Walker’s Shortbread has invested in Indigo’s warehouse management system software to boost stock visibility and traceability in its business operations.

One of Scotland’s most iconic heritage brands, the Walker family has been baking top quality, delicious shortbread since 1898. Now a global, multi-channel business with annual revenues in excess of £164.6m, family owned Walker’s Shortbread has built up a worldwide customer base that expects the very best. Walker’s Shortbread is Scotland’s biggest exporter of branded food with nearly 50% of its sales coming from its export division and although traditional retail distribution channels remain as strong as ever, e-commerce is becoming an increasingly important sales channel.

Today, the company still uses its original product recipes and bakes its biscuits in small batches, using just four ingredients. Traditional values of quality and natural goodness remain central to everything the company does, with technology now also playing a central, facilitating role. Top quality ingredients and packaging materials need to be carefully managed to minimise wastage, guarantee traceability and ensure excellent customer satisfaction.

Strong demand and continued global expansion have led Walker’s Shortbread to invest in Indigo’s warehouse management system software to implement process improvements in two key areas: management of inbound ingredients and packaging materials, plus outbound control of finished goods. This has enabled the company to streamline business operations across its sites and cater to an ever expanding, global customer base.

“Walker’s Shortbread is a highly seasonal business and we simply couldn’t have sustained the levels of global growth we’ve managed to achieve in recent years without Indigo’s software to help us improve stock management, visibility and traceability,” says John Taubman, Head of IT, Walker’s Shortbread.

Using the latest Honeywell mobility edge CK65 mobile computers, all product components and ingredients are actively managed by warehouse operatives upon arrival on site, by booking raw materials into the system and attaching the relevant Quality Assurance paperwork. The QA department at Walker’s Shortbread maintains strict internal control procedures, whereby items are either released for production in small batches, or remain held in the warehouse for future use. Ingredients can be stored in different locations and Indigo ensures full visibility of stock throughout the raw material warehouses, which in turn, allows for the timely transfer of items between sites and onto the relevant production line for maximum efficiency. Through the use of Batch/Lot numbers and/or GRN Walker’s Shortbread ensures full traceability is maintained for all stock movements at all times, including returns of surplus material from production lines.

Indigo’s software also manages the tracking and movement of finished goods from the point that freshly baked shortbread leaves the production line to be stored in the warehouse before shipment to customers. In-built checks ensure that all orders are correctly packed and labelled as specified by each customer, which is especially important for export orders. The solution offers operatives the flexibility to switch between normal order picking using pick faces, as well as full ‘trailer’ despatches. This feature has had a significant impact on efficiency levels.

Where relevant, any orders destined for multiple trailers can be loaded directly at the end of the production packing facility, to reduce time to dispatch speeds and materials handing overheads. Using Indigo, goods can now be added to a trailer immediately after they leave the production line in real-time, ready for dispatch on an ongoing basis. Warehouse management can locate items within a large order at any time and once a trailer is dispatched, sales orders and pick instructions can be updated automatically to reflect previous consignments shipped.

“This feature saves us a considerable amount of time. Indigo has helped us to automate an existing process and it enables us to ship large quantities to big distribution centres very efficiently,” says Taubman.

Finished goods stored in the warehouse are visible within Indigo as ‘available stock held’ across its Scottish production sites, plus multiple consignment stock locations throughout England, from where products are exported onto leading retailers throughout the world. Indigo also manages traceability, by linking lot numbers to individual works order and sales order numbers. Every single item leaving the warehouse – whether it is an e-commerce order dispatched directly to a consumer’s home, or a bulk order to a retailer – can be tracked down to the individual production batch, with all ingredients accounted for in an extensive paperless traceability system.

“Using Indigo, we have excellent stock traceability and visibility throughout our distribution network, which has also meant shrinkage is significantly reduced,” says Taubman. “Another way using Indigo has helped to improve efficiency for Walker’s Shortbread is by removing paper from the manufacturing process and ensuring that all customer orders are correctly accounted for. Previously the system was entirely paper based and prone to errors resulting from extra case orders being packed unnecessarily. Since these are labelled uniquely for every customer, any surplus items would need to be returned to the factory and repackaged before onwards shipment, resulting in inefficiencies and time wasted.”

