YALUMBA

Winemaker Improves Warehouse Processes, Increases Stock Visibility With Accurate, Real-Time Data

Yalumba Wine Company, founded in 1849, is Australia’s oldest family-owned winery. Since its founding, the company has expanded its business across agriculture and manufacturing with domestic and international distribution. To sustain that growth and continue to serve customers in an efficient, timely manner, Yalumba needed to do the following:

• Improve efficiency in the warehouse processes

• Increase visibility of overall stock

• Provide accurate data to warehouse personnel

Challenge

A previous investment in enterprise software helped improve control of stock levels and track inventory by location within the warehouse. However, because all inventory transactions were manually recorded and later processed in batches, Yalumba’s ERP system rarely reflected correct stock levels. As a result, employees were often directed to pick stock from a location that had already been taken on previous orders.

In addition to causing inventory inaccuracies, batch processing also wasted significant time in manual data entry. And manual processes extended beyond data entry to a whiteboard system used to convey picking information to warehouse personnel who had to wait in line to see it.

The challenge was clear: Yalumba needed to improve its warehouse processes.

Solution

Yalumba identified real-time inventory visibility as well as improved speed and accuracy as critical needs in the warehouse. To meet those goals, the company sought a mobile solution that could integrate fully with its enterprise system.

Knowing that Cloud Inventory® had worked with their enterprise software for many years, Yalumba chose the Cloud Inventory platform and mobile-first supply chain apps. The company implemented a suite of Cloud Inventory apps to provide two-way communication between its enterprise software and mobile devices.

Results

Yalumba took advantage of the opportunity presented by the warehouse optimization project to reengineer its processes. The company evaluated every step of its existing business processes and why each occurred. This evaluation helped Yalumba discover natural improvements that could be enhanced using Cloud Inventory’s platform and mobile apps.

Yalumba’s transition to real-time visibility resulted in a major shift in ownership and responsibility of business processes from the office to the point of work.

“The greatest benefit has been the replacement of our batch processing of inventory with real-time data capture on our warehouse floor,” said Graham Baker, Product Data Management Manager, Yalumba Wine Company. “This has resulted in more up-to-date and accurate information on stock levels and allows us to more efficiently make accurate and faster delivery of customer orders.”

Inventory Visibility From Vine to Cork

Since implementing Cloud Inventory to increase efficiency in the warehouse, Yalumba has expanded its use to the manufacturing side of operations. The company deployed Cloud Inventory’s Barrel Management App to track and manage barrels and their contents, even in the disconnected environment of the cellars. The app performs online or offline to execute barrel-scanning operations from receiving to tracking fills and blends and generating barrel labels.

“We use the Cloud Inventory solution from manufacturing, keeping tabs on barrels of wine, raw materials usage, and movements — all the way to finished goods from the end of the production line until the stock goes on the truck,” said Nathan Courtney, Commercial Solutions Specialist, Yalumba Wine Company.

Yalumba was very pleased with Cloud Inventory’s complete approach. Cloud Inventory provided training and configuration assistance based on the skills and requirements of the Yalumba staff.

Over time, Yalumba’s staff gained the skills to support and expand their use of the platform and mobile-first supply chain apps. This self-sufficiency was “invaluable in tailoring solutions to suit other processes in our business.”

While the company has become self-sufficient, Yalumba can rely on Cloud Inventory’s industry expertise at any time.

Industry

Food & Beverage

ERP: JD Edwards EnterpriseOne

Highlights

• Cloud Inventory Barrel Management App performs online or offline in cellar environment

• Platform fits Yalumba’s wine- making processes and industry requirements

• Easy-to-use app simplifies mobile transition, reduces errors