Unveiling the Super Stars, the Super Achievers and the Exemplars

Super UNVEILING THE

Stars, Achievers and the Exemplars

In continuation with our last cover story, here we present the innovations and achievements of our Under-30 Super Stars, Under-40 Super Achievers and the Exemplary Supply Chain companies who have ventured beyond the expected norms and delivered their respective organisations some of the most incredible supply chain solutions, which ultimately ensured their sustained growth in this highly dynamic and competitive global market. These innovative solutions will not only enthuse the young supply chain cadre to achieve the unconventional but will also prepare them to be futureready to face any eventualities. As we embark on a new year, these remarkable success stories will serve as true guiding lights for supply chain professionals…

30 UNDER 30 SUPPLY CHAIN SUPERSTARS 2022

Sakshi Hingorani,

Team Lead – Social Impact and Community Partnerships, Freight Tiger Truck drivers face harsh and unsafe working conditions – 90% exist in the informal sector with no fixed pay or opportunities for upskilling. This has led to a 22% shortage of truck drivers, which requires real solutions for driver empowerment. Freight Tiger’s focus is on building an end-to-end logistics platform to transform B2B Commerce. We have leveraged our technology with on-ground partnerships with industry experts to build a customisable and impactful program for our customers. Our driver empowerment program integrates our existing product offerings like trip visibility and control tower with on-ground training and the adoption of highway facilities to push for increased road safety. The program is also set up to foster collaboration between logistics stakeholders, as shippers and transport companies can invest in it together to ensure more drivers gain access to these resources. By making drivers part of the solution, companies can see an improved bottom line through reduced accidents and insurance claims, smoother delivery of goods to customers, and better working relationship with the drivers themselves. We recently launched a Driver Empowerment Facility in Godhra, Gujarat in partnership with Saint Gobain Gyproc and Indian Oil. It is open to all drivers for free and provides the necessary facilities to ensure they can recuperate mid-journey. We are continuing to expand the reach of the program to 50 locations and want to partner with shippers and transport companies across the country to improve the working conditions of truck drivers in India.

We envisioned to help the maintenance team increase the life span of machines in analysis and increase the efficiency of the lines in packaging department by detecting anomalies in the behaviour of the machine using real time sensor data such as Temperature, Current, Speed of Servomotors. During this phase, we faced many challenges such as real-time data capturing mechanism, which was present only in some of the breweries and the quality of the data was not consistent. We had to increase the adoption of the solution across the sites due to non-technical background of the users. We focused on a couple of sites where real-time data is captured for the machines. We performed quality check on the data and implemented LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory) model to identify anomalies in the sensor data post correlation study across different sensor data. The solution was implemented in two sites with scalable architecture in the form of a dashboard, which processed 8 hours of data and generated alarms for the sites with anomalies.

Energy is required to run the daily factory operations. However, the sourcing of energy has been from government entities. Our vision was to make factory to run 100% on green/renewable energy. During this project, we explored options to move towards green energy, setting up own solar panels on the roof top was one among the options, however, it was not fetching cost benefits as it requires huge CAPEX investment apart from low return on investment. Similarly other options were also not favourable. Fortunately, we came across a private supplier who generates energy through renewable source like solar and sells it to the firms. We had multiple discussions with the supplier to understand and finalised the ways of working. Later, we proposed the case to the India Leadership team, which received a positive response. We had a negotiation with the supplier on the commercial terms & conditions. We implemented the project after all the necessary legal documentation and a pilot run for two months, which was smooth and beneficial. Now ~70% of factory’s energy requirement is met through renewable energy, and we are still exploring to make it 100%. Apart from having a significant cost benefit, a decent step has been taken to meet the Supply Chain Sustainability initiative.

Satyasom Sahoo, Senior Data Scientist, AB InBev

Venkatesh Hiriyanna, Plant Procurement Manager, Reckitt Benckiser India Pvt. Ltd.

