LOXAM, a major player in the rental of equipment for construction, public works, green spaces, services, industry and even events, has entrusted the management of its BtoB warehouse to the MAGISTOR® WMS, a SAVOYE software solution.
The leading equipment rental company in Europe, operating in 30 countries, and with a turnover of € 2.3 billion in 2019, LOXAM relies on a network of 1,100 branches to serve its generalist and specialist customers. To supply some of them, the group has a single central store of 7,000 m2 located in Lieusaint, entirely dedicated to its BtoB activities. This latter distributes products intended primarily for sale, but also for marketing (POS, catalogs, work clothes, etc.), and manages approximately 1,500 references, 25,000 lines and around 600,000 units released monthly.
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Already a user of a WMS, LOXAM decided to issue a call for tenders to acquire a new tool better suited to its needs: “Our WMS had many limitations and was no longer maintained by its publisher. We therefore looked for a new one, sized to our needs, adaptable and interfaceable with our ERP. We were ready to change the way we work, but not to degrade our quality of service”, explains Laurence Berthet, LOXAM central store manager. After having selected three publishers and carried out two site visits, LOXAM finally opted for the MAGISTOR® WMS by SAVOYE: “SAVOYE was able to develop specific processes adapted to the customer and to conduct an in-depth analysis of the processes in order to adapt to their needs. We sensed a great interaction between the consultant and the project manager”, emphasizes Laurence Berthet. |
A detailed analysis of the processes for an optimum result
The project started in May 2019 after a functional analysis to express in detail LOXAM’s business requirements and the tool’s ability to meet them: “For us, this was the most important element. No WMS on the market can meet all the unique and specific characteristics of our business. It is only by having a very clear vision of our processes and expectations that we were able to obtain an optimum result, based on fine data parameterization”, analyzes Laurence Berthet. Currently, LOXAM branches place and view their orders via a dedicated MAGISTOR® web interface optimized to manage several hundred connections simultaneously. This simplified ordering procedure associates a branch with a user, avoiding the need to re-enter contact details. The interface also allows the one-step creation of an identical order for a group of branches, or even all the branches of the network: a useful function for promotional campaigns or to supply the network with catalogs or work clothing.
Towards a BtoC deployment?
At the same time, order preparation was split into two distinct types of tasks: pedestrian and forklift operator. Any customer order whose quantity is identical to a single-product pallet in the warehouse will be directed to a forklift operator mission. More speed and efficiency since the pallet is shipped as is. Pedestrians pick the rest of the order from picking locations. Finally, the MAGISTOR® WMS manages labeling (the transport plans of the referenced carriers are integrated into Magistor®), forklift operators and pickers being autonomous until loading into the carriers’ trailers. Thanks to these developments, LOXAM is already seeing a reduction in its service times as well as a very strong increase in its productivity. The branches are more autonomous in the follow-up of their orders. “The basis of our success? The structuring stage of the project remains the detailed functional analysis of the processes, listening to advice and interacting with the publisher, and having succeeded in involving all the stakeholders of the project (in particular team leaders and preparers) because involvement and team support remains a factor of success, bringing together, training and supporting users allows change to be successful. Tomorrow, we plan to develop Internet sales for BtoC and MAGISTOR® will allow us to do so”, concludes Laurence Berthet.