More efficient logistics support further growth

Pro-Duo redesigns European DC with Easy Systems

In 2019, the international distributor of hairdressing and beauty products started implementing a consolidation in its existing distribution network. In order to achieve this, the company opened an additional warehouse in Ghent and implemented a new installation for more efficient goods handling within and between those locations. For this daring project, Pro-Duo relies on conveyors and roller conveyors from Easy Systems. “Without this solution, we would never have been able to process the many online orders during the lockdown”, says the company.

Pro-Duo is an international wholesaler of professional hairdressing and beauty products, with more than 200 physical branches in Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. Pro-Duo is part of the global group Sally Beauty, with subsidiaries in the US and the UK.“We have everything in our range to support a hairdresser from A to Z”, says Filip Waterschoot, Senior Director Logistics and Supply Chain Europe at Sally Beauty, “from small hairpins to barber chairs and sinks. The bulk of what we sell are the so-called wet products: shampoos, colorants, oxidants and other hair products.” Sally Beauty Europe realises a turnover of around $400 million and has some three thousand employees.

“We are number one on the Belgian market and the only trader in our sector with a European presence”, says Filip Waterschoot. “We buy products internationally, including from major brands. After delivery of those products to our distribution centres, they find their way to our shops. In addition, we sell the products through two other channels. We sell through e-commerce to customers in France, Germany and the Netherlands, also from the DC in Ghent. Furthermore, we have a full service department, where our sales people visit hairdressers and sell the right products that way.

ProDuo

Second warehouse
In the DC in Gent an average of eighty people work in a two-shift system. Depending on the volumes, Pro-Duo also uses temporary workers. The expansion in Ghent came about after a European reorganisation. Pro-Duo closed its small DCs in France, Spain and the Netherlands and integrated those volumes into the Ghent operation. “We therefore rent an additional warehouse of some 8,000 square metres since October 2019, two kilometres from the original warehouse. With this, we have doubled our available area. We split the logistics process between the two locations.”

In the new, second warehouse, the goods reception takes place. Goods are stored on pallet racks. In the original, first warehouse, the entire pick & pack operation takes place. A shuttle brings new stock from the second warehouse to the first warehouse several times a day.

Efficiency
The consolidation into one European DC required an innovative approach at Pro-Duo to ensure and optimise the speed and efficiency of the increased logistics flow at the same time. “In the past we worked with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 as WMS,” says Filip Waterschoot. “But it lacked a lot of functionalities. The implementation of a new WMS was urgently needed to meet the increased volume to be processed and at the same time to anticipate the growth of our e-commerce activities. In addition, we took the opportunity to make the whole pick & pack process more efficient.”

In a first step the team joined forces with logistics expert Jan De Kimpe of Logisol Pro. “We worked out a business case together. Logisol Pro proposed the necessary steps in terms of process optimisation and automation and asked for tenders in the market. We had several options to choose from” From the comparison of the proposals, Easy Systems emerged as the best-fit option. The company thought with us, made its own proposals and challenged us. Those are the criteria that I value and I only found them at Easy Systems,” says Filip Waterschoot.

Quick win
As a new WMS, the Ghent department of Pro-Duo chose Matflo, a product from the portfolio of the American Dematic. Not an obvious choice, but one with references from major players such as Coca-Cola, Unilever and Adidas. Internal experience with Matflo was the deciding factor for Pro-Duo. “Our DC in the UK had already been using that system for a few years. We made the internal exercise with a number of possible scenarios in combination with Matflo. Because we were already familiar with the package within the group, Matflo seemed the best option for Ghent.

However, the switch to the new system did not happen without a hitch. All in all, the DC in Ghent has had an intense period. “It was quite a struggle”, admits Filip Waterschoot. “That was also to be expected, because we undertook a lot of things at once. The start-up of the new warehouse, the consolidation of the regional DCs in Ghent and the implementation of the WMS. On top of that came the automation of the DC. However, the implementation was carried out in a phased approach based on different building blocks. We went live the week before the first lockdown. Not a moment too soon, although the corona period did not make things easier in the first weeks after the go-live.”

