Weetabix stocks up on supply chain software

Weetabix deploys barcode supply chain management system

Weetabix has rolled out a new warehouse management system following a review of the breakfast cereal producer's existing technology infrastructure.

The new solution from supply chain software vendor Manhattan Associates supports radio-frequency technology for scanning bar code and stock location labels, and Weetabix said the system has improved stock accuracy from below 90 per cent to 99.9 per cent, with all stock transactions controlled by the system interfaced to Weetabix's enterprise resource planning software.

Weetabix head of supply chain George Perry said the system had been rolled out at two warehouses at the firm's 82-acre Northamptonshire site, which holds 35,000 pallets and serves clients throughout the UK.

"Both warehouses were previously managed using a legacy system and many paper-based processes," he said.

Perry said that knowing the exact location of 35,000 pallets was impossible with the previous legacy system.

"It just wasn’t sophisticated enough for the ever-increasing business requirements, and the Manhattan system has dramatically improved stock accuracy by pallet location, giving us full traceability and enabling us to store and distribute products with a significantly reduced pallet pool," he said.

Weetabix employs more than 2,300 people globally, and the company’s eponymous product accounts for eight per cent of the UK’s total cereal sales.

Future deployments will address Weetabix's exported products at a third warehouse in Northamptonshire.