CARPET DELIVERY TRACK-RECORD REMAINS UNBEATEN WITH PRISYM Track SOFTWARE

Keeping track of 3,500 carpet deliveries a week throughout the UK is easy thanks to PRISYMID

Faced with the continuous requirement  to keep track of 3,500 individual carpets per week in real time Rhys Davies Freight Logistics (RDFL) harnessed the proven capability offered by PRISYM Track software to gain a major 11 million contract from Associated Weavers, one Belgiums largest carpet manufacturers.

There was an exceptionally high IT level demanded by our customer who wanted to be able to track and trace each carpet roll or cut length from the moment it left their factory in Ronse, Belgium to final delivery to the customer, anywhere in the U.K. explained Gary Philips, RDFLs Business Implementation Manager. And not only that - all the information had to be gathered and available in real time!

RDFL tasked their long-term ICT and systems solutions provider, Micross Systems of Cardiff, to develop a track and trace automation system that would provide this information and more. The heart of the system is barcode based and our research into the marketplace for suitable tracking software that could be driven by wireless technology narrowed it down to a few potential suppliers. However, only PRISYMID were able to provide it in the very tight time-frame of around two months to start date, which was vital to RDFL securing the 5-year contract, said Nick Williams, Network Systems Manager for Micross.

Associated Weavers send an EDI transmission of the manifest to RDFL the moment a full truck leaves their factory, which includes the details of the trailer load of around 350 carpets by individual product barcode. At the assigned RDFL depot of which there are 8 in the UK the fork-lift truck operator then scans each carpet with a hand-held device and truck-mounted terminal. This checks it against the EDI to verify delivery and it is stored in the warehouse, after scanning the precise location barcode against the individual carpet to allow for easy retrieval.

A pick-list is the generated by barcode and the forklift truck operator scans the load by postcode location on to one of 20 dedicated and liveried Associated Weavers trucks part of the RDFL contract. The driver has a hand-held terminal that verifies proof of delivery to the end customer an independent carpet shop, multiple carpet store or wholesaler - who signs for delivery on-screen. This information is compressed and is capable of being sent back in real-time via GPRS and is uploaded to a website which allows for immediate tracking and traceability. The system also allows for collections and returns.

The benefits of having total visibility and traceability with this system are enormous, said Gary Phillips of RDFL. There are so many variables in the system that the control it gives us means that we can give a guaranteed delivery day to a specific location the prime requirement of the contract with Associated Weavers and absolutely vital if the store has arranged carpet fitters to be available at the same time for their ultimate customer. It also has the added bonus of allowing us to operate this efficiently with at least half the number of staff that would be required if this system had not been in place.

PRISYM Track integrated easily into the logistics package, tailored by Micross for RDFL, to cover front and back-end database delivery system, load building and routing. This was our first experience with barcode wireless technology and the team at PRISYMID were very knowledgeable in both software connectivity and warehouse management which meant we were very much talking the same language.  Their excellent development capability ensured they were able to integrate the PRISYM Track software to our specific project requirements. They were also able to recommend the associated hardware scanners, hand-held terminals etc. that give RDFL proven robustness and performance day in and day out, said Nick Williams of Micross.

The PRISYMID team has over 20 years experience in delivering high quality labelling and auto-identification solutions to companies in a wide range of industries. With offices in the UK and USA as well as an extensive network of international partners worldwide, the company is able to provide barcode, labeling , RFID and print solutions on a global scale. The company boasts a comprehensive range of software and consumables; from intuitive label design and print to automated track and trace systems.