XXL Sport & Villmark enjoys a reputation of strong e-commerce and omnichannel service, but the increasingly complex e-commerce environment, coupled with customer demands for fast service, makes the retail market ever more challenging. And XXL Sport & Villmark is growing at a rapid pace. The company ships 6500 parcels each day, all routed through the company’s Oslo distribution center, and 800 to 900 are online purchases in which the buyers wants to pick up their goods at the store.
For these e-commerce orders, says Kim Nilsen, XXL Sport & Villmark’s Logistics Manager, “it’s necessary to have high quality and tight control of the shipments,” to prevent shipment errors. XXL Sport & Villmark wanted to automate its processes to ensure goods moved quickly to customers, correctly, even as it grew.
RFID simplifies our processes and make it visible for all, where the parcels and packages are in the process. The savings are realised in customer service, at the warehouse and in the stores.
XXL Sport & Villmark is the largest and also the fastest growing sports retailer, by revenue, in the Nordic region. The company today boasts more than 50 department stores and ships 25,000 parcels each month from its Oslo distribution center to stores and home addresses.
THE CHALLENGE
XXL Sport & Villmark enjoys a reputation of strong e-commerce and omnichannel service, but the increasingly complex e-commerce environment, coupled with customer demands for fast service, makes the retail market ever more challenging. And XXL Sport & Villmark is growing at a rapid pace. The company ships 6500 parcels each day, all routed through the company’s Oslo distribution center, and 800 to 900 are online purchases in which the buyers wants to pick up their goods at the store.
For these e-commerce orders, says Kim Nilsen, XXL Sport & Villmark’s Logistics Manager, “it’s necessary to have high quality and tight control of the shipments,” to prevent shipment errors. XXL Sport & Villmark wanted to automate its processes to ensure goods moved quickly to customers, correctly, even as it grew.
THE SOLUTION
At the center of its efforts is a solution from Lyngsoe Systems and Consignor that brings visibility and automation to XXL Sport & Villmark’s e-commerce shipping and delivery processes. The innovative RFID-based solution is currently in place at the Distribution Center (DC) and one store in Oslo, Norway, with more in the pipeline. The retailer can accomplish automated logistics management both at the point of shipping and receiving. XXL Sport & Villmark are considering to expand the solution with even more touchpoints in their supply-chain.
Above the actually implemented solution is illustrated.
Step 1: RFID label is coded, printed and placed on each package
Destination and label id are associated in consignors backend.
Step 2: Packages are placed in cages or on pallets.
Step 3: Cage or pallet with packages is placed under portal..
Step 4: Start destination validation pressing start in the app.
The app will show read label-ids grouped in designated destinations, based on data from consignors.
Step 5: Any misplaced items can be removed while pallet is placed under portal. App screen auto-refreshes to show actual status.
Step 6: When content is correct the user closes shipment in app pressing ‘OK’. The shipment is then moved to load bay. Data is send back to consignor for track&trace purposes.
Step 7: Shipment is pulled under a gate with a mounted rfid portal. rfid labels are automatically read.
If the destination encoded in the labels matches the actual destination, arrival registration is done.
Step 7a: Shipment is pulled under a gate with a mounted rfid portal. rfid labels are automatically read.
RFID labels encoded with other destinations are filtered off and therefore not arrival registered at incorrect.
THE BENEFITS
THE RESULTS
XXL Sport & Villmark has boosted its shipping and receiving efficiency – eliminating the need for manual barcode scans – with the deployment of Lyngsoe Automated Validation System.
As a result, XXL Sport & Villmark has been able to reduce manual handling and shipping errors to nearly zero. Shipping is accomplished more efficiently, and customers receive a faster notification that their parcel has arrived at the store. That means greater satisfaction for the customers. The company is now preparing for a roll-out to other stores and is also intending to adopt the system to track the other 70 percent of goods that are replenished to stores based on store orders. That means not only are customers satisfied, but XXL Sport & Villmark can serve those customers at a lower cost and greater efficiency.
But that’s only one part of the gains: the company has also achieved automatic documentation of each item shipped and received. XXL Sport & Villmark’s focus is on boosting customer satisfaction, and that means ensuring that customers buying their products get what they want, where and when they need it. XXL Sport & Villmark have achieved this by implementing Lyngsoe Automated Validation Station.
After implementing Lyngsoe Automated Validation Station XXL Sport & Villmark have achieved:
COMPLAINTS REDUCTION
Reduction in customer complaints in %.
REMOVED HANDLING
Less handling of shipments per month in %.
SAVED TIME PR. PACKAGE
Saved on arrival and departure scans per parcel.
ROI
Payback period – Year.
REDUCED LABOR AND HIGHER ACCURACY, THROUGH RFID-ENABLED AUTOMATION, ENSURES THE OPTIMIZATION OF YOUR LOGISTICS PROCESSES
Manual processes alone can’t meet the need of the fast-paced world of retail. That’s where technology comes in. For the highest level of logistics performance, RFID can automate shipping and receiving, reduce labor costs, and help prevent errors. Lyngsoe Systems’ standardized and flexible solution – Automated Validation Station (AVS) – meets these objectives in a scalable solution to fit customized needs.
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