Chocolate retailer Haigh’s is getting its logistics in order with the help of CHEP.
The retailer found it was receiving pallets from suppliers but they weren’t always being transferred onto its accounts.
David Elliot, Haigh’s distribution centre supervisor, said managing 600 to 800 pallets with 100 to 120 transfers through the warehouse every week – twice that at Christmas and Easter – was a challenge.
“When we were getting the CHEP account in, and we checked our pallets, we found we had more pallets than what we were being invoiced for. In warehousing terms, it’s just good governance to ensure the stock you hold matches your invoice,” he said.
To reduce the administration workload for Haigh’s on an ongoing basis an asset management system was set up. As part of this additional service, CHEP conducts a pallet count each month for Haigh’s, checking what has come in against the dockets and sorting out any discrepancies immediately.
Rachel Silby, CHEP asset management consultant, worked with Haigh’s to resolve their pallet management problems.
“Every business strives for optimum efficiency, and a small issue can become a big drain on resources if not addressed quickly,” shel said.
“We sat down with Haigh’s, went through their problems and helped them implement simple processes to resolve their issues. As a result, Haigh’s now has full transparency of their pallet management throughout the supply chain.”
Haigh’s is also now using strategies such as tagging and tracking to help locate assets and improve its logistics process.
“We’ve also started using the Portfolio+ Plus system for ordering pallets, doing transfers, making corrections and keeping track of paperwork,” Elliot said.
“We now always know there are enough pallets in our manufacturing warehouses to cater for our demand of our outgoing goods.”