Case HBM Continuous Improvement Program

Customer challenge

In the past, UC Group logistics experts were already involved in HBM, including for warehouse design, supervision during construction and mechanization, and the implementation of the new WMS. The logistical operation was put into use in 2022. During the next Black November promotional campaign, which sold two to three times more than usual, some imperfections and teething problems came to light. UC Group was asked to come up with an optimization solution for this and to implement it.

Our solution

UC Group has expertise in various areas of logistics and has thus been able to support HBM in all phases of its maturing process. “By getting a little better every day and working more and more data-driven, HBM's logistics operation has taken to a higher level,” the UC Group Supply Chain Consultant looks back. “This has, among other things, meant that productivity has already increased by almost twenty percent and that they are better able to cope with the November peak.” In the beginning, people were still actively coached to look critically at the data during meetings — “How do you explain this anomaly? How can we prevent this next time? ' — but this was soon taken up by the employees themselves. “My personal motto is that you should dare to experiment and not be afraid to make mistakes. Because that's what you can learn from. If I've been able to convey a bit of that mentality, I'm already very satisfied.”

Results

• The capacity of the mechanization could be increased considerably. By improving the coordination between WCS and WMS and making strategic choices about which product to pick and pack in what way
• Implementation of consultation structures aimed at continuous improvement, such as weekly meetings between team managers. Employees were taught to systematically come up with effective improvement proposals based on data and KPIs.
• Together with the logistics organization, a productivity increase of 15% to 20% was already achieved at the end of the assignment. By controlling productivity KPIs, setting standards and discussing deviations daily/weekly, a stream of improvement started.
• An additional effect of the new way of thinking is that commerce and logistics have become more on the same page. For example, purchasing now takes more account of the capacity restrictions in the warehouse when placing orders, which creates more peace of mind in the operation.
• Strategic analyses for international road transport tender that have achieved significant savings on transport costs.