In my previous stint at HUL, Kandla factory was the only dedicated exports units for HUL with 70 customers across 100+ countries having different secondary packaging formats and different legal requirements. Inefficient Job work activity at Kandla factory for personal care jars, tubes, and bottles, resulted in huge job work cost for the factory. Besides, there were quality defects being generated at job work, with inadequate handling, resulting in damage of finished goods. I took up a personal target of eliminating Job work in totality and moving to in-house packing of all formats and packs. As the project progressed, we realised that the machines deployed had limited flexibility and in-house packing can result in the factory having low efficiency of lines. But, with consistent efforts we insourced 100% Bottle Volumes from co-packer by debottlenecking own bottle-line, without affecting factory’s efficiency. This was achieved by loss prioritisation, breakdown elimination, basic condition restoration and continuous improvement (kaizen). We aligned various stakeholders like R&D, customers, marketing team to modify the single sleeve packing format of Lifebuoy Hand Wash into a 4-bundle pack to unlock speed on inhouse conversion, Clinic Plus bundling format changed from 3 to 6, and other changes for pack harmonisation. We also insourced Lifebuoy shampoo, Fair & Lovely and Dove Cream 75 ml final pack in spite of complex EOL formats and modified shrink wrap machine and change-parts with zero capital investment. We were able to achieve the desired savings through job work cost reduction. Lead time crunched from production to dispatch from 10 days to 4 days (6 days reduction due to job work lead time elimination). We were able to maintain topmost quality standards since all the packs are handled in-house with own employees. With this initiative, defects reduced from 8% to 0.75%.

AB InBev is the world’s leading brewer by both volume and revenue; with hundreds of breweries and distribution centres. The stock has to be moved in this complex network of Breweries & DCs by the inventory deployment team, but due to demand variability, production issues, and fleet unavailability, the company occurs losses due to service level hits and obsolescence on excess stock pile up, leading to an imbalance in the stock positions across the depot. This is a common supply chain issue across the industry. Logistics Analytics Team ensures seamless planning and delivery of beer in this complex network of DC-Brewery using advanced analytics and Machine Learning based optimization algorithms to suggest redeployment of stocks based on demand, production plan, inventory, and fleet position. An inventory optimization engine, an AI-powered MILP optimization algorithm that recommends most cost-optimised stock movements driven by out-of-stock and obsolescence has been developed, automating the earlier manual and inefficient processes. This is further facilitated with a global product enabling cross-functional teams to collaborate and take decisions based on output from the optimization model. The solution was operational in Africa & Europe Zone, leading to a 1.5% reduction in stock-outs volume annually and a 33% reduction in average monthly write-off volume for 90% of the redeployed SKUs. Historical redeployments serve as feedback for the demand forecasting team to improve accuracy and to Re-frame inventory policy for the warehouses and breweries. This solution will be implemented in all 6 zones across multiple countries across the globe in 2023. The product has transformed the entire process and decision-making on how redeployments are prioritized in the organization and fulfils the goal of our digital transformation.

Aarti Jain, Senior Manager, Nestle India Ltd.

Ishan Shrivastava, Analytics Manager – GAC (Growth Analytics Center), Ab InBev

40 UNDER 40 SUPPLY CHAIN SUPER ACHIEVERS 2022

I was the project strategic lead for building the complete supply chain ecosystem for a greenfield plant in Gujarat in 2017. With no industrial set up in the nearby areas, there were pressing challenges around supplier development, logistics distribution, manpower availability & training, setting up of warehousing facilities and the ecosystem needed for manufacturing. I led the entire planning and implementation strategy covering estimate projections of suppliers needed, calculating the requisite capacity needed, logistics framework development, capacity building with auto-ancillaries, manpower training strategy and others, and most importantly, designing the pricing strategy for the location. I led all strategic stakeholder discussions across levels and geographies between the Gujarat team, Japan & Indian teams. The project spanned across 3+ years that covered the development of implementation strategies and action plans across phases. Right from factory set ups to manpower training in both locations to meet stringent quality standards, local stakeholder buy-in and involvement, I built a phase-wise systemic plan to integrate them all. A large part of this integration focused on suppliers. I had to prepare a strategic roadmap that included supplier negotiation and onboarding, highlighting the commercial benefits of investing in the region, supplier-OEM partnership model development and much more. The success of the project was defined by achieving peak production capacity for the new plant at the end of these three years. My contribution to the project was highly appreciated by Maruti Suzuki India and Suzuki Japan, which led to my promotion later.

