SSE sees immediate savings and ROI with SnapFulfil's cloud warehouse solution

The challenge

SSE's Oracle host system was paper-based for all warehouse tasks, leading to challenges with operator accountability and the deciphering of handwriting by data entry staff which, in turn, resulted in misplaced stock and poor productivity.

In the course of a year, SSE also used a stack of paper the height of the BT Tower in London!

The solution

SSE undertook a four month selection process, involving comprehensive RFI and RFP tender documentation detailing all of its many requirements. SnapFulfil was one of a small number of vendors which was able to meet all of these.

SSE's Head of Logistics, Graham Woodfield, said: "When we came to compare those vendors which could meet our requirements, the decision to choose SnapFulfil was an easy one. The selection team especially liked the visual impact of SnapFulfil's display screens which were very clean and concise, as well as being simple to understand and easy to use for our warehouse team. SnapFulfil's people also compared favorably, as did the likely implementation timescales and costs compared to other vendors."

The benefits

As a direct result of implementing SnapFulfil, SSE experienced immediate and significant efficiency improvements including:

• Pick lines per hour per full time employee increased from 13 to 19
• Order fulfillment improved from less than 90% to more than 98%.
• Throughput increased by around 4%
• Staffing levels reduced by 15%
• Better utilization of FLT fleet leading to decrease in operating hours

As a result of these improvements, SSE is achieving an annual payback equivalent to five times the running cost of the system.

Summary

SnapFulfil has helped SSE to increase efficiency by 46% and improve order fulfillment by over 10%, all with no external consultancy or significant investment. As a result, ROI was achieved within nine months of go-live.

A key measure of SSE's confidence in the system was the decision not to continue using SnapFulfil's out of hours support service after the first six months.

With a streamlined and stable warehousing operation, SSE continues to use SnapFulfil as a platform for further savings and improvements in the future.