Mainfreight future proofs growth
September 2008
Leading transport and logistics firm Mainfreight, has completed the roll out of its new warehouse management system to all main warehouses in New Zealand, Australia and the States.
The new system is designed to better serve the needs of Mainfreight’s ever-growing customer base, be easier and more efficient to use for Mainfreight’s staff and provide a strong and flexible platform that can grow and develop as the company grows.
“It’s future proof,” says Mainfreight CIO Kevin Drinkwater. “It has taken us into a development language and on to a platform that will be around for a long time.”
With company sales up from $520 million to $912 million since 2004, warehouse numbers up 40% and sales orders doubling in the last two years, Mainfreight’s old warehousing system was struggling to cope with the growth, says John Eshuis, Mainfreight’s software project manager. “We needed a platform from which we could grow and develop the functionality the business needed to expand. Teaming up with the company’s long-term software development partner Sandfield, Mainfreight’s new warehousing management system, MIMSLive was designed, developed and rolled out within a year.
The new system is far more stable, efficient and flexible than the old system, allowing developments to be made and bugs to be fixed without users even noticing, says Eshuis. “It now means we can make changes on the fly rather than having to take the whole system down.” Using internet browser technology, the system is also far easier to deploy than before and users can view multiple screens to get an accurate picture of where everything is at the touch of a button, he says.
Completed in time and to budget, Sandfield director Bruce Copeland says Sandfield’s development team used existing and proven Sandfield technologies and frameworks to lower the overall cost and time of development. “It was a partnership, with both companies working together and focusing on the solution rather than on the mechanics to ensure the best outcome.”
With MIMSLive, Mainfreight is now set to introduce even greater functionality into its systems, to improve efficiency, security and costs for its growing customer base. Later this year, the company hopes to link mobile handsets and industrial-strength PDAs to the system, mirroring other similar developments in the organisation, to continue to reduce the amount of paperwork and improve accuracy and efficiency. Also on the agenda is automated invoicing and improved cross-docking procedures, allowing customers to allocate products in transit to their customers, to reduce warehouse time. “This is the type of functionality we’ve wanted to introduce for some time. Now we can and we are,” says Eshuis. “The new system gives us far more flexibility in how we engage with our customers, saving them and us time and money.”
The new system is exciting, says Eshuis, because it’s about looking forward, preparing for growth and change before it happens. “So it’s not so much about what it does for the business as it stands, but what it can do for the business going forward.”
About Mainfreight
Mainfreight Limited is a global Supply Chain Logistics Provider, specialising in the handling of freight that is Less Than Container (LCL), with businesses operating in 165 branches throughout New Zealand, Australia, Asia, and the United States. Listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange, Mainfreight employs over 3,200 people and has more than 20,000 customers worldwide.
About Sandfield
Sandfield is an Auckland-based software development firm committed to providing long-term, cost effective business solutions to businesses both large and small. With a dedicated team of 47, the company prides itself on working in close partnership with its customers to ensure time is spent creating the best solution, not negotiating the relationship.
For more information please contact:
Kevin Drinkwater, CIO, Mainfreight - 09 259 5508 or 027 433 7476
Carl Millar, Sandfield - 09 303 0579