Sahala Case Study

Sahla VSI - Vendor Sourced Inventory

A UX case study of Digitising the Supply Chain Solution built to deliver vendor sourced inventory.

Challenge

Landmark has introduced Vendor sourced inventory to their online sales. One invoice may have VSI and LMG Products so in the warehouse we need to add the VSI process to the existing process and build a new system for Collection, Storage, Sortation, Distribution and return.

Outcome

We build a new system for warehouse applications for e-fulfillment that require minimum training and a very responsive mobile application and here are some of the outcomes.

  • Increased the productivity in warehouse distribution and sortation by more than 75%

Scope of Project

  1. Strategy
  2. Research & Conceptualize
  3. Wire-framing
  4. Prototyping
  5. Usability Testing
  6. UI Design

The Beginning

The project was initiated after brief conversations with Sameer Mulla the E-fulfillment CoE Head. I learned about, VSI Process and Last-mile deliveries, Warehousing, CONLOC, Sortation, etc.

Problem statements

  1. Sorting and building despatch wall is done by manual
  2. Existing software features were not enough
  3. Human dependencies led to tons of errors
  4. Poor visibility to the Support Team can lead the errors.
  5. Poor acceptance of software solutions

We all agreed that I need to see and understand their operations to design the perfect solution for them. We visited Landmark Warehouses for understanding the process.

Research Phase

I, along with my product owner visited the warehouses. The goal was to observe their operations, understand their workflows better, and get insights from real users.
We chose 5 key people from each user group for the User Interview. We created a plan, created questionnaires, and scheduled meetings.

Users in the Ecosystem

  1. Ware House Staff (Ground Staff Personnel)
  2. Operations Staff
  3. Warehouse and Regional Managers
  4. Billing & Management team
  5. Customer Support Team

User Flow

Here in the warehouse process, we have 4 Steps.

  1. All products will be delivered from the warehouse to RDC(Redistribution centers)
  2. MFC Sortation (MFC-Micro fulfillment center) Sort all products in the list and sort VSI & LMG Products.
  3. Create a wall(Put to the wall – A put wall is a series of dedicated shelving that increase efficiency during the order consolidation process)
  4. Audit and pack the items and keep the items for the courier to collect.
E Fullfill Sortation with MFC Phase 2 scaled chandrajith

Some of initial sketches

Sketches chandrajith
Solution-1

The process begins with the MFC-Micro fulfillment center process and this will be the tricky part of the story.

About the solution

  1. Scan the carton using barcode enabled mobile application and the application will suggest the location where need to keep
  2. Can be done the process partially or fully based on the availability of items on the list.
E Fullfill Sortation with MFC scaled chandrajith
Problem-2

After sortation, the Put to wall process will begin so the sorted items will be put on the wall for moving to the Audit and packing section

Solution

  • Scan the carton and add it to a wall – In this process, the items can be a combination of VSI Only, LMG +VSI products,
  • Creating a wall can be done with a complete list in the invoice or a partial list in the invoice.
  • The manager can override one invoice item that is not complete and this item can move forward if required.
  • The system will be guided to the wall and trolly if items are more.
PTW chandrajith
Problem-3

This is the third stage for the Despatch section here we need to pack the items based on the invoice and create AWB(Airway bill)

Solution

  • Scan items based on the invoice and pack and audit the items everything is available
  • Pack the items based on the item using carton or courier covers etc…
  • Wight the items and calculate the weight before sending
  • Create and print AWB based on the courier vendor.
  • Pack the item and keep it for despatch
E FullfillAuditPacking chandrajith

Business Impact

  1. Digitizing all workflows Improved Efficiency.
  2. Automation and Smart recommendations reduced operations costs due to full resource utilization.
  3. Translucency minimized the risk of losses for the customers.
  4. The efficiency of RDC Improved.

Learning

  1. Solutions can be simple – Sometimes critical problems have simple solutions.
  2. Trust the process – Sticking to the process yields the best results. There are no shortcuts.