Indigo Software, a leading provider of warehouse management system (WMS) solutions, announced that Stockton-on-Tees based telecoms services provider, Map Group (UK), has selected its flagship software, Indigo WMS, to automate six of its UK warehouse locations. Indigo Software was chosen as it demonstrated a clear strategic advantage by offering a comprehensive WMS and stock management system of the highest quality to help support Map Group’s planned future growth.

A great North East B2B tech success story, Map Group has expanded rapidly in line with Britain’s broadband revolution. The company was founded in Stockton-on-Tees to provide ultra-fast, full-fibre broadband network services to millions of homes and businesses. It now operates across the UK, working on behalf of some of the industry’s biggest telco brands, including BT, Virgin Media, Openreach, Netomnia, City Fibre, Gigaclear and Hyperoptic.

Exponential business expansion has led to Map Group opening six distribution hubs throughout the UK, which will soon be automated using Indigo WMS. Map Group needs to provide accurate stock figures to business stakeholders in real-time and Indigo’s software will secure its inventory to control costs and provide mission critical stock information.

Indigo WMS will be rolled out to Map Group’s locations in Peterlee, Birmingham, Chelmsford, Croydon, Huddersfield, and Southampton, as part of a phased implementation.

As part of the roll out, Indigo Software will also be supplying Honeywell hardware to Map Group, including CK65 scanners and PM45 printers to enable mobile working.

“Map Group’s success stems from the long term relationships we build with our customers and our commitment to execution excellence at all times. We strive for continuous improvement and this investment in Indigo WMS means we can optimise our distribution network and continue delivering the high levels of service that our customers expect,” says Matty Carlin, Direction, Map Group.

“Indigo Software has been headquartered in Durham for over 40 years and we are proud of our heritage in the north east region. Although we have many customers using our warehouse management technology all over the world now, we always love an opportunity to support fast growing, local businesses. We are delighted to be working with Map Group and look forward to helping them become even more successful,” adds Darren Baxter, CEO, Indigo Software.

Indigo Software, a leading global provider of best of breed warehouse management system (WMS) solutions, has recruited warehousing mobile devices sales specialist, Andy Elliott, to the role of Global Hardware Sales Manager. Reporting into Indigo’s Chief Sales Officer, this is a new position within Indigo’s sales management team and was created as a result of the ongoing success of Indigo’s WMS solutions worldwide.

Indigo has supported its customers with their hardware requirements for decades, but is now expanding this area of the company’s business as a result of ongoing opportunities. Indigo begin offering expanded hardware solutions to not only its existing customer-base, but any company looking to improve their warehouse technology estates. This marks a natural evolution for Indigo as the company continues its global expansion.

The Global Hardware Sales Manager role is an important addition to the Indigo sales team and illustrates the high levels of strategic commitment the company has made to its technology partners, which include Honeywell and IBM.

Andy Elliott’s responsibilities at Indigo will include engaging with existing customers to understand their hardware requirements and supporting a seamless renewal strategy with no business disruption. Andy will also be supporting new customers wishing to purchase hardware only, offering them impartial advice about the best products to suit their warehousing business objectives.

Andy brings extensive experience selling hardware for warehousing and logistics environments. He was previously a Channel Account Manager at Zebra Technologies, specialising in the supply chain sectors. Prior to this, Andy was an End User Account Manager with a focus on manufacturing, warehouse & distribution, transportation & logistics and field service customers. Andy has a broad knowledge of customer requirements and can assist in adding value to Indigo’s ever growing customer base increasing their productivity and efficiency.

Mark Leavy, Chief Sales Officer at Indigo says, “We are delighted to be welcoming Andy to the sales team. He has a fantastic track record in the industry and we expect him to add a huge amount of value to customer decision making when it comes to hardware specifications.”

Andy Elliott, Global Hardware Sales Manager at Indigo Software says, “I have always admired Indigo’s approach to WMS solutions and the company has an excellent reputation in the market. I’m looking forward to building this side of the business and helping customers to reap the full benefits of their hardware ownership.”

Indigo Software, a leading global provider of best of breed warehouse management system (WMS) solutions, has appointed logistics specialist, Oliver Goodman, to the role of Principal Consultant. An important role within the business and critical to customer success levels, Oliver’s responsibilities include providing leadership, organisation and coordination to support Indigo Software’s highly regarded Consultancy Team. His remit includes leading client software implementation activities, to ensure all projects adhere to best practice and exceed customer expectations where possible.

