La Source digitalises its warehouse for natural dietary products with Easy WMS

La Source: nature and health

Headquartered in France’s Pays de la Loire region, La Source is a health and wellness company dedicated to the sale of natural dietary products and supplements made from propolis, pollen and plant extracts. One of the organisation’s fundamental principles is the protection of and respect for nature as a source of health for people. In addition to nutritional supplements, the business sells aromatherapy products.

• Founded in: 1982
• Catalogue: 450+ products
• Brands: Aagaard, Eolesens, Purasana and Tonic Nature

Ensuring traceability of foodstuffs is vital for a company like La Source. The natural dietary products and food supplements business must carefully monitor its goods to guarantee their quality and compliance with French and European regulations.

“We used to organise our merchandise with Sage 100c ERP software. We’d use it to record the items that arrived at the facility and the orders we distributed each day. As our product catalogue expanded and operations became more complex, we realised we needed to overhaul our processes,” says Alexis Oubrier, Logistics and Sales Manager at La Source.

The company considered the possibility of installing a specialised warehouse management system (WMS). This would control stock in real time while optimising goods movements and operations. After comparing different solutions, La Source opted for Mecalux’s Easy WMS, a flexible, scalable software program that can be tailored to the business’s requirements.

“When we decided to digitalise our logistics processes with Easy WMS, we set three basic objectives: to ensure product traceability, minimise order picking times and streamline shipping,” says Oubrier. The Mecalux software controls the exact location of the 500-plus SKUs stored in the facility and orchestrates all processes to boost productivity.

“All operations are much speedier thanks to digitalisation. Operators simply have to follow Easy WMS’s instructions step-by-step to locate the slots where they need to store goods or retrieve them to prepare orders,” says Oubrier.

Easy WMS is an intuitive, user-friendly software program. “At first, the operators seemed hesitant to use the technology to perform their tasks. However, they soon realised that it simplified their jobs and was a hugely beneficial tool in their day-to-day work. Now, everyone would agree — there’s no turning back!” says Oubrier.

Advanced logistics control

Easy WMS intervenes in all processes that take place in La Source’s warehouse. These run the gamut from receiving natural dietary products sent by suppliers through to their distribution to the organisation’s customers across almost all of Europe.

• Pallet receipt. When the goods arrive, operators identify them by reading their barcodes with RF scanners. The items are then recorded in the system so that Easy WMS can assign them a location in the warehouse. “The software ensures extremely strict and reliable monitoring of SKUs, batches, serial numbers and expiry dates,” says Oubrier.
• Putaway. Operators move the pallets to the positions indicated by Easy WMS. One of the software’s advantages is that it designs efficient routes through the facility. This makes operators quicker, as they travel the shortest possible distances. With all the goods organised correctly, the company has better control of its available stock. It knows the exact location of each product and can guarantee its traceability.
• Order picking. “Picking is one of the operations we’ve improved the most. We save a lot of time in order picking and distribution. Our operators are definitely much faster than they were before,” says Oubrier. Besides distributing the workload, Easy WMS avoids potential mistakes. It tells each operator which location to go to, which merchandise to pick and in what quantities.
• Shipping. Once picking is completed, the orders are grouped in the shipping area to facilitate their distribution. This is when Multi Carrier Shipping Software — an advanced functionality of Easy WMS — comes into play. “If I had to use one word to describe this software, it would be simplicity. With Multi Carrier Shipping Software, we can send orders at the right time and track them until they’re delivered to customers,” says Oubrier.

Optimised order distribution

Multi Carrier Shipping Software is designed to enhance the processes that take place before distributing the orders, namely product packing and labelling and the synchronisation of shipments with transport agencies.

The software sends operators instructions on how to package the items. It tells them whether to place items from an order in single or multiple unit loads. It then consolidates shipments by route or carrier to facilitate their loading onto the delivery trucks. With the supervision of Multi Carrier Shipping Software, operators prepare packages more efficiently and verify that no mistakes have been made in order picking.

The software also streamlines shipments: “For us, automating the management of deliveries with transport agencies is key for expediting order distribution,” says Oubrier. The program sends carriers detailed information on each parcel. Simultaneously, it receives the data required to create and print the labels and tracking number.

Multi Carrier Shipping Software has raised La Source’s throughput in this process. Through direct communication with transport agencies, the business now manages information effectively for on-time order distribution.

Controlled processes

By digitalising its warehouse, La Source can accurately monitor and optimise its operations. In the facility of this French natural products company, the program has streamlined order preparation and shipments to customers across Europe. “Easy WMS has helped us to keep detailed track of our merchandise and reduce the number of movements we make within the warehouse,” says Oubrier.

One of the distinctive features of Mecalux’s software is its ability to adapt to changes and the processes of each facility. “Next year, we expect to see a spike in sales. With a higher number of orders to prepare, Easy WMS will organise operations, efficiently distributing the workload among operators so that we can provide our customers with the best possible service,” says Oubrier.

We’d certainly recommend Easy WMS to other companies looking to increase their supply chain productivity. It’s an intuitive, user-friendly software program that’s delivered excellent results to our business.