Best Practice

Secur™ has never been breached and will protect against;

• Intruders
• Looters
• Ram raids
• Explosions
• Bomb blast

Security Blinds is a leading manufacturer of physical security and protection systems in the UK. Servicing all sectors, the patented Secur™ system provides protection against theft and forced entry. The higher specification of the Secur™ system also gives businesses and institutions the opportunity to take proactive steps to address the threat of terrorism having met stringent testing requirements to win endorsement in the UK by the Home Office, Association of Chief Police Officers, leading banks, and local authorities through its ability to protect people, property and equipment from bomb blasts and industrial explosions.

Security Blinds offers a bespoke service for window security internationally - its an attractive solution that looks and acts just like a vertical blind. Secur™ is an efficient way to protect your offices as it has never been breached, it also safeguards you against disruption, losses and damage to your business, assets and property. It is ideal for the protection of high value products such as art, sensitive materials or combustible goods.

One reason why the higher specification of the Secur™ product has been so well received, especially by the police, is simple. It does much more than just protect property, it can save lives. Secur™, in conjunction with Anti-Shatter Film or Polycarbonate Sheets, has been tested and proved highly effective in mitigating the effects of bomb blasts and therefore provides a solution to protect personnel and property from terrorist or industrial explosions.

The way Secur™ protects against blast is deceptively simple. The second a blast occurs in the vicinity of your protected premises, the blades snap shut. This provides an impenetrable barrier, preventing flying glass and debris from penetrating the building, protecting both the internal premises and individuals in them. The building also remains secure from looting.

Recent sites internationally for the Secur™ product are Non Government Organisations (NGOs), power stations, police, financial services and critical infrastructure sties.

The protection of high value goods and cash is an area where Security Blinds has particular expertise. Security Blinds takes a consultative approach with the retail banks in the UK where the company has installed physical security measures for all of the main banks. This expertise along with such a high level of security means that this solutions will protect against intruders, sabotage, looting and blast to make the facility highly secure. Secur™ provides this level of protection in cash centres because it is a trusted, bespoke solution, deployable anywhere and tested to a high level of protection by the Police and UK Home Office.

With reference to a counter terror, solution with blast protection and intruder prevention capabilities for a highly secure facility, Wayne Money, Chief Executive recently said: ‘’Our continued focus on critical facility protection and deep client relationships is paying off with new business and repeat orders, we fully expect this order to be the start of a long and mutually beneficial relationship. Due to the modular nature of our product set we are able to design solutions to specific threats quickly and efficiently.’’

Eruma plc
Underwood House
Shepherdess Walk Buildings
Underwood Street
London N1 7LG

Office - 0044[0]207 566 2610
www.erumaplc.com
www.securityblinds.co.uk
www.illuminex.co.uk

WHAT YOU SHOULD EXPECT FROM YOUR WAREHOUSE CONSULTANT

Whilst outsourcing has always been prevalent in the logistics and supply chain sectors, there has been a marked increase in the requirements for Warehouse design and operational consultants over the last 12 months. This is the result of a number of factors all contributing to this rise in demand for specialist and practical expertise. The recession forced many businesses to reduce their logistics infrastructure and cost base whilst a slowdown in product demand put additional constraints on warehousing with slow moving and obsolete stock taking up valuable space and resource.

Many companies, regardless of industry sector, have survived the recession to date through drastic cost cutting exercises frequently having reduced the workforce and either closing or "mothballing" production and warehousing facilities. This strategy is often borne out of necessity and has the immediate short term benefit in terms of cost reduction however this raises two further questions; "What else can you do to improve your cost base?" and with evidence in some sectors that the worst is behind us, "How should you be planning not only to recover but also to grow and become stronger than you were before the economic downturn?".

TThere has been a noticeable increase in warehouse and picking facilities within the internet retailer and e-fulfilment sector as well as a number of business mergers and acquisitions now seeking to benefit from warehouse consolidation and economies of scale.

Planning how to react to economic recovery and capitalise on every opportunity as and when it arises is crucial. Where measures have been taken to rationalise and contract to combat recession, businesses need to be sure that they can react to the inevitable recovery and upturn in trade as and when needed and not be found wanting or lacking in resource and strategy when the time comes. Long term security will be highly dependent on a robust and sustainable Logistics and Warehouse strategy within your business and within that of your customers and suppliers throughout the supply chain. In order to survive, companies must endeavour to undertake the widest review possible to ensure that all elements of their warehouse processes, systems and facilities are not 'sub-optimised' and that inventory levels are minimised yet remain effective.

he need for a consultant with operational and practical management experience is essential and a good logistics consultant should be highly expert in Logistics Network design and reviewing current warehouse process and operations. They should be able to successfully develop and implement solutions for all areas of Materials Handling, Procurement, Stores and Inventory Management including Regional, National and Global Distribution Strategy Development and implementation, Tactical Stock locations, Handling and Picking processes, Demand Forecasting, Integrated Inventory Control, Vendor Management, Vendor Support Operations, inbound and outbound Logistics Management and Performance and Cost Measurement. All of the analysis and solutions specific to the client requirements must be presented with clear and concise rationale, having been costed and tested.

Most importantly the costs of current warehouse and inventory operations (per item or unit load despatched), must be clearly identified and the on-going cost reduction strategy must define requirements for flexibility in the business over the next 3 to 5 years planning horizon.

The strategy must be tested to ensure Interface / interaction between Warehousing and despatch and other operations / departments within the business as well as integration with existing ERP / MRP systems and WMS modules.

