Business Intelligence

From a mountain of data to a goldmine of knowledge

It has become a trend today to collect lots of data. Because we can. But data only holds value when it's used - so we would like to give you some examples of that. Read along here to see how you can use data to optimize your work processes in the warehouse.

From a mountain of data to a goldmine of knowledge

Axacon WMS will register almost everything.

  • Which items you have in the warehouse
  • Where properties these items have (dimensions and weight) and if they need to be stored at a specific temperature.
  • Where the items are placed
  • Who placed them there
  • How long it takes to place items in their location
  • How much time picking takes
  • How much time it takes to move from one location to another to do the next pick

This leaves us with a mountain of data.

But data only begins to be valuable when it is analyzed and when the knowledge you gain is used for something valuable.

We would like to provide you with some examples of that:


Use data to categorize the items

Axacon WMS use data analysis to create ABC categories of the items. Items of category A are the ones that sell the most and has to be in the front of the warehouse and most easily available to pickers. By analyzing which items sell the most, Axacon WMS can suggest which category and placement the item should have in the warehouse.


Use data to plan the picking route

Planning picking routes is another example. We know which items that have to be picked and the location of them. Axacon WMS can find the most optimal picking route so the picker will walk the smallest amount of steps.

Data can also be used in other ways.


Use data to increase picking speed

In a warehouse, it's common to measure how many order lines that are picked per person per hour. This is a way to measure the efficiency of the warehouse - and the efficiency of the individual employees. It can be used to figure out how to pay bonuses so that the fastest picker is paid more. It can also be used to find the fastest employees so they can be assigned to do specific time-sensitive tasks.

Another factor to measure is the amount of picking mistakes. If a certain picker is making many mistakes then you can react by giving the person better instruction or training.

In warehouses with many picks per day, there is a lot of money to save if the picking speed per order is brought down by just half a second.


Use data to protect your employees

To avoid wearing down your staff it's possible to monitor how much weight a person has handled on a given day and when the person has reached their maximum for the day, they will automatically be assigned to do lighter picks. 


Business Intelligence built into Axacon WMS

To summarize, it's possible to measure a long list of things to improve the efficiency of the warehouse.

We have integrated a business intelligence tool into Axacon WMS in order to make it possible for Axacon's customers to further investigate the data quickly and in many different dimensions.

For example, you can analyze the picking speed across all your different warehouses or take a deep dive into a specific site or specific team or individual to do an analysis of picking speed. You can analyze for any given time frame, such as a day or an entire year.

The tool provides an incredible amount of flexibility for the analysis, and it's easy to use. One of our customers has already gained a lot of value from pulling data out of the BI-tool to get all sales orders and sales order lines across all terminals and item owners - and it was pulled from the system in a few seconds.


Video: Supply Chain Experience Day 2020

Skilled and enthusiastic people from the world of logistics were visiting our office on March 5th for Supply Chain Experience Day. We had a great and inspiring conference. Check out the video!
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