation
Optimising your supply chain with warehouse automation technology can help you create advantage over competitors, improve the customer experience and increase efficiency. We’ll help you consider whether warehouse automation is a viable solution for your operations.
Navigating automation technologies
Traditional automation solutions such as mini-loads and shuttle systems are now being challenged by agile, cost-effective alternatives such as Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) and Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs). It’s a dynamic market and one where experience is in short supply.
End-to-end support
With so many options and so much at stake, how do you know what automation solution is right for your business? From smaller-scale operations to large, complex state-of-the-art warehouse facilities, we can design, develop and implement your warehouse automation solution. And we will help you to understand how your organisation and operations need to adjust to deliver the best return from your investment.
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Logistics & 3PL outsourcing and tender management
Whether you’re looking to run a tender for a third-party logistics provider (3PL) new equipment or automation, it is important that a robust selection and procurement process is in place. This can help to acquire the right providers and services at the right commercial agreement and help you to build a partnership with your suppliers.
Scoping and creating tender specs
We will work with you to create the tender specification, and to create the RFI, RFP and RFQ documentation. Acting completely independently, we will advise on who to invite to tender according to your requirements.
Managing the tender process
The tender process will be closely managed, and all responses evaluated and scored fairly using a balanced scorecard approach. This will include modelling the commercial impact of each supplier. We will evaluate responses against pre-agreed parameters to identify and recommend the right supplier for you.
Contractual agreements
We can work with your team to draft and negotiate contractual agreements, and to implement the solution chosen. We’ve developed an innovative approach that narrows down the legal agreements and terms in parallel with the tender process. This means you only negotiate once and when you still have significant influence.
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Warehouse process improvement
Well-designed warehouses processes that improve productivity and increase efficiency will help to drive profitability and enhance the customer experience. Working closely with your warehousing teams, we can identify, design and implement improvements to your warehouse operations processes.
Benchmarking performance
We’ll observe your current warehouse processes in action, and along with your warehouse data we’ll compare the performance of your warehouse operations against industry benchmarks so we can identify opportunities for improvements.
Improvements and implementation
We’ll make recommendations, including the expected costs and savings – we can also design and then manage the implementation of the process improvements. We’ll ensure that your staff are fully trained and that all new processes are embedded into your warehousing operations. We can also help to develop the methodology to measure performance and continued adherence to the new warehousing processes.
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Warehouse layout design
The layout and design of your warehouse can impact on the speed, cost and quality of service to customers. We can help you to redesign and reconfigure your current warehouse to create improvements that reduce warehousing operations costs and potentially avert or delay either expensive upgrades of your warehousing facilities, or the need to invest in new warehousing.
Review and recommend
We will review the activities that take place in your current warehouse operations and against warehouse layout best practices we’ll review the impact of the existing layouts on productivity. We will identify opportunities for improvement and then model the outcomes of different options to show the potential increases in efficiency and ROI. We can also help you design and deliver the warehouse improvements and manage the change.
Is warehouse automation the way?
We’ll help you consider whether warehouse automation is a viable solution for your operations. We can compare the potential of automated warehouse solutions against optimising your existing warehouse technology, equipment and infrastructure. We can then manage the implementation of any changes, minimising disruption to ongoing operations.
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Warehouse slotting optimization
By ensuring that the right products are stored in the right place, picking and put away activities can be optimised to improve productivity and reduce costs. Incorrect or inefficient warehouse slotting processes can lead to waste through unnecessary travel time, unproductive activities or waiting time.
Heatmapping and warehouse slotting processes
By understanding the parameters of your warehouse operation, and modelling to generate heatmaps of the existing warehouse layout, we can visibly demonstrate where your existing slotting can be improved. We then create alternative slotting layouts and optimise these by overlaying reports and knowledge of the operational constraints.
We will analyse the potential productivity improvement of improved warehouse slotting options on your different operational activities. By optimising your warehouse slotting we can help to lower warehousing operations costs and increase efficiency.
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Warehouse design & build
A well designed and efficiently utilised warehouse is crucial in an effective supply chain. From redesigning or extending an existing warehouse operation, to a complete warehouse design and build, we can do the heavy lifting for you to create a warehousing solution that’s fit for the future.
A warehouse to deliver future volumes
We’ll work closely with you to understand your current operations and existing constraints, analyse the cost of space, equipment and labour and identify what warehouse operations will be required in future to support your business strategy.
Designing your new warehouse
We can then design, develop and model a number of scenarios and options, considering optimum location, size, storage options and automated warehouse solutions.
Project management
We work with property experts to identify suitable locations for your new warehouse and can work with you to project manage the build phase, including running tenders, operational fit out, and transition planning and support.
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WMS - specification, design & selection
An effective Warehouse Management System will optimise your warehouse, distribution, supply chain and fulfilment and is key to the efficient running of any distribution centre. Selecting the right WMS system, using the WMS effectively and utilising reporting to maintain efficiency and inform decision making will all affect the performance of your warehousing operations.
Improving your current warehouse management system
We can review your existing WMS software and processes and assess how effectively these are being used. As part of this, we can also determine the capabilities of existing systems against your operational requirements, and identify opportunities for improvements. We can also help you plan and deliver improvements to get more out of your existing WMS system.
Selecting a new warehouse management system
If you do not operate a warehouse management systems, or require an updated version, we can develop functional design specifications and identify the WMS providers most appropriate to your requirements. From running the tender to implementation and go-live, we can ensure that the WMS systems are implemented with support for your business throughout.
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E-fulfilment
The supply chain and logistics demands of e-commerce fulfilment operations bring their own set of challenges, that are very different from warehousing and distribution operations for ‘traditional’ retail. The design, layout, workflows, process flows, resources and systems of your e-fulfilment operations need to be agile, scalable and adapt to changing consumer behaviours.
Purpose built e-fulfilment centres
We can design, develop and deliver a state-of-the-art warehousing solution to support your growing business. From working with property experts to find the right real estate, to project managing the build and fit-out phases, we will run tenders and transition planning to help you deliver your new e-fulfilment facility.
Growing your e-commerce capability
If you’re looking to accommodate or increase your e-commerce offering as part of your existing retail business model, we can help you to understand how your organisation and operations need to be able to adapt. We’ll help you to plan and implement e-fulfilment operations, manage change and respond to changing customer buying habits
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