Specialist Sports boosts efficiency with automated warehouse tech
Specialist Sports has enhanced its order management and warehouse picking processes after integrating its key business systems with automation technology.
System integration
Based in Southampton, Specialist Sports distributes sporting brands such as adidas, Prince, Osaka, TON, Payntr, Athlecia, and Endurance. The company has replaced its previous ERP system with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and implemented Codeless Platforms' BPA Platform to act as its main integration and automation hub. The transition allows Specialist Sports to connect its B2B Magento eCommerce platform and its warehouse automation system, AutoStore, streamlining business operations across order processing and stock management.
Initially, much of Specialist Sports' processes, from handling orders to picking stock in the warehouse, were conducted manually. With the new systems in place, these functions have now been automated.
Richard Mantell, CEO at Specialist Sports, explained the flexibility enabled by the new integration:
"The great thing about BPA Platform is that having integrated it with Dynamics Business Central it then opens up opportunities to integrate other areas of our business. For example, our original B2B website was bespoke, but we're just transitioning over to a Magento-based platform. We're using BPA Platform to integrate that with Business Central to give us live stock information and all of our attributes."
He added, "Before we implemented our B2B website, we used to take a lot of orders via phone calls, so that revolutionised how we were able to take orders. Similarly, the picking process was also very manual. We used to print out the pick sheets, send them down to the warehouse, and the staff would wander around the warehouse picking the orders."
Robotics in the warehouse
To further improve operational efficiency, Specialist Sports introduced AutoStore, a robotic storage and picking system that automates the movement of goods within the warehouse. The company has deployed eight robots and a storage grid containing 20,000 boxes to manage order picking and packing.
"We've since implemented a system called AutoStore which has eight robots running with 20,000 boxes in the grid. Orders that we take on our B2B website flow into the ERP. The ERP then pushes those orders into AutoStore when we release the pick. The robots then present the boxes to the operations team at the ports. They take the product out, click next, the robot sweeps away, and then the next box is presented. That's been great in terms of BPA Platform,"
Mantell said.
The BPA Platform has also been used to automate stock feeds for retail customers, providing up-to-date inventory information. Mantell explained:
"We've also used BPA Platform for automating stock feeds, to generate stock information for our retailers. We're finding that our more advanced retailers are now able to take a feed, which they can integrate into their systems, so that they can see exactly how much we've got in stock. We have set up BPA Platform to generate an email with a CSV file so that when they're doing their buying they know we've definitely got the stock available. Rather than having to visit our website they can simply check the stock feed. That's been a good project and really helpful."
Expanding digital links
Specialist Sports is also connecting its systems to major online marketplaces as part of its ongoing automation project. Mantell said, "We're starting to use BPA Platform to integrate Dynamics Business Central with all the marketplaces, such as Amazon and eBay. We upload product descriptions, stock etc, and then the orders flow back into our ERP system."
The integration between systems has delivered several business benefits, including improving warehouse space utilisation and the speed and accuracy of order fulfilment. Mantell outlined these improvements:
"Automation has definitely improved our business. The first improvement has been space saving, because we can get a lot more product in our warehouse now that we have installed the robotic management system. From an operational and efficiency point of view that's made a huge difference, especially by eliminating the significant cost of renting another warehouse. From a picking point of view, the speed that we can get through picks has increased, as well as the accuracy. It's made a huge difference and certainly helped a lot,"
he continued.
Summing up the company's approach, Mantell said:
"I believe the secret to our success is how we've managed to scale up the business from a very small, family-run company whilst maintaining the really positive parts of the smaller setup, in terms of good customer service and a good atmosphere and environment within the team. BPA Platform is starting to provide us with that, which will enable us to maximise growth in different areas."