As Cummins expanded the footprint, its customer & supplier network became complex. MRP system were not capable to support the level of complexity in efficient manner. MRP system had lot of manual intervention & dependency on individual person’s competency. Health of supply planning is hidden; leaders do not have full visibility of if the demand & supply plan hygiene is maintained at expected level or not. Orders are received daily, however MRP runs weekly, hence response lead time was high. MRP had built-in constraints that restricted users to utilize the system efficiently. This project was major initiative in BU supply chain transformation journey to strengthen planning and scheduling processes. ASCP and APCC solution was designed to provide priority based exception management capabilities, user friendly interface and BI capabilities for process effectiveness visibility. Major deliverables for this project were pre-launch activities to ensure system data accuracy and controlled order life cycle management processes; process alignment on moving from weekly planning cycle to daily planning cycle; identifying key user requirements, perform fit gap analysis and develop a solution design; robust change management to go live on time and no impact on business continuity; synchronised efforts between global supply chain and IT team and Supply Chain Team. Major success of the project was that this entire project was managed remotely during pandemic.

We developed ML driven end-to-end tool to bring centralised visibility of inventory and intelligence for taking proactive cost avoiding decisions. We automated the order releases for obsoletes avoidance based on latest production plan, inventory on the floor and freshness of the stock. This tool will completely transform the way orders are released by making real time visibility and intelligence, better than any human can, thus delivering immense EBITDA value. Effective prioritisation ensures freshness and Service levels are maintained at optimal level which and lead to increase of NPS score. Proactive Re-allocation of excess inventory to new export demand and upsell the inventory avoids Stock Obsolescence and Destruction Cost. This tool creates 100% centralised visibility of stock across different sites. With the help of SIM, business is able to achieve 95% automated order release on daily basis. The tool has realised 4 million EBITDA in 2021 and 2022 (March) by avoiding Obsolete stock in EUR and MEX zone.

Mainak Bhattacharya, Senior Manager – Supply Chain, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd

Nizamuddin Sayyad, General Manager – Central Supply Chain, Cummins Inc.

Suresh Revani, Manager – Data Analytics, AB-Inbev

Anil K Mishra, National Logistics Head South Asia, pladis global

Akshay Arora, Sourcing for a Global O&G Company

Jaison Jacob,

General Manager – Supply Chain Management, Tata Play Ltd. While supplying pan-India 17 depots from one location, our freight had gone very high, owing to the distance from North, higher fuel prices, shortage of vehicles, etc. We had to manage the concern of high primary freight approx. Rate Per Ton (RPT) was going 6500 per tons. High freight rates cast a shadow over EBITDA / profitability of company. Freight is not structured, and industry is unorganised. Order cancellation, High product cost & low demand, Sales /DB have put strains on the logistics department. We understood current process and plot as is process, then after some months, we did some pilot to considering business impact such as exploring multimodal operation like rail and road; consolidation and route planning due to low load; utilisation of 32MXL in place of 19 ft vehicle; develop new supplier with help of friends and social media; negotiation of rates with common carrier representatives; small Hub developed near plant. We overcame from sessional impacts through long-term agreement. As a result, we were able to reduce RPT/ freight cost. Since last four years, freight is under control, and has met annual budget of logistics. We are able to constantly monitor Dashboard. There has been timely payment to our supplier, sometimes even advance payments are being made.

As a procurement professional, it is imperative to be cost conscious and deliver savings to the organisation. The savings are a net impact on the bottom line. I have been leading high value CAPEX procurement across categories and organisations. I help them add value to their procurement process and deliver savings. During the pandemic, we developed a category-based cost model relying on the TCO. The model was adjusted for the commodity fluctuation to arrive at a realistic baseline cost. This model helped us achieve the organisational objective of attaining substantial cost reductions in the targeted categories. The nuances & strategies to deliver value in procurement also require an intensive study on the impact of various clauses. A bespoke concession trading plan was conceptualised to identify the right mix of tradeable. The plan helped us go the extra mile and add further value. A collaborative approach at difficult times led to a win-win outcome for partners and organisation.

