Wolverton Inc. got out of the doghouse with an integrated solution for its 4-acre distribution center, says Dave Harper, senior systems analyst.

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1 Wolverton Inc. got out of the doghouse with an integrated solution for its 4-acre distribution center, says Dave Harper, senior systems analyst. UP CLOSE Customer: Wolverton Inc. Headquarters: Lansing, Mich. Business: Wholesale distributor of pet supplies Challenge: Integrate one-off packaged and homegrown applications Solution: Moved to the Infor ERP A+ suite to create a seamless, end-to-end information and operations flow with help from Maximum Computer Systems Hardware: Power Systems server running IBM i Software: Infor ERP A+ suite, UPS s Roadnet

2 Pet Project Wolverton Inc. saves time and money with Infor ERP A+ suite By Jim Utsler Photography by brian kelly Whether it s due to company acquisitions or years of creating one-off applications to handle specific tasks, many organizations have multiple systems running on multiple platforms to support their operations. And why not? When these systems play well together, there s no reason to separate them. Often, this idealistic playground setting turns into a battleground, forcing IT departments to create links between different programs to develop an integrated solution that serves all of its users in an unencumbered manner. Not only is this a strain on IT, it impedes end-to-end, controlled business operations. This issue becomes particularly onerous when companies begin adding new technologies and services to the mix. For example, when Wolverton Inc., a pet-supply wholesaler, built a stateof-the-art warehouse and distribution center, its disparate software solutions could no longer keep pace with its lofty vision of a truly integrated future. The company sought a solution that would supplant its here-there-everywhere application model, and found the Infor ERP A+ suite. Now, Wolverton s employees have a single access point into the company s operations, creating a corner-to-corner integrated application environment worthy of its new 4-acre warehouse and distribution center, as Dave Harper, senior systems analyst with Wolverton, describes it. No Moving Involved Headquartered in Lansing, Mich., Wolverton was established in 1940 as a garden- and pet-supply retailer. After being purchased in 1965, it closed its retail front and began focusing on wholesale distribution of pet-related goods, of which there are more than 14,000 different categories, including pet food, electric fences, flea control and even pet clothing. You name it, we probably have it, Harper says. Wolverton s customers run the gamut from big-box stores and mom-and-pop shops to veterinarian clinics and kennels, all of which are located in six states: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia and Pennsylvania. As one might imagine, this keeps the Wolverton warehouse and distribution center hopping, as it processes more than 850 orders some 55,000 individual product units each day and ships them via its fleet of 26 trucks, commercial carriers and UPS. The company continues to grow year after year. No wonder, then, that it needed to upgrade its warehouse and distribution center and not just into a typical pick-and-pack environment. The company s new setting includes lifts and carousels and automated box delivery. It features Wi-Fi throughout and uses radio-frequency (RF) devices in the picking-and-packing process. When an order comes in, whether over the telephone, via EDI or on the Web, it s held within order entry until the order-fulfillment shift at the warehouse is ready for it. Orders are released in groups by route. As the order enters the warehouse system, it is split between bulk (bags of food and other large items) and pack (pet supplies and other items that can be boxed). Those items are reunited when the customer s pallet is assembled. (To read more about Wolverton s state-of-the-art packing process, see How a Pack Order is Filled on page 16.) i b m s y s t e m s m a g. c o m / p o w e r j u n e R e p r i n t e d w i t h p e r m i s s i o n b y I B M S y s t e m s M a g a z i n e, P o w e r S y s t e m s e d i t i o n.

