“Reflex was a good match for our current and future requirements. The fact that Hardis Group was able to offer both global and local support was another crucial factor in our decision. After Poland, Spain, and Sweden, we intend to roll out Reflex at a brand-new warehouse in southern France, as well as at any new locations we open in Europe.”
The project at a glance
Raja Group, the European leader in the distribution of packaging, supplies, and equipment for businesses, is rolling out the Reflex WMS warehouse management system at its distribution centers in Europe. The deployment is part of wider plans to optimize and harmonize the group’s European logistics software and applications, as it seeks to fulfill two key promises: guaranteeing stock availability for the 300,000 products in its catalog, and delivering to anywhere in Europe within 24 to 48 hours.
Context and objectives
Raja Group is Europe’s leading distributor of packaging, supplies, and equipment for businesses. It sells 300,000 products through its e-commerce websites, catalogs, and call centers, as well as via its teams of outside and inside sales representatives. The group operates in 19 European countries and serves over one million customers of all sizes and across all sectors and industries. From its 15 distribution centers, which provide combined storage capacity of 400,000 sq m, it delivers to anywhere in Europe within 24 or 48 hours.
As it looks to diversify its business on the continent, Raja Group has opted to offer all its product lines through every company in the group (Raja, JPG, Bernard, Mondoffice, Kalamazoo and Viking).
This change means:
- Linking up the group’s 15 distribution centers, so it can ship orders from the right platforms
- Harmonizing its software and applications: a single ERP system and a single order management system (OMS) will be rolled out group-wide, while its warehouse management system (WMS), transport management system (TMS), and round management system will be streamlined.
Application
Reflex WMS had already been used at three Raja Group sites in France, one in Belgium, and one in the United Kingdom. After evaluating its suite of existing applications, the group’s logistics department decided to renew its partnership with Hardis Group on the basis that the warehouse management system was a good match for its current and future requirements, and because Hardis Group was able to offer both global and local support.
Raja Group will gradually deploy Reflex at sites without an existing WMS, in Poland, Sweden, and Spain, and locations already equipped with Reflex WMS will switch to its latest version. The group will also roll out Reflex at a brand-new warehouse in southern France, as well as at any new locations it may open in Europe.
The distributor will use these new deployment projects as an opportunity to develop a group-wide core model, incorporating new features such as automated scheduling and dynamic, on-the-fly resource reallocation. For each roll-out, Raja Group will also implement the Exlabel module, which prints labels, transport documents, and EDI announcement files in line with the specifications of the various couriers and express delivery partners its European subsidiaries use.
Benefits
- Streamlined and harmonized warehouse management software and applications
- Global and local support throughout Europe
- Ability to handle high order volumes
- Shipping from the most appropriate logistics platform
- Automated scheduling and dynamic, on-the-fly resource reallocation