Conveyor system
With a new warehouse installation from Easy Systems, Pro-Duo in Ghent also had a physical optimisation in the warehouse. The automatic system with conveyors and roller conveyors forms the beating heart of the whole. At the same time, the Easy Systems solution had to be integrated with the WMS. “For the inbound logistics we work by appointment with the suppliers. Their goods come via containers from the Far East and the US as well as lorries from the EU and the UK. We receive the goods in the inbound warehouse, check them into the WMS and place them at the right location in the warehouse. Depending on the picking needs in the outbound warehouse, a shuttle truck brings the necessary pallets to the other location.”

The efficiency gained by Pro-Duo with the installation of Easy Systems is clearly evident in the outbound warehouse. Pro-Duo works with two flows there: for the shops on the one hand, and for e-commerce and full service orders on the other. “The picking for the shops is done in cardboard boxes. At the start of the process, a machine folds the boxes. They are then labelled and put on the conveyor belt one after the other. At a certain point on the conveyor belt, we assign an order to the box, after which the pickers fill the box accordingly. For our e-commerce orders, we work with reusable and pre-labelled blue boxes. Easy Systems has installed a destacker for this. It shoots a new box per order into the system, after which the conveyor belt leads it to the picking zone.”

ProDuo

Three zones
For the actual picking, the warehouse works with three zones. “There are the non-conveyables,” explains Filip Waterschoot. “These are products that don’t fit on the conveyor belt, like a hairdresser’s chair. We pick these large pieces with a hand scanner. The small products, including most fast movers, are under the mezzanine, which spans half the warehouse. The fast movers are in flow racks and the slow movers are in shelf racks on the mezzanine. We pick these products with a combination of hand scanners and voice picking.”

The boxes for the retail outlets arrive in a consolidation zone via Easy Systems conveyors. After the addition of dunnage, an automatic taper seals the boxes. The boxes are then collected on pallets – and all pallets per shop, for shipment. An order for a shop consists of four pallets on average. Pro-Duo also picks the e-commerce orders in batches. “In a blue box, we pick several orders at the same time in a specific picking zone. Via the conveyor, the bin then goes to a put wall, where we break down all the picked goods by order and prepare them for dispatch.”

Positive end result
When Pro-duo looks back on the thorough redesign of the logistics flows, it is the positive end result that predominates. “The fact that we had to work with different parties did not make the process any easier,” says Filip Waterschoot. “But thanks to some very competent people – from all parties involved – we managed to steer the project in the right direction.”

The switch to the new layout did require proper training. “The new WMS requires a completely different way of working. It’s different steps, different screens and reports. The actual order picking of course remains unchanged, but the whole preliminary process has changed.” This required thorough training of all employees. “We first trained a number of key users. Via the ‘train the trainer’ principle, it was then the turn of all the employees on the shop floor. We guided them step by step through the entire change.”

Cost savings and efficiency
Filip Waterschoot is already seeing some clear results. “First of all, there are the cost savings. By choosing to consolidate the DCs, there are automatically fewer costs for buildings and staff. In addition, we have achieved efficiency gains. Our goal is to eventually achieve 25% efficiency improvement with this solution. We are not there yet, but we have already made good steps in the right direction. The expectation is that we will effectively achieve our target in a few months’ time.” Of course, it was also important that the consolidation and redesign of the new DC would have no impact on delivery times to the shops. “Nothing has changed in that respect. We can continue to guarantee all agreements made.”

The biggest efficiency gains are in the picking flows. Pro-Duo used to work order by order in the warehouse. Today, picking is done in batches. “We work with picking carts that hold nine boxes. When the picker goes to a picking zone, in the best case he can pick for nine different shops. Previously, he had to return to the same zone nine times, each time for one order. In this way, we have been able to shorten the walking distances considerably.”

Further growth
Pro-Duo is mainly targeting e-commerce to continue growing in the coming years. “Just for e-commerce, the redesign of the warehouse is a great asset,” says Filip Waterschoot. “Without the new approach, we would never have been able to handle the influx of e-commerce orders during the lockdown in March. We have already taken a head start with the new system to be able to support the growth in e-commerce ever better.”