Atrya Group selects Reflex WMS to optimize the logistics management of its European distribution network

Hardis Group, the digital services and business software company, announces the deployment of Reflex WMS in the Atrya Group, specializing in solutions for housing in the areas of windows, doors, shutters, joinery projects and renewable energy. The warehouse management software has been able to adapt to the specific features of the group's different businesses and has allowed the group to standardize logistics practices for its European network of plants. Atrya now has a standardized, reliable and scalable logistics management system, able to support its growth in the long term.

Towards comprehensive and efficient logistics management at European level

Founded in 1980, Tryba has grown to become a European leader today in the manufacture and distribution of solutions for the home: windows, doors and verandas, shutters and garage doors, interior and exterior joinery frames for sites and new energies. It became Atrya in 2004, while retaining the Tryba brand for joinery. The group now has more than 1,900 employees and 20 production sites in France, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland, for an annual turnover of €420 million in 2013.

Historically, each plant used to manage its production, order picking and shipping independently. To support its strong growth at European level, Johannes Tryba, the founder of the company, began a major project in 2009 to standardize practices and logistics tools. The aims were to harmonize working methods, increase synergies between the different production sites to optimize production and transport costs, increase the quality of service to customers and the distribution network, and finally improve tracking and traceability of batches transported.

Homogeneous customized logistics on all production sites

To achieve these objectives, four projects were undertaken simultaneously: definition of a logistics plan, management of Web controls, transportation management (TMS), and finally warehouse management (WMS). For the WMS part, six companies were consulted in a tender in which Hardis Group demonstrated its ability, via the Reflex WMS solution, to meet the specific requirements of Atrya, including make-to-order production and shipping customizable woodwork.

From 2010, Atrya and Hardis Group worked together on defining technical needs and specific business processes to be integrated into the system. In particular, management of make-to-order production and organization of the various transport by customer type (supermarkets and specialist distribution, craftsman, general public, etc.). "Some of our imperatives were not natively supported by Reflex WMS. Our make-to-order production model requires us to identify each product individually, not by standardized range, and to recalculate the loading meters on the fly for carriers, says Thierry Heinrich, Head of Logistics, Atrya Group. So we asked Hardis Group to develop a specific algorithm for our business, which was then integrated into WMS".

The deployment of WMS Reflex began in 2012 on three sites. Optimizations were then made ​​to accelerate deployment on other sites, taking into account the operational imperatives of each production site.

Immediate benefits for a tool of the future

To date, Reflex WMS is deployed in ten of the Group's plants, and has nearly 125 users. Operationally, the benefits have been immediate. Consolidation of the logistics processes, combined with the implementation of the solution, have helped improve reliability and productivity for order picking. "The tool now allows us to manage operations better, reduce the number of errors by means of alerts, and improve responsiveness and flexibility in processing orders", says Jean-Michel Louche, Logistics manager, Tryba industry. The traceability functions provide us with a complete history of all manufacturing and logistics operations".

At HR level, the solution has reduced the risks associated with knowledge management. Previously, each manufacturing warehouse had a handful of experts who had control over the specific features and production flows. Now, if no expert is available, any trained user can take control of a logistics process to solve a problem.

WMS Reflex has yet to be rolled out in two plants. But nearly five years after its launch, the project to standardize the distribution system is now almost complete, and the other three bricks of the project are also operational. "Our goal now is to continue to discover and make use of the many features offered by Reflex to calmly prepare for the future of our business," concluded Thierry Heinrich and Jean-Michel Louche.