Conventionally, partner registration was a manual process, a potential partner would fill a physical registration form and send it for verification and code creation. In some instances, this resulted in incomplete documentation, causing delay for weeks. The registration process was completed by our inhouse team and evaluation was done on merits of documental evidence. I was the project lead for digitization of partner registration process along with engaging with a Third-party due diligence (TPDD) agency for partner evaluation. For this, we evaluated multiple tools and shortlisted a P2P tool capable for end-to-end partner management, right from partner evaluation to final payment and performance management. The partner registration module was customised as per our company policies. Currently the partner registration is a paperless online process, where a potential partner receives a link; and all mandatory documents are to be uploaded. Once all documents are submitted, it flows to an independent agency for TPDD. The objective of TPDD was to review risk before onboarding. It involves identification, assessment, evaluation, and continuous monitoring of all the potential risk like Operational, Management, Financial, Legal & Compliance, Regulatory, and Reputational risks. To mitigate the risk, we introduced partner evaluation of two stages: Level 1 (Partner background check based) & Level 2 (Physical site visit, Onsite Interview with partners). Partner registration is now a seamless activity, as all the approvers right from the Finance teams, TPDD agency, partner code creation team is configured on a single approval workflow. Additionally, all strategic partners are scanned under a continuous monitoring tool to red flag concerns as it arises. We also launched a potential partner registration link and displayed on the Tata Play portal wherein any partner interested to work with us can click on the link and submit relevant details.

As the Lead for Packaging Sustainability for South Asia Region, I was responsible for forming roadmap for sustainability in Packaging Materials. The projects, which I led, resulted in the reduction of Virgin Plastic by moving promo packs from virgin plastic to metal and glass. I worked on various Fit for Purpose projects. These projects focussed on optimising the plastic usage per pack. Plastic consumption was optimised across packs to reduce usage. I worked on implementation of mono materials to convert our plastics into Recyclable Plastic. Various brands from confectionery business were first to move. I also worked on projects on plastic neutrality and end of life projects. Paper straw implementation for our Ready to Drink business was a key project executed. I was responsible for setting up end to end value chain for importing paper straws, followed by trials and finally commercial implementation. When the regulation around paper straws was finally implemented, Nestle India Ltd., was ready for the same.

As part of building up supply chain efficiencies, we are exploring and developing an alternative multimodal transport model for our bulk liquid movements from port to factory, which needs to be eco-friendly, energy-efficient and sustainable. The current model for inbound bulk liquid products totally depends on surface transport as we are far away from the ports, while procurement is being done in bulk and break-bulk vessels. In the same connection, while aggressively exploring the possibilities, we recently hired an entire train, loaded 90 ISO containers with liquid cargo at Mundra Port and transported them to Ludhiana in Punjab. A train carrying about 2000 MT can potentially replace about 100 tanker trucks plying on the road, helping clearing up congestion apart from increasing efficiency and reducing pollution. This multimodal transport system will prove beneficial to the industries situated far away from seaports and inland logistics centers. The concept can definitely help many industries to secure supply of raw materials in time, with end-to-end cost-optimisation while mitigating seasonal constraints in road transportation.

PepsiCo has embarked on PO1 strategy effective 2014 to bring together the foods [Frito-Lay] and beverages [PepsiCo] business to take advantage of economies of scale. It was a prestigious project and I was chosen to lead the supply chain design and accordingly was expected to revamp the warehousing and logistics processes. Vehicle loadability was a challenge for combining the Food- Frito-Lay SKUs (restricted by stack height and voluminous) and beverage SKUs which were weight heavy. We have designed the load optimization algorithm with stack height restrictions, exact dimensions for each SKU and hired an external agency to design the UI which was user friendly for Loading supervisors. The algorithm was designed to work for Club loads as well. This algorithm was lauded to be innovative and made the visualization in 3D feasible to enable the supervisors to load the vehicles to the maximum percent possible while referring the load pattern on their mobile screens. This effectively reduced the freight per case substantially besides appending value along the chain by delivering both Food and beverage SKUs in the same vehicle. We also got the vehicles modified such that Frito-Lay SKUs get loaded in the space above beverage SKUs, thus improving and utilising the pay load available. Thus, there was an improvement in loadability by 12.4%, which resulted in effective savings of more than 60 lakhs annually.

Jaikishan Gianani, Head – Factory Supply Chain (Nanjangud and Choladi), Nestle India Ltd.

Bhupendra Kumar, Head of Logistics, IOL Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Rayapati Srinath Reddy, Vice President – Supply Chain, NourishCo Beverages Ltd. (Wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Consumer Products Ltd.)

