Atlas WMS Enables More than 900 Croatian Kiosks to Receive Ordered Goods Daily

Croatian company Tisak plus has modernised its central warehouse in Zagreb. They have implemented the warehouse management system Atlas WMS, which, with integrated additional functionalities and adapted solutions, fully meets their needs. Atlas WMS ensures fast system operation, processes large amounts of data, and features integrated controls. In addition, the AOP module ensures that order processing is accurate and enables data transfer to the application used for the distribution and traceability of packages to points of sale. And all of this in Croatian. 

Tisak plus, a member of the Forten Group, owns the largest kiosk trade chain in Croatia. Their network comprises more than 900 points of sale around the country. They are the leading Croatian distributor of printed matter, tobacco products, pre-paid and starter kits for telecommunications operators, and other commercial goods. They are the only local wholesaler that enables daily delivery of goods to all clients regardless of their size – from small sellers, family-owned businesses and local traders, to the largest national retail chains. The supply of all retail outlets is effected from their central warehouse in Zagreb.

Optimised Processes, Better Traceability
The standard processes known in manual warehouses are carried out in their warehouse: from the receipt of goods, warehousing, stocktaking and transfer of stock, to goods delivery via transport orders. The company decided to implement the Atlas WMS solution to ensure better traceability and optimisation of processes. When setting up the system, we had to take account of two key characteristics of their well-established processes:

1. A large number of picking orders are processed daily, and the time available for their processing is very short.
2. The dispatch needs to be implemented in a specific sequence of orders.

Processing Large Amounts of Data in an Exceptionally Short Timeframe
Appropriate system speed had to be ensured in order to process a large number of picking orders in a short timeframe. This was made possible with the optimisation of inquiries in their database while minimising the number of steps with the end user, i.e. picking staff. Atlas WMS is designed so that it suggests the necessary number of returnable plastic crates (RPC) to the picking staff for processing a particular order. The number of RPCs is calculated on the basis of data on the packaging of the product to be picked and the known dimensions of the RPCs. The user thus prepares RPCs in advance and pre-prints the appropriate number of labels to ensure upstream traceability.

Due to the extensive distribution network supplied by Tisak plus on a daily basis, it was a particular challenge to ensure the timely supply of all points of sale throughout the country. With the help of the module for automated order processing (AOP) integrated into Atlas WMS, and the route outlined on the dispatch order, the sequence of order processing is specifically determined, with the orders for the most remote cities, such as Dubrovnik, being processed first. The AOP module also allocates stock for dispatch orders, allocates picking orders to users directly to their RF terminals, and creates orders to replace stock when it falls under the minimum stock level.

The Right Goods in the Right Hands
Integrated controls in Atlas WMS ensure that the right goods come to the right hands; in other words, they ensure that, during the transfer of RPCs to palettes as well as when allocating orders for transport and loading palettes onto a truck, the ordered goods do not get mixed up.
Picking itself is also supported by controls. When the goods come to the controller, they are counted with regard to the type of goods (food products, non-food products, tobacco products, etc.). To illustrate: with cigarettes, the controller scans every packet; with food products, the controller scans the packaging code and enters the number of pieces; and with pre-paid phone cards, tram cards and so on, the controller only confirms the control itself.

Controlling tobacco products is a vast undertaking indeed, as the EU Tobacco Product Directive (TPD) needs to be considered. In line with the TPD, the movement of tobacco products must be recorded in the entire supply chain – from the manufacturer, all the way to the last distributor in the chain before the first retail outlet. In the WMS system, we integrated support for scanning and storing the special identification markings of tobacco products, and for sending the required data to the independent provider of data storage.

Additional Warehouse Planned
Tisak plus uses the 3P mobile application for the distribution and traceability of packages. Atlas WMS sends the necessary data on orders, RPCs containing goods, and palettes in dispatch to this application. By connecting the two, the company further optimised their processes.

Tisak plus is already considering setting up an additional warehouse in another location. If they decide to go ahead, we can offer them our Atlas Global solution, which will enable them to connect all of their warehouses.