Al-Haya Medical Co. (AMCO) is one of the leading Saudi Arabian retailers for pharmaceuticals as well as medical and hygienic supplies. About 700 employees are responsible of the delivery of more than 4.000 products to pharmacies and hospitals. From central warehouses in Riyadh as well as regional warehouses in Jeddah, Khobar, Abha, Medina and Qassim AMCO distributes products all over Saudi Arabia.
AMCO headquarters, Riyadh
The challenge
AMCO faces three main challenges:
- Depleted warehouse capacities
- Dissected warehouse structures
- Insufficient IT support
All these aspects have a negative effect on the logistics’ dynamic.
The task
AMCO commissioned viaLog with a comprehensive optimisation of the internal supply chain. The project’s main focus is the amalgamation of six warehouses with different functions spread all over Riyadh. On the capital’s outskirts, a central warehouse is to be erected, which combines all functions of the existing warehouses in Riyadh. As general planner, viaLog is responsible of the conceptual and detailed planning as well as the implementation. This includes
- the entire conceptual design of logistics and architecture,
- the supervision of the building process,
- the introduction of a warehouse management system (WMS) as well as
- the support during the implementation.
The warehouse management system’s task is to integrate the logistics technic into the material flow of the Riyadh central warehouse. Besides the construction of the new central warehouse, viaLog develops a standardised regional warehouse fit to meet AMCOs individual requirements. This standardised type of warehouse will replace the five existing regional warehouses at their current locations.
Draft of the future central warehouse in Riyadh
The solution
The central warehouse
The new central warehouse in Riyadh comprises an automatic bulk storage with 27.000 pallet locations, an automatic small quantity storage as well as about 14.000 square metres of conventional area reserved for other logistics’ functions. viaLog’s logistics’ concept presupposes a 40 per cent growth. Construction is supposed to begin in 2015 and the project is supposed to be finished in 2016.
The regional warehouses
viaLog’s conceptual design for the standardised regional warehouses aims at a maximum flexibility. The warehouses’ structure is fixed. The individual components however are set up in modules, allowing for the capacities to be adapted to each location’s requirements. In order to use the warehouses as flexibly as possible, a minimum of logistics technic will be implemented. However, the warehouse building as well as the IT will be prepared for an automation of core processes at a subsequent date.