technologyreview SCE
To supply its stores, the company
runs a network of 40 DCs in North
America. Each facility holds
between 100,000 and 120,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs), on average.
Stores are restocked daily based on
point-of-sale data from the previous day.
Carquest relies on a private fleet
of 152 tractor trailers and 111
straight trucks to deliver orders
from the DCs to stores. Fleet vehicles handle routine daily deliveries
as well as some of Carquest’s expedited orders (in certain metro
areas, the company is able to deliver special orders to stores within
two hours). In the case of emergency repair parts, stores also have
the option of sending an employee
to the DC to pick up a “will call”
order.
Despite the obvious need for swift
order turnaround, Carquest for
decades relied on manual processes
in its DC operations. As recently as
2003, only a few of the DCs in its
network had a WMS in place—
most of the facilities were still using
paper printouts to direct putaway
and picking activities. But as busi-
ness grew, it became clear that the
company needed a faster way to
process both inbound goods and
outbound orders.
RAISING THE BAR
Today, operations unfold with clockwork
precision at the DCs where the WMS is in
place. Workers in the receiving area scan
parts and products from incoming supplier shipments with radio-frequency guns.
The scans associate those items with the
appropriate advance shipment notice. The
WMS then directs the putaway process,
ensuring that items are deposited in the
correct location.
For outbound shipments, the WMS pri-
oritizes the picking, giving preference to
expedited or will-call orders. “The WMS is
set automatically to put the will-calls to the
front of the status to get to the counter
quickly,” says Mike McGehean, director of
DCMS implementation for Carquest US.
“These orders are prioritized higher than
regular stock orders.”
The results of the WMS installation have
been impressive by all accounts. By
automating the putaway and picking
processes, Carquest has increased its
inventory accuracy to 99.9 percent. The
WMS deployment has also produced a 53-
percent increase in order picking accuracy,
a 75-percent increase in invoicing accura-
cy, and a 17-percent reduction in labor
costs. “The WMS gave us the tools to
increase productivity and a platform to
grow our business as we move forward,”
says McGehean.
Most important of all, in a business
where emergency orders are the rule, the
WMS has improved Carquest’s ability to
handle those orders. Lavrack says the key to
that has been the visibility the new process
provides. “Sales can only be made if you
have the item,” he says. ;
