SAVOYE supports the development of DERD's network thanks to MAGISTOR

To better accompany its growth, DERD (Docks Electriques Rhône Durance) has joined forces with SAVOYE to digitalise its logistics, and has chosen the MAGISTOR® WMS to manage its warehouse in Avignon (84).

As a long-standing player in the industrial supplies sector, DERD, an electrical equipment distributor and wholesaler based in Avignon (84), has spent many long years developing its expertise within its historic region at the heart of south-eastern France. It is a network based on a total of 14 branches, all supplied from a central logistics platform in the Font Couverte industrial estate in Avignon. “We wanted to improve customer service and we had acquired a building opposite our main Avignon branch to create a central warehouse dedicated to distribution to all of our branches. At that time, we only used an ERP. We therefore launched a call for tenders to equip ourselves with a WMS tool at the new site,” explains Olivier Etienne, DERD Logistics Manager.

Time savings of 30% on receiving

DERD handles many different types of order preparation, from small 1-cm parts to cable trays 3 m long, and even a cable drum weighing 400 kg—each shipped individually or on pallets.  To optimise its logistics, the electrical equipment specialist kept the management of its order and customer portfolio on its Gold ERP, but in September 2015 connected it to MAGISTOR®. The implementation of MAGISTOR® allows DERD to manage incoming goods and their stowage, as well as cross docking, customer reservations, the internal fleet, and external carriers. The tool is also used to manage preparation and cutting: “MAGISTOR® has helped us achieve 30% time savings on receiving procedures, whilst maintaining our workflow of two outgoing shipments per day, one at noon and the other at 6 PM, achieving a 97% service rate,” says Olivier Etienne.

Support that means efficiency and autonomy

In parallel, thanks to this turnkey solution for the control of flows in the warehouse, including the management of cuts and traceability for the WMS, DERD no longer has any late deliveries when resupplying their branches or delivering directly to the customer. The company handles 400 packages a day on average, made up out of the 7900 different catalogue items stored in picking locations: “The SAVOYE teams gave us detailed training so that we can operate completely autonomously using this tool.” Building on its growth, DERD is now considering more changes: expanding its network of branches and developing an online store, to which the software publisher will also be able to contribute some of its logistics expertise.