Magowan’s “Pioneering” Paperless Tyre Warehouse - Powered by CAM’s Warehouse Management Software
Last month Tyres & Accessories editor, Chris Anthony visited the brand new 120,000 sq foot Magowan’s Tyre warehouse in Northern Ireland. The largest tyre warehouse on the island of Ireland, the warehouse and its stock are powered by CAM’s new Warehouse Management Software (WMS), an extension to the popular CAMEO software. It is this combination of Magowan’s warehouse and CAM’s software that Anthony described as “pioneering”.
In the latest edition (October 2021) of Tyres & Accessories magazine, Anthony is quick to identify the “huge efficiency benefits after consolidating its warehousing into a central location and throwing out paper monitoring forms and physical stock takes in favour of increasingly automated warehouse and CAMEO WMS.”
In his interview with Magowan’s founder, Darryl Magowan Snr, we learn that going paperless has "improved the business immeasurably", with "fewer mistakes" and with day-to-day operations running "more efficiently".
So what’s driving these new found efficiencies? Aside from the seriously impressive £10.5 million state-of-the art tyre warehouse, the efficiencies are driven by automation. CAM’s Warehouse Management software uniquely identifies every tyre, aisle, rack and even the stillages, all thanks to RFID and bar code scanning technology built into WMS. At Magowan’s even the specialist forklift pickers are integrated into the automated tyre warehouse management experience that WMS delivers.
It is this unique tyre warehouse connectivity that the Tyre & Accessories editor explains as “every warehouse operator (and the system itself) has immediate access to the content of any stillage in any location at the touch of a button via a tablet device. Supervisors too, can locate any tyre or stillage anywhere in the warehouse via a click of a mouse with the CAM WMS System.”
Over the course of full three page article, Tyres & Accessories editor, Chris Anthony explores and details many of the efficiencies that the Magowan’s paperless warehouse is now demonstrating:
Huge Operational Efficiencies
“Before the current project was completed, Magowan’s warehouse team could unload three to four containers in a day. Now the range is seven to eight (& nine at a push) thanks to modern design, machinery and software helping to manage it all. Multiply that figure across a year and the efficiency savings are significant to say the least.“
Stock Efficiencies
“Since the intelligent system knows the intimate details of each tyre logged in the software - including its DOT code - the Magowan's team are able to ensure that the warehouse works to first-in first-out principles and that stock is kept as "fresh" as possible.”
Quality Control
“But knowing such details also brings other strategic benefits. For example, should a manufacturer recall a certain make and model, identifying which tyres need to go back to the factory is far easier than it ever was before.”
Reduced Staffing Costs
“A new normal with a 20 per cent reduction in headcount that means not just fewer staff, but also the most experienced and efficient staff remain. The impact on the working week provides another illustration of increased efficiencies. Before the warehouse(s) ran from 6:30 to 17:30 Monday to Friday, with occasional weekend work on top of this. Now the new warehouse runs 8:00 to 17:00, five days a week.”
Improvements in Customer Satisfaction
“The fact that considerably fewer credit notes are issued for the accidental mis-picking of slightly incorrect tyres.”
If you’d like to explore how CAM’s Warehouse Management Software can bring new efficiencies to your tyre wholesale business, please email us to arrange a time to talk.
Subscribers to ‘Tyres & Accessories’ can read the full article at https://www.tyrepress.com/epaper/tyres-accessories-magazine-october-2021/.