SELECTING THE RIGHT SOLUTIONS
Prior to implementing NetSuite, the Arbortec team was operating with an ERP system that wasn’t able to meet their changing functionality needs. “Our previous software was very limited in its reporting and clunky to operate,” said Rowland Wood, Commercial Manager at Arbortec. After reviewing their business practices, they decided to optimize their technology by investing in an ERP that would provide structure for their business growth. “We wanted to onboard a solution that would help us scale our business. NetSuite was the most customizable option.”
With NetSuite as their foundation, they turned their focus to improving their supply chain processes. This meant looking for a warehouse management system (WMS) that would help them tackle the most common bottlenecks in their supply chain. “We wanted to improve our picking, packing, and stock control with the use of a WMS.” As part of their selection process, they sought the advice of NetSuite experts. “We talked to a few NetSuite partners, and all of them said ‘You must go with RF-SMART.’” Additionally, RF-SMART’s global offices in both Australia and England offer 24/7 support through implementation and beyond, helping Abortec feel even more confident in their choice to invest in RF-SMART.
MANUAL TO AUTOMATED
Before RF-SMART and NetSuite, Rowland’s team was capturing all inventory information on paper. “We would do manual stock checks and item fulfillments. Everything was done manually, leaving a lot of room for human error.” Previously, all stock information was uploaded into NetSuite via Excel sheet imports. This process was inefficient and limited Arbortec’s ability to have real-time access to inventory data. To solve this challenge, Arbortec leveraged RF-SMART’s UK-based implementation team to support and fully optimize these inventory movements. “The UK RF-SMART team was wonderful to work with.”
Arbortec now leverages RF-SMART barcode scanning for all inventory transactions. “Every RF-SMART function works. Our whole warehouse process has become considerately better, and our accuracy has improved.” One of the most notable areas of improvement was their picking process. Before RF-SMART, the Arbortec team was achieving an average of 75 percent picking accuracy. Using RF-SMART for picking, they are able to seamlessly identify and pick the correct inventory for each order, improving efficiency and visibility. “RF-SMART has helped us increase our picking accuracy to 99 percent, which is a significant improvement."
ERROR-PROOFING SYSTEMS
Arbortec’s warehouse team has been pleased with how easy RF-SMART is to use. “Our warehouse staff was able to learn how to navigate the scanners quickly. It’s very simple to operate.” This simplicity has helped Abortec streamline their warehouse training.
Rowland and his team are also seeing downstream improvements to their overall business practices. “RF-SMART gave us a framework that’s helped our team be more disciplined in how we go about our supply chain processes.” This structure has minimized their user errors, improving overall stock control. “With RF-SMART, our team must follow the WMS prompting to make sure everything is scanned in and scanned out," said Rowland. “This has made our stock control more accurate.”
SCALING WITH CONFIDENCE
Arbortec is continuing to find new ways to leverage RF-SMART’s inventory functions in their supply chain. As they prepare for the future, they are planning to extend their use of RF-SMART functionality into the manufacturing side of their business, opening the door for more areas of optimization and improvement. “RF-SMART is a solution that we can wholeheartedly recommend.”