Dutch textile discounter Zeemann has implemented Manhattan Active Warehouse Management at its distribution centre at the company’s headquarters in Alphen aan den Rijn, in the province of South Holland. The cloud-based solution replaces a 25-year-old, in-house developed Warehouse Management System (WMS), which was no longer able to meet the rapidly growing market requirements.
The company was looking for an integrated solution that supports a granular distribution model. This model is designed to control all distribution processes and sub-processes in detail, considering the specific characteristics of different product categories, customer segments, geographical regions and sales channels. Based on comprehensive data and key figures, the model enables micro-level decisions and optimisations.
Zeeman’s central logistics hub supplies more than 1,330 stores in eight European countries. With the help of Manhattan Associates’ solutions, the family-owned company has almost completely redesigned its logistics processes. The measure is part of a complete overhaul of the company’s IT landscape, which aims to digitise and largely automate business processes. With this, Zeeman aims to reduce costs and facilitate future growth.
Implemented during ongoing operations
The new WMS supports both manual and automated processes and enables end-to-end supply chain synchronisation from supplier to store. A particular challenge was implementing the solution without shutting down operations at the logistics centre during the transition. Zeeman and Manhattan Associates successfully implemented the complex large-scale project despite operational and technical challenges.
One year after start of the transformation, the company reports significant performance improvements. Delivery accuracy had improved and inventory precision increased. Overall, operational efficiency of the logistics centre had increased. Moreover, the new warehouse management system provides deeper insights and better control over logistics processes.
