Forte Warehouse Solutions has added a new facility for retail customers to its warehouse management system (WMS). The initial step, says Forte’s Anthea van Breemen, was to introduce flow through on inbound goods where product arrives from vendors in bulk and is then directly allocated to orders. Branded ‘Ship by Destination’, the new facility is for outbound goods and its objective is load optimisation, according to Van Breemen. “It groups deliveries within a route at the warehouse so that when the transporter arrives the whole shipment is in the destination location. “While this may seem logical, think of the many sales orders being picked throughout the day by many different pickers across the various warehouses, each with their own characteristics – like groceries, liquor, fresh produce (that is not temperature controlled) etc – and bringing these together for one route. The implementation of a WMS is often complex, says Van Breemen, and project planning – which is part of the value proposition offered by Forte – is a critical element of the success of the implementation. Forte has offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Namibia – which serves the southern African region – while Durban has been prioritised as a market of significant potential, says Van Breemen.
