Customer Profile
Skillcraft Agencies was established in 1991 as a general wholesale supplier of tools, general hardware, security products, architectural hardware and household fittings. Since its inception, Skillcraft has evolved into a brand-specific hardware wholesaler focusing on providing the INGCO range of industrial-quality tools at affordable prices.
Their Business Challenge
Skillcraft Agencies faced the challenges of a warehouse which operated primarily on manual systems and lacked the ability to do cycle counts. The result was inaccurate stock information and extensive inefficiencies in the warehouse, significantly impacting the company’s drive to increase revenue and reduce costs without growing its headcount.
The Solution
A long-term SYSPRO user, Skillcraft Agencies upgraded from SYSPRO 6 to SYSPRO 8 and optimized the full functionality of the system. In so doing, it was able to eliminate many manual, time-consuming tasks, thereby supporting its drive towards increased efficiency. The company’s annual stocktake was completed in under eight hours with a stock variance of less than 0.1%. In addition, the number of Stock-Keeping Units (SKUs) handled daily has grown.
The Outcome
The Skillcraft Agencies management team realized things needed to be done differently. Default bins were switched on, so there would be 1500 SKUs with only one bin location each, whereas the stock was actually stored in five or six bin locations. This meant the staff in the warehouse would go to the bin indicated on the sales order only to find it was empty. They would have to physically find the stock, pick it manually and then send it through for invoicing.
The management team put a project together to redo the layout of the warehouse, taking into account Skillcraft Agencies’ expected rate of expansion. Iterative improvements such as multiple bins, regular cycle counts, racking and bulk picking bins increased stock accuracy from 68% to 95%.
– Jaco Viljoen, National Warehouse Manager, Skillcraft Agencies.
