Annaghmore Boosts Order Fulfillment by 25% While Reducing Maintenance Costs with OpenEdge-Driven In-DEX WMS

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Challenge

Even with ERP and SOP solutions to help manage stock between different warehouses, Annaghmore faced costly inefficiencies that hindered growth.

Solution

Progress Application Server (PAS) for OpenEdge enables Annaghmore to connect the WMS with critical eCommerce stock and ordering systems.

Result

Annaghmore was able to boost order fulfillment by 25%, thanks to In-DEX and OpenEdge running in the background.

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Challenge

If you aren’t managing your warehouse digitally, chances are you’re not managing your warehouse efficiently.

But even with tools like enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions or standard operating procedures (SOP) systems, warehouse inefficiencies can still crop up. This is especially the case for companies like Annaghmore Agencies, a furniture importer and wholesaler based out of Ireland.



With more than 2,000 items across its product portfolio, Annaghmore struggled to get the most out of its inventory. Even with ERP and SOP solutions in place to help manage stock movement between different warehouses and the order picking process, the company was running into costly inefficiencies that proved to be significant barriers to growth.

This is why Annaghmore turned to In-DEX WMS, a warehouse management system from Principal Logistics Technologies that is built on the Progress® OpenEdge® platform, to tip the scales back in its favor.

Solution

In-DEX WMS is a robust, modular system that delivers high-end warehouse functionality to meet the requirements of modern enterprises. Armed with In-DEX WMS, Annaghmore was able to drive meaningful improvements across the board to processes like order fulfillment and warehouse space management.

Operating a warehouse that does high transactional volumes, Annaghmore needed a WMS that could deliver high availability and scalability. Principal Logistics Technologies credits the underlying OpenEdge platform as key competitive advantage for delivering on this need. With OpenEdge 4GL at its core, OpenEdge provides a development environment that combines comprehensive business logic with modern frontends.

As a WMS that deals with a lot of transactions, real-time data replication via OpenEdge RDBMS offers Annaghmore the performance that today’s warehouse-driven businesses need. Not only does OpenEdge offer a zero-downtime solution with real-time, database-level replication, it does so with a high level of stability.

As a fully SQL compliant platform, OpenEdge also enables companies to integrate In-DEX WMS with other critical data service tools. This helps Annaghmore ensure seamless integration with other vital warehousing solutions, like Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

Finally, Progress Application Server (PAS) for OpenEdge enables Principal Logistics Technologies to take its time-tested application business logic and deliver it as a service over REST. This increases flexibility to integrate with critical ecommerce stock and ordering systems, both on-site and remote. Additionally, it empowers capabilities like In-DEX Voice Middleware, which enables warehouse employees to pick products using voice commands.

Result

With In-DEX WMS in place, Annaghmore has completely transformed its warehouse operations.

With new zoning logic and racking systems, Annaghmore has been able to completely overhaul both how products are stored and how picking jobs are routed to employees. This has boosted fulfillment rates by 25%.

Annaghmore also realized improvements in order picking that improved delivery accuracy, resulting in happier customers and fewer orders being returned.

OpenEdge plays a critical role in this, ensuring the stability and performance of In-DEX WMS. With a low cost of ownership, OpenEdge negates the need for full-time database support staff at Annaghmore sites. And the RDBMS open standard interface assures Annaghmore that connections to its local and remote third-party, partner and customer systems are robust and secure.

“Progress OpenEdge RDBMS is a high-end product that provides the level of stability, transactional throughput and resilience that we need for our customers,” said Joe O’Shea, Director, Principal Logistics Technologies. “And unlike Microsoft SQL and Oracle, it does not require constant attention from a DBA or IT resources. In other words it has a low cost of ownership.”

About Annaghmore Agencies
Established in 1977 and approaching our 44th Anniversary, Annaghmore is Ireland’s leading furniture importer and wholesaler. Our products are sourced from the world’s leading furniture manufacturers and prepared for distribution at our state-of-the-art, purpose-built warehouses.

About Principal Logistics Technologies
Principal Logistics Technologies delivers innovative and functionally-rich WMS, ERP and SOP solutions to 3PL Logistics & Supply Chain warehouse operators. Our in-house developed, blockchain technology-based In-DEX WMS solution enables new value-added services and deliver optimized performance.

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