True to the motto: "Fast, efficient and reliable." STIHL has established itself on the market as a supplier of engine-powered equipment for forestry, gardening and landscaping, and the construction industry, and has known how to offer its customers the highest level of reliability, quality and service for over 90 years. In order to be able to maintain the company's future viability in the long term, STIHL decided at an early stage to modernize and expand its warehouse logistics - first in Germany and then in France - and has since been a long-standing customer of S&P Computersysteme GmbH.
Following the successful implementation of the modernization of the logistics center at the STIHL sales headquarters in Dieburg in 2011, the STIHL Group decided to also use the SuPCIS-L8 warehouse management system from S&P at the warehouse locations in France in order to be able to handle and manage the continuously increasing sales and volume growth in the best possible way. In total, STIHL has extensive storage areas at the French locations around Paris for the diverse product range from chainsaws and hedge trimmers to accessories for forestry and landscape maintenance to spare parts. The warehouse management system helps to increase efficiency in both Germany and France through optimized logistics processes.
In terms of warehouse strategies, the project partners focused on uniform processes across all countries. Processes and strategies that are used with the WMS SuPCIS-L8 in Germany can also be found in the two existing warehouse locations in France. The conversion to multi-order picking with mobile terminals ensures route-optimized and paperless picking in the STIHL warehouse. Mobile consolidation, packaging and loading processes were introduced and optimized with regard to small and large order processing. Automatic tote storage systems are used in both countries.
Nevertheless, some differences can be identified. While Germany, for example, relies on pick-by-light picking, in France a shipping sorter ensures that packages are sorted according to shipping ratios. At the same time, the multi-stage replenishment processes ensure inventory availability at STIHL. A high-availability architecture also ensures that logistics operations cannot be impaired by damage to the server systems. The use of mobile printers also makes it possible to label goods and apply shipping labels to packages ready for shipment during picking, reducing both the time spent at the packing station and the amount of packaging material required. The result: modern warehousing with minimized travel times and the highest possible efficiency.
Continuousgrowth means breaking new ground
STIHL's classic sales channel used to be exclusively the specialist trade. Anyone who wanted a chainsaw could obtain individual advice from a specialist dealer and purchase the products on site. For some years now, however, there have also been cooperative arrangements with specialist DIY stores that are allowed to sell STIHL products - but this requires a dedicated Stihl specialist store with competent and well-trained staff. In the midst of the age of digitalization, however, the trend among consumers is increasingly moving toward e-commerce. In order to be able to meet these growing market demands in the future, STIHL has taken a pioneering step and decided to use online retailing as an additional sales channel. S&P supported STIHL with new processes and optimizations in the Warehouse Management System specifically for intralogistics in direct sales (B2C).
In addition to the introduction of new carriers and a route determination system for identifying carriers, the cockpits integrated in the system were also adapted to the new requirements. Furthermore, new control parameters were used in the project depending on the distribution route and the carriers used, and the consolidation process was changed. Adjustments to packing and loading processes complete the necessary measures in SuPCIS-L8 and overall provide an essential foundation for STIHL's online retailing. In Germany, the supplier thus went live as early as March 2020. Only a short time later, in November 2020, and thus significantly earlier than planned, the French online store was also launched. Whether tools, chainsaws or hedge trimmers - STIHL customers in Germany and France can order online quickly and easily.
"The flexibility and customizability of SuPCIS-L8 convinces us again and again. We are happy to place our full trust at any time in our long-standing and reliable partner S&P, with whose expertise and know-how at our side we are already looking confidently to the future," say Michael Kausch, Head of Sales Logistics at STIHL and Jérôme Forstendicher, Logistics Manager at STIHL.
