Pharmaceutical distributor cuts day of safety stock
End user: Medis Health & Pharmaceutical Services Inc.
System: Track and trace warehouse system using radio frequency (RF) and hardwire scanners and SATO barcode label printers
Benefits: Increased shipping productivity and inventory control accuracy
Overview
 Canada's leading pharmaceutical distributor, Medis Health & Pharmaceutical Services has 14 warehouses across the country and ships products to Canadian pharmacies, hospitals and healthcare institutions. Until last year, warehouse tracking was primarily a manual chore.
Issues: Managing Inventory Movement
Efficiency and accuracy are very important. Medis recognised the need for an automated system to improve their productivity. "We must manage all inventory movement properly to service our customers efficiently and quickly. We have to make sure we can track all goods and quantities from when we receive them in the warehouse to when we ship them to the customer," said Martin Losier vice president and CIO.
Solution : RF Barcode Label Tracking
A new radio frequency (RF) and barcode tracking system was installed in each warehouse with the result of a eliminating a whole day of safety stock.
The system electronically records the movement of barcoded items on conveyors, in boxes and in cases on pallets, using overhead and handheld scanners. Each movement is sent via RF communication or hardwire to the Medis warehouse management system (WMS) residing on an IBM AS/400. As a result, the WMS knows at any moment exactly what is received and what purchase orders are fulfilled.
Montreal-based Scanpak Inc., a system integrator and label supplier, installed the entire RF-based tracking system with assistance from Positive ID Wholesale, a wholesale distributor of SATO printers and product tracking hardware tools.
 Scanpak brought in printers for test runs, which led Medis to select SATO printers to print barcoded shipping and box labels. Since labelled boxes are recycled back to Medis, the label adhesive had to be strong enough to keep the label attached until it returned to Medis, yet capable of releasing when the container was reused. A printer needed to accept the adhesive labels without causing the system to get gummed up. Up against other brands the SATO CL 608e performed best.
In a warehouse environment, printer operation is a different challenge. "We try to keep it as clean as possible, but with a lot of goods, it tends to be dusty," says DiBattista. Dust can hamper printer operation over time, but the SATO M84PRO printer is a little workhorse in the Medis environment. Its internal Ethernet connection makes it resistant to dirt and damage. The heavy-duty casing and performances of both printers were a definite plus to Medis, but their ability to communicate with Medis' software was the clincher. No other brands could meet that challenge.
Benefits
The RF tracking system has brought many productivity quality improvements. It has increased the accuracy of the orders because stock is where it is supposed to be, stock location is accurately recorded, and therefore less product shortages occur. What is picked and shipped is verified as complete before sending. As a result, the number and subsequent cost of returns is reduced. Accuracy of barcode scanning and up-toøthe minute information from real time data collection greatly improves both inventory management and customer order fulfilment."
As a result of the successful installations, Medis is increasing each warehouse's processing volume. It has increased receiving, put-away and replenishment accuracy to nearly 99.9%, shortened turnaround, cut shipment errors, reduced product returns and reduced safety stock.
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