Book distributor NBN International has selected Solarsoft’s warehouse management system in a bid to improve the accuracy of incoming and outgoing deliveries, while reducing errors and increasing productivity.
The system will replace manual, paper-based processes and will be rolled out in stages across the business.
By automating its operations the company also hopes to improve warehouse management, stock control and financial management.
Plymouth-based NBN International is a service-oriented book distributor, which provides warehousing, order fulfilment and credit and collection services to UK, European and North American publishers.
The business works with independent publishers and distributes to customers of all sizes from private independents to large retailers such as Waterstone’s and Amazon.
NBN processes an average of 1,000 orders each day and holds more than 3.5 million units of stock at its warehouse.
Ian Wordsworth, IT and operations director at NBN, said: “Our current picking process is manual and paper-based and pickers visually check that each order is correct, which can often leave us open to errors.
“With such a high volume of orders and the pressure from our customers to reduce lead times, we started to see an increase in the number of picking errors – clearly an untenable situation.
“Picking errors and the subsequent re-picks cost time and money – not to mention our reputation. By opting for an automated system with Solarsoft, we are hoping to save a substantial amount of time and money by reducing the risk of picking errors down to zero, while also improving on our customer service.”
