Tarsus Distribution: 99.9% inventory accuracy and a new 3PL business on Manhattan WMS

Technology distribution · South Africa · Manhattan WMS

Tarsus Distribution, the oldest technology distributor in South Africa, replaced a decades-old warehouse system with Manhattan WMS, rebuilt its warehouse and processes with Supply Chain Junction, and used the gains to build a new third-party logistics business.

At a glance

• 99.9% inventory accuracy, down to bin location, SKU and quantity
• Four times the daily order processing capacity
• 43% lower labour costs

The challenge

By 2016 the Tarsus warehouse ran on an ERP system around thirty years old, heavily customised to do the work of a warehouse management system. Systems, processes and people had fallen behind a fast-changing industry:

• Only 45% of the warehouse space was in use, yet the team kept running out of locations: 30,000 locations in 46 different bin sizes, with master data that no longer matched the floor.
• Decisions were made on intuition rather than data.
• Processes were deeply entrenched, and the business was slow to adapt.
• Growth meant opening new lines of business, and costs had to come down to stay competitive.

What Tarsus and Supply Chain Junction did

• Implemented Manhattan WMS over a year and a half, with a roadmap agreed with the Tarsus team. Benefits showed within two months of go-live.
• Re-laid out the warehouse from data. An ABC analysis identified the fast movers; 35 of the 46 bin sizes were removed; a new location naming system and a modular layout support continuous cycle counting and easy relocation of bins.
• Agreed serial tracking with the vendors. The team worked with HP, Dell and Lenovo on serial tracking from bin to bin and accurate end-of-day reporting.
• Brought people into the change from the start. Employees were part of the whole process, and after-hours work is now limited to peak events such as Black Friday.

"This was not just a supply chain challenge, but an overall transformation of people, process and system."

Tarsus Distribution

Results

• Inventory accuracy of 99.9%, down to bin location, SKU and quantity
• Four times the daily order processing capacity
• Labour costs down 43%
• A new third-party logistics business serving 8 clients, including outsourced e-commerce fulfilment
• 10,000 Black Friday transactions handled and delivered within a week
• Materials-handling vehicles cut from 17 to 9
• Overtime halved, and transport costs down 37% after courier contracts were renegotiated on better master data and cubing

Watch the Tarsus story

Tarsus Distribution and Michael Badwi talk through the project in a four-part video series:

• Part 1: What drove us to optimise our supply chain
• Part 2: How the project changed the culture
• Part 3: Our journey to optimisation
• Part 4: Where we are now

Planning a warehouse management system?

See how Manhattan ActiveWarehouse™ Editions match scope to your operation, read more client stories, or talk to us. Supply Chain Junction was founded in 2002 and has delivered Manhattan across Africa and the Middle East since 2006.