Launched in 2001, Cox & Cox www.coxandcox.co.uk is a unique collection of practical yet beautiful homeware products, unavailable in traditional catalogues. The eclectic mix of old and new makes the site a go-to for independent-minded home owners and interior designers alike, and the company has a strong and ever-growing loyal customer base.
Having seen double digit growth year-on-year, in the first quarter of 2017, Cox & Cox took the decision to implement a new ERP system. They chose NetSuite, citing a need for a true cloud platform that could accommodate the rapid development trajectory of the business. NetSuite UK assessed the customer requirement and decided to bring in the SuiteApp, WAERlinx, to address the complex warehouse management elements of the project.
NetSuite & WAERlinx went live in August 2017 and with the holiday season just around the corner, the WMS was really going to be put to the test. Warehouse staff at Cox & Cox found the system intuitive and simple to use, and the transition was extremely smooth. Cox & Cox reported its busiest ever Christmas (2017) with an efficient, fast, accurate warehouse operation, thanks to the new solution.
David Snelson, CEO at Waer, said,
“It’s great to have such an exciting brand like Cox & Cox as a Waer customer. They have been great to deal with and we love their products just as much as they do ours! The most pleasing aspect of the project for us though was being asked directly by NetSuite EMEA to partner with them on the Cox & Cox project. Their faith in us to deliver a world class system to their customer was well placed and we are looking forward to more projects with them through 2018 and beyond as their rapid global expansion programme rolls out.”
Some of the key features of the WMS component include:
- Inspection % – the ability to push a certain percentage of goods into inspection with the remaining quantity going into an empty location. This stock cannot be allocated until the inspection has passed.
- If a pick-face is empty, the picker scans the SKU No. to see whether there is additional stock available in another location. Just-in-time functionality initiates an inventory move task automatically for the replenishment team to re-stock the location.
- Pick waves are automatically assigned to users wherever they are. This feature also includes larger items (referred to as 1 Man or 2 Man) that are stored in a separate warehouse.
In addition, the system has been further enhanced recently, with more detailed dashboards. Now all Cox & Cox warehouse locations can display real-time data on customer orders, priority orders and critical orders by shipping method, shown here:
Status of orders that are waiting to be fulfilled, with a breakdown, in particular those orders that are categorised as ‘on backorder’ and ‘in stock – no payment’:
Aynsley Peet, E-Commerce Manager at Cox & Cox, said:
“From the outset, the team at Waer have gone beyond our expectations. WAERlinx has really delivered, and our warehouses are running smoothly and efficiently, with happier, more productive staff. We would highly recommend WAERlinx.”