We have customers with vast warehouses or a series of smaller warehouses over a large area. Often, skilled operatives, whose time is better spent grading and turning timber, were wasting their time driving forklifts long distances to and from loading bays.
We developed a function called ‘Multi- Stage Picking’ to address this so the skilled staff need to just deliver the timber they have picked to the nearest ‘staging post’ in the warehouse. Drivers, who are dedicated to working in certain areas in the warehouse, then take the timber from the staging post on to one of maybe 20 loading bays. This allows the skilled staff to focus on picking the most appropriate material for the orders. The Multi Stage Picking feature manages this entire process and is entirely configurable by the customer depending upon how many staging posts they choose to operate. Of course, if space is at a premium and a company prefers to pick the timber and put it straight on a lorry, our software supports this too.
Our integrated ePOD (electronic proof of delivery), which forms part of the software’s Delivery Management System, was also originally developed in conjunction with some of our larger customers. They were keen to maintain high levels of customer service by ensuring that the right products were delivered at the right time. Ensuring that deliveries are error free, or errors are resolved quickly and efficiently, is also important for ensuring accurate and timely invoicing.
Capturing customer signatures at the time of delivery and having signed PODs instantly available to staff and customers was another key requirement to ensure the fast and successful resolution of any issues. Therefore our ePOD solution lets drivers manage customer deliveries and capture recipient names and signatures, informs branch staff immediately of any issues so these can be resolved quickly and captures more detail and images for follow up if required.
Our ePOD can be deployed on a smartphone or a hand-held device and will work in online and offline mode so all updates happen as close to real time as possible. It also sends automatic notifications to customers informing them when the driver is en-route and automatically updates the delivery in the ERP system, making the signed proof of delivery instantly available for the customer to view and download from their login area on the company’s website.
Another challenge for our users was how their customers were increasingly placing tally orders that are specific to one project, as specified by the architect. To facilitate this requirement we increased the number of tallies that can be ordered on a single line to 50.
Linked to this we’ve also recently introduced a percentage wastage factor to allow users to quote an appropriate price when a customer first makes an enquiry. This will obviously be a great benefit for all our customers who supply hardwood and who allow for wastage when picking. For companies whose stock is sold and delivered directly from quays or other third party locations, we’ve made it easier to manage and view it within the software.
In general, what I believe timber companies want most from their software is total visibility of their inventory and increased productivity. For example, when one of our timber customers first installed our software, they were able to see for the first time where the bottlenecks in their processes were. The improvements they were able to make enabled them to introduce a second production line and increase turnover.
We know our customers want something that’s easy to use and will work for them whether they stock to tally, sell only full packs or sell loose lengths to tally. Quick and easy order entry is vital when processing what can be complex timber orders. They also want a clear view of available stock on hand.
Stocks of full packs, together with pack content and any environmental certification, total running meterage and available lengths all need to be at their fingertips. Total visibility of their inventory is what gives our customers the ability to supply customers with confidence.