“What businesses don't need is a lengthy and unnecessarily costly outsourced consultancy project which delivers little or no practical benefit with no consultant / client interaction”, says Gideon Hillman FCILT MIC, “What companies rightly demand and subsequently should receive are implementable solutions specific to their requirements, costed, tested and presented with clear and concise rationale, including a detailed implementation path. This can be achieved through a fixed cost and logical approach which is effective and adds value to a client’s businesses with no additional or variable costs over and above those agreed for the scope of the work.”

For further details Contact:
Gideon Hillman Consulting Ltd
Tel: +44 (0) 1926 430 883
Email: info@hillman-consulting.co.uk
Website: www.hillman-consulting.co.uk

Author Bio:

Gideon Hillman FCILT MIC has over 20 years European Supply Chain, Logistics and Materials Handling industry experience, having been employed at a Senior Management Level throughout Europe with both manufacturers and Global 3rd Party Logistics Providers for over 12 years, prior to establishing Gideon Hillman Consulting in 2004, now one of the UK’s leading Warehouse Operational Development and Design consultancies..

His areas of expertise and experience are in Logistics Outsourcing Tender Management, Commercial and Business Development, Supply Chain and Logistics Network Design and Implementation throughout Europe for major manufacturers and household brand names in the Automotive, Food Production and Processing, Grocery and Non-Grocery Retail, Home Delivery Networks, Utilities and General Industrial & Manufacturing sectors.

He is regularly asked to write articles and provide comment for many trade publications, was a conference speaker on “Asset Management In the Supply Chain” at the IFPWA Global Conference in Edinburgh hosted by UKWA in 1998 and a speaker on Supply Chain Management at the Aid & Trade Humanitarian Relief Conference in Geneva in 2006.

More recently (2011) he addressed a trade mission (by invitation) at The Canadian High Commission in London on the subject of Logistics Outsourcing in the UK.

Gideon is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Logistics and Transport and a Member of The Institute of Consulting (a division of The Chartered Management Institute) from which he recently received a High Commendation award for his work in Logistics Network design.

Forward-looking logistics for German medical technology manufacturer ERBE Elektromedizin GmbH

In business since 1847, ERBE Elektromedizin GmbH now has over 560 employees developing, producing and distributing medical technology for electrosurgery and waterjet surgery as well as equipment and accessories for hemostasis, tumor removal and minimally invasive operations. ERBE has a global presence with sites in the United States, Brazil, China, France, the Benelux countries, Switzerland, Poland, the United Kingdom, India and Russia. Tübingen, Germany, is its sole production facility, however. For years, ERBE has achieved strong growth both at home and abroad. Exports currently account for some eighty percent of revenue. The structure that had evolved over the years was not equipped to fully meet these and other challenges. Therefore a new logistics centre was built and became operational in 2008.

The nearly 38,000 square meters of floor space in the new logistics center accommodate the following:

• Automatic small-parts storage area featuring storage trays for nearly 15,000 boxes and with a capacity of 260 stock removals per hour
• High-rack storage area with wire-guided narrow-aisle turret truck technology
• Block storage
• Quick-turnover zone
• Dangerous goods storage
• Sterile goods storage

IT support from ASSIST4 Warehouse Management

The entire intralogistical process—from goods receipt to stock putaway, from picking and stock removal to packing, from complete freight document preparation to loading—is mapped by the transport and warehouse management software ASSIST4, developed by AEB. Standardisation and automation were the benchmarks in planning and designing the IT architecture of the new logistics process. For ERBE Elektromedizin GmbH, automation means not only mechanised support but process support. This support is ensured by:

• Consistent use of scanners with an online link to the warehouse management system
• Generation of efficient transport chains within the warehouse
• Interfaces to the ERP system, so inventory is continuously synchronised among the systems
• Electronic processing of all documents needed for the shipping process
• Online transmission of import and export declarations to the customs authorities

One innovation that facilitates stock putaway and removal in the automatic small-parts storage area is the inclusion of both a laser-guided display and a monitor display.

A laser beam points to the tray segment from which the goods are to be removed. A graphic display also indicates the right compartment on the monitor.

ASSIST4 also supports the picking process in the manual warehouses. The warehouse management software calculates the best route within the warehouse using transport chains and priorities stored in the master data. Employees receive route-optimised driving orders on the forklift control terminal in the high-rack storage area. In the other storage areas, handheld devices are used. Scanners support the removal of the goods in all storage areas.

The pull principle, already implemented in production processes as "kanban" control, is now applied to logistics—for example, through the installation of "pulling" packing stations that are mapped in the warehouse management system.

While consolidating goods from the various storage areas at the packing stations, bottlenecks are avoided by triggering a picking order only after a line or location in the staging area shows the appropriate capacity.

Following the system-supported check for completeness, the consignment is released for packing. The packer receives a corresponding alert in the packing station application. The packing process is "qualified": Each article with a batch or serial number is scanned once more before being physically packed to make sure it is in the right consignment. This provides an extra layer of control against the errors of individuals in support of a system-wide zero-error strategy. It also enhances traceability based on batch and serial number.

The entire process is controlled and monitored by a system of indicators. All relevant process information - involved parties, lead times, consignment contents, consignment routes, track-and-trace information - is available for operational control, creating greater transparency in the process, enhancing the reliability and lowering the error rate. By consistently tracking the relevant indicators, ERBE Elektromedizin GmbH is able to continuously increase logistical performance.

The conscious selection of an integrated software package - in which warehouse, transport and export processes are mapped in a single environment - has paid off by reducing the number of interfaces.

ERBE Elektromedizin GmbH has responded to legal requirements and internal targets by reorienting itself and completely reorganising its logistical processes within two years. The sales department has been relieved of organisational responsibilities and is now able to focus exclusively on customer contact, shipment releases and availability checks.

ERBE customers now benefit from faster and more reliable deliveries.