A graduate in Robotics Technology, Oliver brings a wealth of warehousing industry experience to the role, including working in Greene King operations and projects for over 4 years.

Oliver originally joined Indigo Software’s Consulting group in 2016 where he provided consultancy services and implemented Indigo WMS at numerous customers’ sites.

Oliver has a blend of both operational and IT experience which he uses to provide strategic and tactical recommendations which drive improvements in customers’ warehouse flow and operations.

Most recently Oliver has used his knowledge of warehousing and retail in a number of consultancy roles implementing solutions from multiple WMS vendors, including Tier 1 providers.

Collectively this experience and his background makes him a perfect candidate for the role of Principal Consultant.

Paul Smith, COO, Indigo Software says, “Our Consultancy Team is one of the company’s key value adds for customers and a major reason why so many customers choose to implement Indigo WMS. Oliver is a real asset to the team and we are delighted to be offering him this position.”

Oliver Goodman, Principal Consultant at Indigo Software says, “Indigo Software is a great place to work, client projects are always very interesting, my colleagues are very supportive and we have excellent self-development opportunities. I am very excited to be starting this new role.”

Indigo Software, a leading provider of Warehouse Management System (WMS) solutions, will be highlighting the many benefits of replacing paper-based processes with automated systems in the warehouse on its stand at IMHX 2022.

Indigo Software has identified that two of the most common issues warehouse managers are seeking to resolve when they consider investing in a WMS are removing paper-based processes to increase efficiency and integrating their systems to allow for real-time performance reporting.

Although there is currently plenty of hype around the adoption of robots and full automation in warehouses, the reality at the pick face is quite different. Especially within the thousands of small to medium sized businesses in the UK. Many business goals and more can be achieved by investing in WMS software and yet companies are still reliant on manual methods when it comes to picking stock or processing their deliveries.

Continuing to use pen and paper-based processes significantly impacts profitability levels because more workers are needed to cover busy periods, which is costly and time consuming due to the shortage of available talent. Plus it has a damaging effect on customer satisfaction levels. Inevitable errors are made picking the wrong items, with additional time wasted walking around warehouses and looking for stock.

Research has highlighted that the biggest impacts to profitability that originate in the warehouse are caused by: inaccurate data and errors – 30%, inefficient manual processes – 23% and poor business performance reporting – 32%.

“Supply chains are now a ‘make or break’ activity within any business that involves the distribution of products to consumers,” says Gregg Shenton, Marketing Manager at Indigo Software. “Paper-based warehouse processes cause shipping delays, the wrong products being picked and additional costs that are eating at company bottom lines. Margins are shrinking at their fastest rate for decades so why do companies still procrastinate about going paperless? Add into the mix that in reality the best you can hope for is about 85% location accuracy what are you waiting for?”

Visit Indigo Software on Stand 5F71 at IMHX 2022 to discuss how a best of breed WMS solution can improve efficiency and accuracy in your warehouse.

Following a period of sustained growth international Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) specialist, Indigo Software, has boosted its global sales team with the addition of a new Business Development Manager, Graham Miller.

One of Indigo Software’s key differentiators as a WMS vendor is the breadth of real-world industry expertise that its consulting and sales teams possess.  This enables clients to benefit from a unique combination of vertical market experience when they are working with Indigo Software, facilitating extensive warehousing process improvements to maximise their returns.

Graham Miller’s background makes him ideally placed to boost the current Indigo Software sales team, having enjoyed a wide range of senior operations, freight, warehousing and management roles with leading logistics, supply chain and transportation companies including Wincanton, DPD, and DHL.

Mark Leavy, Chief Sales Officer said, “We are delighted to welcome Graham Miller to the team, he brings excellent skills and industry experience at a time when Indigo Software has launched innovative new products and services that are proving very popular with customers.”

Virginia Hayward, a leading supplier of luxury food and wine hampers to some of the UK’s most prestigious retailers, has invested in Indigo WMS to automate its warehousing at three of its business divisions.

Established in 1984 by Gin and Geoff Hayward, Virginia Hayward has grown from a cottage industry to employ over a 100 full-time staff with that figure tripling during the peak Christmas period.  The company remains wholly family-owned and places a strong emphasis on the quality of its customer service, whether customers are ordering 1 hamper or 10,000, the aim of the business is to always ensure that the customer feels special.  The company has diversified its original hamper business with the acquisition of Grand Illusions, specialising in modern vintage home and garden products and the establishment of a full 3PL services division, VH Logistics.  The logistics operation is spread across over 300,000 sq ft of modern purpose-built warehousing in the Dorset countryside, with a further 90,000 sq ft of advanced warehousing currently under construction.  They are able to offer a full suite of logistics services from storage to order fulfilment and delivery to potential clients.

