Introduction – About GraniteWMS
The Granite Warehouse Management System (GraniteWMS) is a leader in small and medium business warehousing solutions. It is the flagship product of Cradle Technology Services located in Johannesburg and Cape Town. It is simple to implement, simple to use, incredibly powerful and uses the best technology available to make it scalable, easy to maintain and support. It is currently implemented in over 140 sites globally. The following Case Study serves as a testimony to the success of GraniteWMS at one of our clients, GSI.

The Client – GSI
GSI is a leader in the manufacture and provision of grain storage, conditioning and handling equipment. Its warehouse is located in Laserpark Johannesburg and has been using GraniteWMS for over a year.

The Problem – A Business Case for Change
GSI was experiencing the following issues, which pushed them to find a solution for optimising their warehouse:

• Stock could not be located with ease as there was no direct physical order in the warehouse
• A system was required to assist in streamlining the flow of the warehouse operations
• There was inefficient and inaccurate stock control
• The warehouse had poor stock management
• There was a problem with inaccurate order fulfilment

They were also experiencing issues where the staff wanted to take shortcuts. This was found to take place because of a general misunderstanding of the implications of their actions. GSI therefore, considered it very important to be able to explain the process thoroughly to workers, to avoid any confusion. Finally, a proper ‘take-on’ had not been performed with the existing ERP system that was in place at the time. The company was still getting to the point of understanding its stock value. A major stock-take needed to take place in order to ensure better control and overall accuracy.

The Solution – A Clear and Efficient System
To address these issues, GSI opted to implement the Granite Warehouse Management System. A key part of this was enabling GSI to do research prior to implementation in order to determine what they need and why. This sets up a clear communication of expectations around how the new system will work. The Granite Warehouse Management System is a software designed to deliver a simple and efficient warehouse management solution to businesses in need of a standardised barcode-based solution. GraniteWMS is purpose-built, simple to implement, and easy to use. It can be easily integrated into an existing ERP, such as Sage 300, and allows for end-to-end traceability of stock items through labelling, scanning, and process visibility. When GraniteWMS was implemented in the warehouse, it included onboarding 20 staff members who would need to interact with the system on a daily basis.

With some basic training the staff had bought into the system and were using it comfortably within the week. This was a key lesson learned during the implementation process. Too often a top management decision is ‘dumped’ on employees. It is important to communicate with the team the reasons for the change so that they are not only aware of their role, but also buy-in to the new system as a whole. The buy-in for a system such as GraniteWMS is important as it requires a group effort to work effectively. It is also important as processes need to be strictly kept. Discipline needs to be enforced constantly to ensure no deviations from the process occur.

“You can’t just put anything on the shelves with GraniteWMS; the system forces you to be organized. The change forces us to use proper labels. We still have a lot to organize in terms of categorizing our stock into product ranges and locations; however, with Granite, we are able to achieve that goal a lot more easily.” Says Natasha Coleman, Supply Chain and Marketing Manager at GSI Johannesburg.

Outcome – Increasing Accuracy and Control
GSI experienced notable improvements in their warehouse organisation and performance once they implemented GraniteWMS. Waste has been eliminated from the shelves, and stock is now labelled more accurately. The system also assists the workers by providing a useful and efficient tool in managing day-to-day warehousing tasks.

The company noticed a 90% improvement in overall financial control. GSI has successfully converted a previously manual system into a more automated process where stock is easily located, and due to this increased traceability of their stock, variances were reduced dramatically.

There was also noticeable improvement in the receiving, dispatch and packing processes, with a significant reduction in errors. It provided the ability to monitor staff more effectively in terms of daily work load, pace and accuracy per picker or packer and a means to respond to daily warehousing issues rapidly. There was a 90% improvement in overall financial control. Once GraniteWMS is fully embedded, GSI hoped to attain a level of 97% stock accuracy.

“GraniteWMS is a good system, integrating all the warehouse processes (such as receiving and dispatching) in a user-friendly manner,” says Natasha Coleman, Supply Chain and Marketing Manager at GSI Johannesburg. “The company noticed a 90% improvement in overall financial control.”

Contact GraniteWMS:
info@granitewms.com
www.granitewms.com