Vikrant Srivastava, Associate Director – Supply Chain, Yum Restaurants India Pvt Ltd.

Anurag Verma, Head – Demand Planning, Pidilite Industries

Hanuman Swami,

Global Planning & Fulfillment Manager – Industrial Automation Division, ABB Single use plastic was a major challenge in packaging. Hence major task was to identify the sustainable packaging. We identified bagasse and developed bagasse container to replace plastic container. We switched to wooden spoons from plastic spoons and Paper carry bags from plastic bags and same way switched to paper buckets and glasses and removed approx. 450MT of plastics from FOH packaging. We managed the compliances and sustainability without major cost difference.

During my previous stint at Reckitt, we were tasked with warehouse productivity improvement through Picking Path Optimization in WMS Algorithm. It was identified that the supervisor while picking the stock goes in sequence presented on the picklist, covering the first row A, followed by row B and so on. This was identified as a further scope of optimisation by asking the supervisor to travel on shortest path as per picklist. This is being used by Zapp, a UK-based Qcommerce firm and is yet to become mainstream in the industry. To achieve this goal, we performed As-is analysis of the current process and benchmarking of picking practices across industry; negotiated with WMS vendor to develop the algorithm to provide pre-printed picklist with the shortest path (travelling salesman problem). We got the layout of the entire warehouse with bins numbers, aisles and distances mapped in WMS. We identified the global shortest path, which covers all the bins in the warehouse, using travelling salesman algorithm as base, hence any picklist that comes in actual, will be a subset of this global shortest picking path. Pilot was implemented in Hassangarh and eventually has been successfully rolled out in other warehouses. During this project, the challenge was to map the entire warehouse distances in WMS and modifying the algorithm as movement could be done only across aisles. After the successful completion of the project, we were able to achieve ~9% improvement in picking across multiple warehouses in Reckitt and around ~50 lakh of annual savings through manpower reduction across multiple warehouses.

We set out to predict the correlation among a set of external variables with respect to the demand of a particular product line in ABB’s PAMA Division and attain the best forecast for the product line by using a mix of statistical and deep learning extrapolated models. For this, we used Forecasting & Analytics Engine. We decomposed the data series to find the respective cyclical or trend component and correlated the same with external market factors such as Crude Oil prices (WTI/Brent), & global macroeconomic parameters to find the best fit. We then used an ensemble of extrapolated models statistical & AI based along with XGBoost and a multilayer LSTM to forecast for the external predictors in case of a correlation and then arrived at the underlying derivative. With the right & best set of forecast numbers, we are likely to identify and enact faster to trend changes, which will help us stay ahead. It displays critical parameters of a part at a hawk’s eye level to mitigate unforeseen circumstances and take suggested actions briefly. Optimum forecast will help in better cashflow management & improved customer service level and on-time delivery.

House of Spices India is a leading South Asian Food manufacturer & distributor across 30+ categories - rice, snacks, spices, frozen, flours etc. 85% of our products are imported into the USA. Frequent stock-outs were common due to long transit times. We also faced inventory pile-up due to a long tail of slow moving products. We used to bring containers directly to each warehouse, due to high cost of local distribution. Planning and purchase were done traditionally and were ineffective. In the last two years, TOC based replenishment and a control tower mechanism have been pivotal to bringing stakeholders together for agile decision making. We automated DC to DC transfer with several metrics – availability, stock in transit, transfer cost, full truck load – evaluated in real time. We also integrated container visibility with our system through Tradelens, and GPS enabled trucks. For secondary distribution, we use our own GPS enabled trucks, providing real-time updates to our customers. These interventions have resulted in strong impact – 40% growth, 14-days of inventory reduction, freshness index up by 18%, fill-rate up by 2100bps. Upon reflection, our biggest learnings have been: Effective change management and galvanising the team towards new ways of working; and Unleashing the power of data analytics onto everyday decision making.

Harish Kumar, Director – Supply Chain, House of Spices India

EXEMPLARY SUPPLY CHAINS 2022 (CORPORATE AWARDS) Ingram Micro India Pvt Ltd.

Presenting interesting insights on how the implementation of temperproof packaging led to reduction of shortage & damage cases, reduction in increased insurance claim ratio & premium, and ultimately better fill rate and customer satisfaction by Ingram Micro India Pvt Ltd.

