Oct/Nov 2006

As a supplier to O2, Macfarlane Packaging was well placed to trial a mobile solution. The results have brought savings all round

If you supplied packaging materials to a mobile phone company, it would be hardly surprising for you to turn to that mobile company first if you wanted to introduce a real-time stock management system based on mobile technology.

This was the situation in which Macfarlane Packaging found itself in. It looked to O2 for a solution, and the mobile network allowed it to pilot a system using its own stock.

The results have been remarkable. Macfarlane says it has improved its packaging stock distribution system to O2 by up to 70 per cent, as well gaining other knock-on savings.

 

Now Macfarlane says it is in a position to offer this stock management solution to both existing and prospective customers from its 15 regional distribution centres across the UK.

One of MacFarlane's objectives was to be able to synchronise stock levels more closely with its customers', allowing it to reduce time wastage and unnecessary early production of packaging products.

Its approach has been to use O2 Xda handsets to transmit packaging stock information wirelessly from its customers' sites, via O2's GPRS network, to its distribution depots. It has chosen a mix of O2 Xda Mini S and O2 Xda Exec models.

With this system in place, customer packaging levels can be checked every morning, prior to stock delivery in the afternoon. In effect, the system has made a just-in-time operation possible.

Macfarlane employees monitor for stock gaps in customer warehouses, logging them on to the Xdas. The data is then transmitted via GPRS and automatically triggers re-ordering at the Macfarlane depot.

According to Donna Lynch, new business development director at Macfarlane Packaging: "We have managed to deliver up to a 70 per cent space saving for our customer by using O2's experience in mobile data solutions. Not only have we saved time and money, we have also increased the number of quotations we can process significantly, which has made a big impact on the business."

Macfarlane is also harnessing the Xdas for building relationships with both existing and prospective customers. By introducing an automated quote system, it has been able to turn round quotes for stock items in just 30 minutes. Previously the paper-intensive process for quotes took up to a week.

The mobile solution uses software on the Xda integrated into its back-office systems via the O2 network. A new quoting system for bespoke products is now under development, that should bring further improvements in response times to customers and overall customer service.

Macfarlane Packaging is a member of Macfarlane Group, is a leading international packaging specialist with businesses in packaging, labels and plastics. It operates from 15 regional distribution centres, has 450 staff and currently services more than 17,000 customers.