3 Under One Roof Prior to moving to Infor, Wolverton had a hodgepodge of both packaged and homegrown software on a Power Systems* server running IBM i, performing different but ultimately related tasks. For example, one solution handled order entry and another supported warehousing. On their own, each operated just fine, but the company had to invoke some programming trickery to get them to interface with one another. In some cases, this resulted in duplicate data being held within different software application systems, which created yet another set of issues. One of the problems we had involved costing, Harper says. That information would have to go to both our warehousing and accounting systems, but that meant we would hold that data on two sets of software. So if someone wanted to get costing information, they would have to figure out where to go to get it. And it s supposed to be standardized, so people had to determine which number was the correct number. Wanting to combine systems to create a seamless, end-to-end information flow, Wolverton sought a single system that wouldn t require additional programming to tie processes together. It may sound like a simple job, but the company had some specific requirements in mind. A key one being the solution had to run on its Power Systems architecture, largely because the company was heavily invested in the platform and trusted its reliability and availability. Another requirement was that the solution had to handle a large amount of simultaneous transactions, a quality Harper says was hard to find after considering a number of different solutions. More important, though, the solution needed to cover nearly every aspect of Wolverton s operations, from financials and costing to warehousing and distribution, giving users the same view of all of the company s data no matter the department. How a Pack Order is Filled Let s follow a pack order, says Dave Harper, senior systems analyst with the pet-supply wholesaler Wolverton Inc. First, the system decides what sizes and how many boxes to create. As the boxes are created, they are labeled with bar codes, which are the link between the box and the order items assigned to it. The boxes are then placed on a conveyor belt, starting their journey. The first stop is our carousel system. An operator scans the bar-coded label, identifying all of the [smaller] 16 june 2012 items that are on the carousel and belong to the order. The platform where the operator is standing will raise and lower, stopping at the correct level. The carousel will spin and stop with the correct item in front of the operator and then identify the correct number of items to pick. This process is repeated until all items for the order from the carousel are picked. The box is placed back on the conveyor belt and continues on to its next stop. It s possible an order will have multiple boxes built for it, and as they ibmsystemsmag.com/power are filled, they are placed on the conveyor where they re transported to a staging area. The second stop is Pick-To-Light. These are medium-sized items; too large for the carousel, but small enough to be boxed. All of the locations with items for the box are lighted, and an LCD display identifies the quantity to be picked. Once all of the items are picked, they re placed on the conveyor to be reunited with the bulk side of the order. The customer s order is then placed on a pallet, shrink-wrapped, and is now ready for the truck. As Harper further sums it up, People move up and down on the lifts according to computer controls. So you re pulling product for an order and you re never moving, except up and down on the lift. The carousel comes to you, the appropriately sized box comes down a conveyer, and a lighted bin drops in front of you, indicating how many items you have to pick. It really couldn t be much easier. J.U.

4 We were looking for something that had a complete suite of packages. It had to handle everything, including EDI, purchasing, order entry, accounting, warehousing and even RF, Harper recalls. All of those things and others had to be under one roof. If they weren t, what would be the point of getting rid of everything we already had? Bolt-On Functionality After culling possible candidates, including recommendations from some of the company s peers, Wolverton, which Harper says is 100 percent behind automation wherever possible, decided to go with Infor ERP A+. This packaged solution satisfied all of the company s requirements and more, leaving room to bolt on additional functionality as needed. Because the company wanted to roll Infor ERP A+ out across the entire enterprise, it chose to take a measured approach to the implementation. This was a long process about three years mostly because we wanted to make sure that when we flipped the switch, we flipped the switch everywhere. We didn t want to do warehousing and then accounting and then costing that would have defeated the purpose. And then everyone had to be trained, everything had to be tested and everything had to be integrated, Harper says. This integration included tying the company s new warehousing and distribution systems into Infor ERP A+. To do this, Wolverton brought Maximum Computer Systems on board. Together, they designed and deployed the necessary interfaces to automate the process between Infor ERP A+ and the carousel system, thereby truly creating that end-to-end workflow Wolverton was seeking. The company also considered the homegrown routing system it used to control its fleet of trucks. That software had already been interfaced to Infor ERP A+, but when a new warehouse manager was hired who had previous experience with Amazon and UPS, the decision was made to move to a more robust solution UPS s Roadnet routing software and bring that, with an interface written by Harper, under the cover of Infor ERP A+. Before then, we really weren t optimizing our routes, Harper says. But once we integrated Roadnet with Infor ERP A+, everything changed. We now upload all of the day s orders to Roadnet, it configures our routes based on where orders are being delivered, and it sends that information back to i b m s y s t e m s m a g. c o m / p o w e r j u n e

5 The biggest part of my job is using technology to create greater efficiency throughout Wolverton. Dave Harper, senior systems analyst for Wolverton Inc. Infor ERP A+ with the route IDs and stops for each truck, providing for the most efficient delivery of product. Also, this gives us more accurate delivery times that we can provide to our customers. Risk, Reward Thanks to the massive initiatives Wolverton undertook, the company now has an integrated solution reaching every corner of its operations. While other companies might question the price tag that accompanies such a move, Wolverton is convinced the outcome is well worth it. In fact, Harper says the company is now saving more than $300,000 per year through reduced labor costs, improved fuel efficiency and increased efficiency. Although all of the savings can t be solely attributed to the deployment of Infor ERP A+, the integration possibilities the solution opened up have helped. Without Infor ERP A+, Wolverton s new, state-of-the-art warehouse would operate somewhat independently from the rest of the company and the company s fleet routing would be less than optimal. As it stands now, however, the company is poised to continue its growth without the pain of having to create and integrate new applications to keep things running. As Harper succinctly puts it, The biggest part of my job is using technology to create greater efficiency throughout Wolverton. Jim Utsler, IBM Systems Magazine senior writer, has been covering technology for nearly 20 years. 18 j u n e i b m s y s t e m s m a g. c o m / p o w e r