MERA-Tiernahrung GmbH, based in Kevelaer, operates one of the most modern pet food production facilities in Europe. The company has grown strongly in recent years. New production buildings in 2007 and 2010 demonstrate the success of the company and its expansion.
The challenge
Until then, the logistics department only had limited IT support. This meant that an overview of current stock levels and, above all, batch tracking was only possible with a great deal of manual effort. In addition, processing was completely document-orientated. There was no real-time information on the status of orders, nor was it possible to locate pallets in the warehouse.
The task
MERA commissioned viaLog to define the requirements for a warehouse management system for the finished goods warehouse and to draw up a specification sheet. It was also viaLog’s task to invite tenders for the warehouse management system and its integration into the ERP system and to support the tendering phase. Special attention was paid to continuous material flow tracking with the most flexible work processes possible.
The solution
The specifications, which were developed in close consultation with MERA, were competitively tendered in a large field of bidders. With detailed price-performance comparisons, visits to reference systems and price negotiations, viaLog created the basis for selecting the optimum system.
The highlights
Traceability:
All batches can be traced back 100 per cent in the warehouse.
Transparency:
All material movements are recorded online using mobile data capture. This provides a constantly updated overview of current activities in the warehouse.