In-transit shortage is a major challenge faced by all companies & problem becomes more critical for the companies dealing with IT and Mobility products (especially high-end phones). Being Ingram IT & mobility-based company, the main challenge in front of Ingram Micro India Pvt Ltd. was to control and reduce in-transit shortages & pilferages cases which was showing increasing trend year-on-year. While financial loss due to in-transit shortages / damages could be recovered through insurance, but it was blocking working capital till claim settlement happens and led to increase in premium ratio during next renewal cycle. The team have to control intransit shortages and pilferages by taking various precautionary measures or corrective measures.

SOLUTION PROPOSED

After analysis of different packaging methods, it was decided to use temper-proof bag as outer packing above corrugated box, temper proof bag having Ingram log with security warning not to accept if bag tempered, need to demand open delivery and verify the contents in front of courier. Deepak Khullar, Deputy General Manager Operations, Ingram Micro India Pvt. Ltd., informed, “Temper-proof bags were designed in such a way that if someone opens the bag, they need to tear the bag, and once opened, it is not possible to seal it again. So, any tempering of bag is easily identifiable and can raise alarm both at courier’s network and customers’ end. After implementation of temper-proof bags, cases of in-transit shortages and pilferages have been reduced to zero.”

AB InBev

This Exemplary Supply Chain feature documents Ab InBev team’s innovative solution where they designed a stock-deployment optimization tool, which uses state-of-the art optimization techniques to provide recommendations to move stock at-risk between DCs in the most optimal and cost-effective way.

Inventory deployment is considered to be the backbone of the responsive supply chain. At ABI, we have a wide and complex network of breweries and distribution centers (DCs) in our key markets which makes the inventory deployment planning very challenging. Along with this, the demand variability

and gaps in transport execution leads to scenarios where certain DCs have excess stock than the projected demand and at the same time other DCs have shortage of the same SKU. The DCs with excess stock are constantly at the risk of obsolescence while the DCs with shortage face out-ofstock scenarios. Such unbalanced grid due to deployment issues leads to a loss of millions of dollars each year in form of destruction of obsolete stock and service level hits. To solve this problem, AB InBev designed a stock-deployment optimization tool, which uses stateof-the art optimization techniques to provide recommendations to move stock at-risk between DCs in the most optimal and cost-effective way.

The main challenge faced by inventory deployment teams in planning re-deployments is that it is impossible to manually analyse thousands of DC-SKU combinations each day and decide the cost-effective way of re-deploying stock between DCs. Due to this in most of the markets, planners plan redeployments for only top SKUs and on top routes.

This leaves a long tail of products which are never analysed for the risk of obsolescence and out-of-stock. Due to this the excess stock reaches closer to expiry and needs to be destroyed with additional cost. In absence of a tool to plan re-deployments and due to manual efforts involved, many markets never even analyse the need for re-deployment and never had visibility on the potential loss that can be avoided.

APPROACH & METHODOLOGY

The inventory re-deployment optimization model functions in three stages. Explaining these three phases, Pratik Bhombe, Analytics Manager, AB InBev, stated, “In 1st stage, we consolidate various data inputs such as inventory data, transit volumes, production plans, demand forecast, out-of-stock volumes, relocation costs, repack, etc., and create an analytical data set. In the 2nd stage, the model estimates projected stock over next few days for each DC-SKU and compares that with demand or nation average to determine depots with excess or deficit stock which then are used as source depots and destination depots pairs respectively in next stage. In the 3rd stage, a multi-integer linear optimisation model evaluates all possible redeployments based on profitability and cost of movements and recommends most optimal re-deployment plan, which will yield maximum profitability and minimum transport cost. It recommends number of trucks and number of pallets that needs to be re-deployed from one depot to another under all business constraints. The optimisation function also gives higher weightage to the source depots, which have obsolescence risk and destination depots which have outof-stocks, thus providing maximum benefit at minimum costs.” The highly scalable framework is developed as a webtool on Microsoft Azure platforms and is automated end-to-end from data extraction and integration to end recommendations and insights.

