Improve their operations by means of radio frequency and integrates them with your information (ERP) system

After starting their activity in 1986, group Prilux has become nowadays a reference in the lighting sector. Now regarded as one of the largest manufacturers of lighting consumption and Spain professional solutions, group Prilux has in Toledo with its headquarters, as well as a delegation in Barberá del Vallés (Barcelona) and a commercial network covering the whole country. Currently, the group is constituted by three companies: Prilux lighting, Lanzini Iberian and MK Illumination Iberica, and has its own catalogue of lamps, lighting and other products.

The rapid growth of the business of the firm during the last decade of the 20th century and the first of the 21st century, forced Prilux group to consider the streamlining of their logistics processes as a key to continue to maintain their competitiveness in the market today.

Connect the management of the warehouse of his delegation of Barberà del Vallès with the of its headquarters in Toledo, became one of the key points to be addressed in the future project in achieving a more effective managementas well as agile and centralized logistics management.

For the automation of the management of both warehouses, and after the study of different possibilities, he opted for the introduction of a system of radio frequency and its integration with the company's information system.

"In order to perform their logistics processes automation, group Prilux has relied on the system auto management of warehouses of ACE Software.""We look at other solutions, but none was so complete as to respond to all of our needs," says Carlos pretzel, Director of logistics of group Prilux. And it is that this solution has allowed the company manage in real time and is online all information flows associated with the movement of goods and integrate them into its information (ERP) system. This system allows users of store its usual operations through terminals of RF to communicate transparently with the management of the enterprise (ERP) system.

Also for carrying out centralized and efficient management of both stores and integrating them with the information of group Prilux system, the company has connected his delegation of Barberà del Vallès (Barcelona) headquartered in Toledo, through the Data Center of ACE Software Hosting, Data Center belonging to ACE Software Group service provider.

Once connected both warehouses, group Prilux needed to be respected also the logistical circuit with which he worked every store, something that has been possible because the system allows each Center to work with its own circuit. For its part, responsible for each of the logistics centers (Toledo and Barcelona) can view, among other things, data and information of the other store and know, for example, the stock that exists through the screens of follow-up of the ERP. Also occurs with the commercial Department in which through the management system, the trade can know if they have the goods in Toledo or in Barcelona, and send it so directly to the client from the Center with the availability of the stock, or even from the two at the same time in case of not having enough in one of them. Thus group Prilux has significantly streamlined the delivery of goods to the customer.

Group Prilux logistics process begins with the entrance/reception, followed procedure of palletizing and check of the goods. The automatic system of management of warehouses has managed to avoid errors or misunderstandings in this first phase through the receipt of the goods with the information system (ERP) and subsequent validation by users of the store with radio frequency terminals. Then the user only must issue labels from your terminal and carry the goods to the store. In order to check that the labels that have stuck in the products correspond to your pallet, the user only should be read with the terminal the label of the pallet and the product to verify that they are correct. Once this process materials are transferred to the warehouse of pallets or picking according to needs of the company at any given time: issuance of loose units or issuing of full pallets.

The integration of the GHS with the enterprise information system allows you to see and define the BOM (Bill of Material), i.e. the list that includes all the different components of the product

To expedite the logistical system also provides the service of exploded or kit. This fact allows group Prilux can work with kits of products that are composed of several elements. The integration of the GHS with the enterprise information system allows you to see and define the BOM (Bill of Material), i.e. the list that includes all the different components of the product, as well as the necessary amount of the sameto obtain one unit of each article to be issued by the company.

Also, the company has also streamlined the management of production when it logistics needs for the provision of the necessary components for their production processes. To do this, the system calculates what material is needed for the manufacture and from it, guides the user through the terminals of frequency in the optimal collection of this material by the store.

Regarding replenishment processes, the system generates from leaves of preparation, sales orders and products under minimum,: tasks of replenishment of products from the pallet and closed boxes at the main warehouse store; tasks of racking of full boxes, directly from the warehouse of pallets, generating the sale delivery note; and tasks of picking of loose units, directly from the warehouse picking or open boxes, generating sales packing slip.

To be able to accelerate the preparation of orders for sale, the project has covered also various processes as picking by order and by waves. Both solutions are compatible, being the head of warehouse which decides what to do at all times, depending on the load and the urgency. Thus, if the request is urgent the user is guided by the terminal to pick up the material. Meanwhile, the packing slip is generated as the collection is completed and is printed at the end. This process ensures service to the client and the traceability through the reading of bar codes.

On the other hand, if the process is made by waves, from the store users a first collection, once the system assigned to each of the operators a corridor from the main warehouse so grouping the most references to pick up and shortening this time of replacement. The collected material either in containers, pallets and cages is the warehouse of deconsolidation for its subsequent digestion with radio frequency terminals. Thus the user reads the product with the terminal, and the system guides you to the hollow of the warehouse of expeditions. As a last step, is the process of allocation of delivery notes from the location or locations of the warehouse of dispatch.

Throughout the process, the head of warehouse can know at all times what task is playing every operator, as well as what is its location in the Logistics Center

Throughout the process, the head of warehouse can know at all times what task is playing each operator (replenishment, picking, or expedition tasks) as well as what is its location in the Logistics Center. In this way, the head of warehouse get total control over the logistical process.

Finally, the automatic warehouse management system linked to the management of the carrier. So once finished the expedition, the user can issue easily, from the radio frequency terminal, the labels of the transportation agency thereby facilitating the management of it and creating the roadmap with the number of traking or follow-up. This group Prilux can connect to the website of the carrier and track merchandise, thus controlling the quality of the delivery service customer.