Virginia Hayward’s hamper business was already using an in-house developed warehouse management system (WMS), but its limited functionality was restricting future growth opportunities.  The company needed a solution with the ability to add barcoding / scanners and which could provide full real-time visibility across all the companies warehouse sites from a centrally managed system.

A business case was developed by Virginia Hayward’s management team to support the WMS investment initiative with the expectation of achieving eight key cost and time saving benefits.  These include: space optimisation and lower operational expenses; greater inventory visibility and accuracy, reduced labour costs and increased resource optimisation, lot or batch traceability, streamlined logistics processes, improved data capture and process automation, shipment efficiency improvements and the opportunity to achieve continuous business improvements.

After conducting a full market review of software vendors to find a WMS solution, and taking the WMS vendor short-list down to two, Virginia Hayward ultimately selected Indigo Software as its WMS supplier for a number of reasons.  Indigo Software offered a proven track record of integrating its WMS with Sage 200 and the consulting team gave Virginia Hayward’s leadership full confidence that their investment would deliver clear returns thanks to in-depth vertical industry knowledge.

Steve Wilkinson, IT Director at Virginia Hayward said, “Indigo Software’s consulting team were very knowledgeable and knew our industry as well as their own software.  We were very impressed with Indigo WMS’s functionality, agreed contracts at the end of 2021 and are now working on a phased install starting with Indigo’s QuickStart Program to deliver the project over the next year.”

Mark Leavy, Chief Sales Officer at Indigo Software said, “Indigo Software is delighted to be working with the team at Virginia Hayward, they have a brilliant business and it’s just the type of operation that will see a fast return on investment from a WMS.”

Further information about Virginia Hayward is available from https://www.virginiahayward.com/

After a period of sustained growth, international Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) specialist, Indigo Software, has recruited new team members, with roles spanning development, consultancy, and sales support.

Tom Jervis joined as a Supply Chain Consultant. Tom is an experienced Supply Chain professional with over 13 years’ experience in the telecommunications, e-commerce, FMCG, reverse logistics and device refurbishment industries. In his previous role, Tom was an Operations Manager for BT at their Northern Distribution Centre. His responsibilities included managing end e-commerce warehouse operations for BT Shop & BT Business direct. He was also responsible for the reverse logistics of test and refurbishment operations dealing with BT Routers being returned to the business.

Tom has vast experience in delivering projects and solutions. His expertise includes business transformation involving the delivery of operational and commercial benefits, implementation of new systems and processes, leading the introduction of continuous improvement methods across distribution centres and complex new product introductions to support supply chain strategy.

Jack Johnson joined as a Cloud Architect responsible for designing, planning and visualising Indigo Software’s range of cloud products. Working closely with Indigo Software’s sales, product and development teams his remit is to design and plan innovative and pragmatic solutions, utilising the latest technology practices and cloud services.

Prior to joining Indigo Software, Jack gained over 10 years of technical IT experience across a multitude of sectors including Enterprise Software, InsureTech, Software, Retail and FinTech. During this time, Jack held various roles at Hewlett-Packard, Insure The Box, OnTrac Limited, Fenwick and Tred, starting as a Application Support Analyst before transitioning into DevOps and becoming a Solutions Architect.

Laurren Cooper joined as a Sales and Marketing Executive to support Indigo Software’s fast expanding new business function. As the first point of contact for potential new clients who are interested in implementing Indigo WMS within their business, Laurren plays a critical part in successful sales cycles and also provides campaign support to the Marketing Manager.

Laurren has many years sales, business development, customer service, account management and marketing experience gained within different industry sectors. She has a proven track record in helping businesses grow and maintaining high retention levels through excellent customer service. Laurren is also experienced in using multiple marketing channels to actively engage with clients and potential customers.

Darren Baxter, Group CEO at Indigo Software says, “We are seeing strong demand for our WMS solutions and are delighted to have expanded the team with these talented new members. 2022 looks set to be a very busy year and we are exceptionally optimistic about the coming months.”

International Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) specialist Indigo Software today announced the launch of QuickStart, a new rapid ROI WMS Program, designed to allow businesses to very quickly transform their warehouse operations.

A WMS solution for the 5 top challenges in today’s warehouses

Indigo Software has designed the QuickStart Program to very quickly address the five most pressing challenges that businesses worldwide are currently facing in their warehouses and DCs.  These are:

•     Identifying a fast, cost-efficient and risk free way to capitalise on the global e-commerce boom;
•     Satisfying unpredictable and unprecedented consumer demand whilst keeping warehouse staff safe as businesses learn to mitigate the risks of Covid-19;
•     Increased need for real-time reporting and processing of inventory origin paperwork due to Brexit;
•     Dealing with warehouse staff shortages, retraining new staff and losing valuable logistics operational knowledge due to employee turnover;
•     Increased demand for e-commerce fulfilment services due to new trends such as dropshipping and q-commerce.

Indigo Software’s QuickStart Program delivers Indigo’s proven and multi-award winning WMS in an innovative, easy to implement and rapid return starter package.  It has been designed to transform and optimise all warehouse operations in record time by offering rapid WMS deployment with much faster Return on Investment (ROI).  QuickStart provides a scalable, cloud based solution with a simple to manage and low cost 12 month subscription model for up to 10 simultaneous users.

The QuickStart Program is being delivered by Indigo Software’s team of leading industry supply chain experts and includes a free site assessment with resource / operational optimisation consultation and technology review.

The QuickStart Program will allow companies to very quickly address the real challenges they are currently facing in their warehouse operations.  Offering all the advantages of a WMS, it will also allow them to seamlessly grow into a full blown WMS without substantial upfront costs as their business expands.

International Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) specialist Indigo Software today announced the launch of QuickStart for Cold Chain.  Indigo Software’s new rapid ROI WMS Program, is designed to allow businesses in the cold chain sector to very quickly transform their warehouse operations, solve immediate challenges and deliver a rapid return on investment.

Indigo Software’s solution helps cold chain warehouse operations in four key ways:

• Improving cold store safety for chilled/frozen foods and reducing wastage.  Indigo QuickStart has the ability to automate FIFO, LIFO, FEFO, batching and other customer specific management requirements.  Indigo QuickStart can also manage cross contamination and blast freezer dwell time, perform move/hold/release functions, quality control and manage best before/expiration dates including moving products between the chiller/freezer and automatically updating expiry dates.
• In addition to improving stock management, Indigo QuickStart improves product traceability and maintains an audit trail of every stock movement with the associated temperatures.
• Where space is at a premium, for example, in city centre e-fulfilment operations, Indigo QuickStart improves space utilisation by 30%.
• Indigo QuickStart improves ergonomics and the working environment for cold chain based warehouse operatives who can have the ability to work hands free when Indigo is used with voice enabled headsets.

The QuickStart Program will allow companies in the cold chain sector to address all the operational challenges they are currently facing in their warehouses, especially when it comes to quality management and maximising space utilisation.  Offering all the advantages of a WMS, it will also allow them to seamlessly grow into a full-blown WMS, but without substantial upfront costs as their business needs expand.”

A WMS solution for the 5 top challenges in today’s warehouses

Indigo Software has designed the QuickStart Program to very quickly address the five most pressing challenges that businesses with warehouse operations are currently facing.  These are:

• Identifying a fast, cost-efficient and risk free way to capitalise on the global e-commerce boom;
• Satisfying unpredictable and unprecedented consumer demand whilst keeping warehouse staff safe as businesses emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic;
• Increased need for real-time reporting and processing of inventory origin paperwork due to Brexit;
• Dealing with warehouse staff shortages, retraining new staff and losing valuable logistics operational knowledge due to employee turnover;
• Increased demand for ‘q-commerce’ fulfilment services.

Indigo Software’s QuickStart Program delivers Indigo’s proven and multi-award winning WMS in an innovative, easy to implement and rapid return starter package.  It has been designed to transform and optimise all warehouse operations in record time by offering rapid WMS deployment with much faster Return on Investment (ROI).  QuickStart provides a scalable, cloud based solution with a simple to manage and low cost 12 month subscription model for up to 10 simultaneous users.

The QuickStart Program is being delivered by Indigo Software’s team of leading industry supply chain experts and includes a free site assessment with resource / operational optimisation consultation and technology review.