Information about the company and the project
Mueller Kerzen is a brand that, for years, has been creating products that combine the soul of tradition with modernity. It is not only about candles. It is about emotions, aesthetics and quality that create ambience in clients’ homes all over the world. Thanks to advanced IT solutions and automation, the company realizes each stage of production and logistics with utmost precision. In Poland, Mueller has a modern factory and warehouses localized in Grudziądz at its disposal.
In 2022, Mueller Kerzen erected a modern distribution centre. Within the area of 16 thousand square meters, 87 rows of racks were installed, with narrow aisles, where system servicing trucks move. Optimization of all processes is taken care of by systems integrated with ERP, namely Qguar WMS and Qguar DS that manage warehouses and control gate time windows. Systems synergy guarantees reliability and efficiency.
Michał Ostrowicki – Director of the Logistics Department
We explore and delve into things all the time. We endeavour to make things faster, more efficiently and cheaper, as costs are very important, but also to meet all the quality-related requirements, so as to ensure our client is not only satisfied, but also to make him say “I have got it from them, because they are able to do it exactly the way I want it done, or even better”, because it is us who are specialist, it is us who are experts in supplying candles, and not our client.
Delivery registration in Qguar DS
All deliveries and shipments are advised in the Qguar DS system. At the gate-house, the system registers the arrival of a vehicle, supervises the process of weighing and automatic reading of vehicle license plates and directs the vehicle to the specified warehouse loading dock. Qguar DS eliminates chaos and unplanned downtimes and the parking lot becomes an important component of the entire process. Collected data are transferred to the Qguar WMS system, which enhances operational efficiency. Before we delve into logistic processes, let us see how candles are made.
Candle production
Candles are made on production lines managed by the systems. Many candles are made to order, which requires precise synchronization. The production process is supported by the Kanban method, while the technologies adapted to the assortment guarantee high quality. Manufactured candles are labelled with QR codes in compliance with the client’s requirements. Finished products are packaged and sent to the buffer warehouse and Qguar WMS creates a new batch of goods and takes over further goods management tasks.
Buffer warehouse
In the buffer warehouse, Qguar WMS assists in the preparation of pallets for distribution. First, they are secured with foil, while the WMS system correlates the data received from the production system with the shipment data. An applicator integrated with the WMS system applies one or two logistic labels, depending on the client’s requirements. Finished pallets are transported with a truck to the semi-trailer of a special shuttle truck that transports them to the distribution warehouse.
Packaging and components warehouse
Logistics in Mueller Kerzen also involves feeding production lines with packaging units and components. They are received by means of radio terminals and automatically registered in the WMS system. Components and packaging units are stored on racks. Production lines are fed by means of Kanban trucks ascribed to specific machines. Operators, supported by the WMS system, realize collection tasks and trucks deliver required elements to target production lines. A precise mechanism of control and synchronization of warehouse and production operations and management of time windows constitutes the foundation of facility efficiency.
Rafał Jankowski – WMS System Administrator
The very implementation of Qguar WMS and Qguar DS constituted quite a quantum leap for our company. Owing to this fact, we were able to construct our logistic processes from scratch. Qguar WMS and Qguar DS are quite crucial systems for our company, because the constitute the foundation of all our processes, both logistic and production-related. They are not a typical ready-to-use off-the-shelf solution. Thanks to the possibility of individual adaptations of the configuration strategy, we could create a tailor-made product and system, made to meet our needs.
Receiving goods
The Mueller distribution centre is a modern warehouse, where goods are stored on racks with narrow aisles in between, where system servicing trucks move. Pallets delivered from the production department land in assigned locations thanks to precise system trucks. With a scanner, an operator registers pallet reception in a specific location in the Qguar WMS system. Precise information about storage inventory is an additional factor that enhances efficiency.
Picking and shipping
Commodity issuing order received from the ERP system is transformed by the WMS system into a picking order. Homogenous pallets are transferred from racks directly to the ramp, while mixed pallets are prepared earlier in the picking zone. Truck operators and picking personnel use radio terminals connected to Qguar WMS. Ready-to-ship pallets are loaded onto a semi-trailer and label scanning at the outlet confirms they leave the warehouse. The last stage consists in load control in Qguar DS, realized at the gate-house. It possible to close the loop of events efficiently thanks to complete integration of systems and effective technologies. This objective was accomplished thanks to solid cooperation of the parties participating in the project.
Rafał Jankowski – WMS System Administrator
As far as cooperation between Quantum and Müller Kerzen is concerned, it has continued for over 10 years. We are highly satisfied, because the flexibility of services and supplied products is so high that we are able to adapt all our current, as well as future, needs to the requirements of the market and the client.
Efficient logistics
Constant improvement is indispensable to maintain the position of the market leader. For Mueller Kerzen, this is the foundation of its strategy and its response to clients’ growing expectations. This is the philosophy that permeates every element of our organization. From product innovation up to mastery in supply chain management. Nowadays, it is not enough to have a perfect product. It is also necessary to take care of efficient logistics.
Michał Ostrowicki – Director of the Logistics Department
Manufacturing of a good product is not the only aspect that counts. It also has to be delivered appropriately, in terms of quality, quantity and timeliness. This is where technology can help us a lot, and it actually does. We control this entire process and do so precisely on the basis of accurate data that technology supplies us with.
Behind every candle, there is a team of persons involved in ensuring the finished product reaches the client precisely as he expects it to. That is on time and in perfect condition. By investing in development and perfect logistics, the company maintains the quality of its products at the level recognized all over the world and develops trust – the foundation of market reputation.