Autumn 2009

Wickes, the DIY retailer, says it has reduced bottlenecks arising during the despatch of online orders by introducing the MetaPack delivery management system. This makes intelligent choices automatically about which carrier to use on the basis of various operator-defined criteria.

Operations general manager Dean Heatlie says the company's previous despatch process involved working with designated carrier systems. 'This meant operatives were tied to a particular carrier, leaving it harder to move away if service was poor.'

He adds that the old system was time-consuming and laborious, causing a drain on productivity and resources. 'Paperwork had to be completed manually, leading to higher a risk of human error, and there was also no way of efficiently storing historical consignment data.'

Using the MetaPack system has also improved visibility and reporting, Heatlie says, explaining that it has been highly beneficial to be able to view all current, pending and historic consignment data, regardless of carrier, on a single screen.

 

Wickes is also taking advantage of some of MetaPack's additional functionality, including consumer email updates and 'consignment cloning', which is said to have proved a major benefit in terms of customer service improvement and reduction in allocation time.

Different warehouses within Wickes are set up per carrier, so that users are able to see the manifest as it evolves throughout the day. Their carriers can then plan the resources required for the collection.