Customer Story

Mobile handheld terminals boost efficiency at Sherwin-Williams

December 19, 2017

When Sherwin-Williams, one of the world’s biggest paint manufacturers, decided to streamline their stock management processes, they turned to Novacura. The result was a mobile solution with smart, user-friendly workflows that save time, reduce administration and make things easier.

At Sherwin-Williams’ 4,000 m² central warehouse in Nässjö, deliveries are coming and going all the time. This is where paint produced at the company’s two Swedish production plants arrives. Every day, orders of all sizes are prepared: everything from individual tins of paint for direct customers to pallets of mixed products for retailers.

This used to be done using printed picking lists. Each order picker checked IFS Applications using a desktop computer, printed off a picking list detailing that day’s orders and product locations, took a truck to one of the 3,000 pallet locations and ticked off every item on the list by hand. The details were then entered back into the business system manually.

The most suitable alternative for a company with such complex inward and outward delivery flows is the system that provides a better overview and ensures more reliable stock management. The actual point of Novacura Flow is that it solves problems simply, using configured workflows.

IFS has a number of complex functions in tabs and forms, but on the mobile unit these are hidden. Novacura carry out the complicated stuff in the background. The solution is also highly configurable and flexible, and can be tailored to suit the needs of any business.

The company now uses Novacura Flow at both of its production plants and at its central warehouse to deal with inward deliveries of raw materials, internal transportation and outward deliveries. Sabina Wenker manages the central warehouse – the Sherwin-Williams Distribution Center in Nässjö – where seven handheld terminals are currently used throughout the entire working day.

Another function of Sherwin-Williams’ handheld terminals is a stock transportation system. A warehouse location is assigned to new goods, and another advantage is that the system automatically creates downward movement tasks when products in high bay storage need to be moved down to ground height for easier picking. This means that the order pickers do not need to interrupt their picking flow, since the company is able to act in advance.