OUTCOME & IMPACT

The inventory deployment and planning teams across zone are using this global re-deployment tool to manage the risk of obsolescence and out-of-stock in their region. The redeployments recommended are validated by the planning experts and the loads are created in the system for execution. This has led to significant decrease in obsolete stock and reduced the stock write-offs. The algorithmic decision making has reduced time significantly and now more redeployment opportunities are identified and executed by the team leading to savings for the company. The tool also tracks execution and provides insights on the depots & SKUs where frequent re-

deployments are required. This improved visibility enables planning teams to make systemic fix in their processes to avoid the problem in long term.

The inventory re-deployment optimization, which is an AI-powered optimisation algorithm to re-deploy stock at risk of obsolescence, has been operational in South Africa for almost a year now. It has led to significant reduction in the risk of obsolescence volume and the stock-out volume. The solution helps us avoid the destruction cost of the stocks going obsolete and assists in suggesting where to sell the product in the market by relocating it at the right time to right place. The solution is already deployed in Europe zone and in pilot in North America Zone, South America Zone and Middle America Zone.

Coign Consulting

Learn the art & craft of designing immaculate warehouse spaces that can even cater to the changing needs of the business and serve as the future-proof solution from the expert’s team at Coign Consulting as they have designed one of the most exceptional scalable Multi-Tier Storage System and a Column Supported mezzanine structure to utilise the maximum cube capacity of the distribution centre for the client to serve their customers better and expand their horizons…

With the vision of having a ubiquitous physical presence in the Eastern Region of India, one of Coign Consulting’s Client "Baazar Kolkata" a Value Retail Chain, currently serves to their 120 in-house stores and plans to cater to 200+ stores by 2026 in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Tripura, Assam & Odisha. Having faced challenges such as fixed prices and low margins reducing the ability in making capital investments in infrastructure, technology, developing skilled resources, last Mile distribution capability and with a vision to service more stores, the company reached out to Coign Consulting for a scalable solution. Talking about the challenges, Coign Consulting team faced during the execution phase, Arif Siddiqui, Founder & Director, Coign Consulting, stated, “We had to identify ideal storage system, which could optimally accommodate more than 40 lakhs pieces of volume per Day. The project also warranted identifying the ideal pedagogy of storage of the SKUs such that they can be efficiently put away and picked, at runtime. We also had to work towards finding new and effective methods of picking, sorting, consolidation and dispatch to fast pace the order fulfilment rate. Basis all these, our job was to discover an optimal mix of human efforts, mechanisation and automation to complement the dynamic nature of the business and the fast-paced backend operations. The project also needed to seamlessly integrate the various processes, related to man, material and equipment movement, inside the warehouse to new infrastructure, such that the intra-logistics layout complements the business at the time of peak season; and make the environment human friendly for maximum productivity from the human resources.”

APPROACH & METHODOLOGY

By examining the problem areas, Coign Consulting team designed a completely automated transfer of materials picked from multi-levels to a particular point of sorting, consolidation and dispatch. It was a scalable Multi-Tier Storage System and a Column Supported mezzanine structure to utilise the maximum cube capacity of the distribution centre. “We studied and evaluated all the processes in order to make them mechanised / automated / human effort driven, from the point of view of feasibility, viability and most importantly – Necessity. The transfer of Material was mechanised using inclined motorised conveyor belts and the sorting area was equipped with swivel wheel sorters to incorporate and conduct dynamic destination wise sorting operations. we standardised storage bins and pallets and ergonomically designed process trolleys and workstations. We designed an end-to-end material storage, unilateral movement and returns management system. We seamlessly integrated physical process with warehouse management system, explained Arif Siddiqui. The executive staff was equipped with corporate-like office facilities. We suggest the use of Barcode readers to reduce strain & fatigue. This entire system is designed to service more than 8,500 cartons per day.

OUTCOME

The project helped in substantially improving order fulfilment rate from current standards. The Dock-to-Stock processing time was reduced to the target time. The consolidation and packaging capacity was increased considerably to process more orders per day. The packing capacity per packer also enhanced due to the new packing station design. The cube capacity utilisation of the warehouse also improved a lot. The effort per resource per order pick was also reduced substantially due to an appropriate mix of human and mechanical effort in the pick-sort-consol solution. All the solutions were designed with completed transparency & visibility of the processes and thus, scalable for any future system integration or capacity increment.