25/01/2021 | Hardis Group

The Dutch company, which is specialized in young animal nutrition and feed ingredients, has turned to Reflex WMS for Factory to manage a new line-side raw material storage warehouse at one of its production facilities. Eventually, Denkavit will migrate logistics management for all its production lines and distribution warehouses located in Voorthuizen over to Hardis Group’s software.

Utrecht, Grenoble, January XX, 2021 – Hardis Group, a consulting firm, digital services company and independent software vendor, announces that Denkavit, which is specialized in feed for young animals, veal production and feed ingredients, has chosen Reflex WMS. The application was initially rolled out in October 2020 at a brand-new, high-bay warehouse in Voorthuizen, Netherlands, with a capacity of 15,000 pallet locations. Following this successful deployment, Denkavit will roll out Hardis Group’s warehouse management system across all its production and distribution lines in Voorthuizen (Netherlands).

Bringing storage back in-house with a brand-new warehouse

Denkavit is a family-owned Dutch company that produces feed for young animals in the livestock industry. The firm serves customers in more than 60 countries worldwide from five plants (in the Netherlands, France, Italy, and the United States) and through sales offices in Spain and Germany. Three years ago, executives at Denkavit decided to increase raw material storage capacity with a brand-new, high-bay warehouse (20 meters high) right by its production facility in Voorthuizen, Netherlands. Furthermore, they opted to manage the new site—measuring 7,500 sq. m and with a capacity of 15,000 pallet locations—with a warehouse management system (WMS), interfaced with the ERP system, the manufacturing execution system (MES), and a semi-automated handling system (trucks for narrow aisles).

In mid-2019, Denkavit invited 11 WMS vendors to submit competitive bids. In February 2020, after reviewing the technical and functional proposals and carrying out site visits, the firm announced Hardis Group’s Reflex WMS as the winner. “Aside from the system itself, which we felt was flexible enough out of the box to meet our requirements, we got the sense that the people at Hardis really listened to us and understood what we needed. Having support available in Dutch and French was also important to us, since we’re intending to deploy the system at our production facility in France,” said Antonie Vonk Noordegraaf, Group Manager Supply Chain, Denkavit.

Fast-track deployment with no specific developments 

The deployment began in February 2020, and Reflex WMS went live in mid-October. The major challenge was to have the system ready for the opening of the new warehouse—incorporating all logistics and information flows with the ERP, the MES, and the semi-automated handling system. Inside the warehouse, trucks for narrow aisles move automatically to the correct storage locations based on the instructions issued by Reflex WMS.

The standard version of Reflex met all our requirements and specifics. We only made one change request. Our operators are really happy with the product. Having our employees involved in the project was critical to its success,” added François van Hal, Group Operations & QHSE / Plant Manager, Denkavit.

Transferring raw materials stocks to the new high-bay warehouse has allowed Denkavit to increase flexibility. Following the successful completion of this first phase, the company is planning to fully deploy Reflex WMS for all logistical activities in Voorthuizen in nine other phases. In 2021, attentions will turn to the firm’s production facility near Angers in western France. Eventually, Reflex WMS will manage logistics for all Denkavit production lines and finished-product distribution warehouses.