"Logistics management consists of formulating strategy, planning, controlling, and monitoring (carried out in an effective manner that minimizes global costs) the processes of flow and storage of raw materials and supplies, inventory, work-in-progress, finished goods, and related information, from the point of origin to the point of consumption, in order to best adapt to and satisfy customer needs". The content of the above definition contains the idea of Just in Time, which in simplified terms "means delivering according to customer wishes in terms of price, quality, and delivery service without wasting time, material, labor, or energy".
The cited definitions have theoretical and utilitarian references in the logistics of manufacturing and distribution enterprises. The aspect of applying the Just in Time idea supported by IT in the area of warehouse management will be discussed using the example of the distribution company "SANPOL" Sp. z o.o. from Poznań, where the SAP system was implemented. The company SANPOL Sp. z o.o. was established in 1992 as a trading enterprise –
a wholesaler specializing in bathroom equipment, which based its offer on several domestic manufacturers. Currently, the Company has 8 branches employing approximately 340 people (Figure 1).
The commercial offer of the Sanpol company has been expanded and also includes the possibility of individual arrangement of bathrooms, residential interiors, and utility facilities, as well as technical consulting and service from the moment of project creation to its implementation. In the Sanpol company, two phases of logistics can be distinguished: procurement and distribution. In theoretical terms, the subject of procurement logistics is goods (raw materials, auxiliary and operating materials, purchased parts, and goods acquired in trade) that must be made available (prepared) for the enterprise according to its demand. In turn, distribution logistics includes all activities related to supplying the customer with finished products. Supply can take place directly from the production process or from sales warehouses located at the production plant or, alternatively, from other regional shipping warehouses.
In the procurement logistics phase, the Company is supplied by approximately 200 enterprises specializing in the production of: bathroom and interior equipment, heating systems, and installation systems. In turn, the distribution network includes several thousand wholesale and retail customers in the country and abroad (Czech Republic, Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovakia). Due to the distribution dimension of the enterprise, the most important problem in the area of logistics is the optimization of warehouse and distribution processes, including the construction of distribution channels. Hence, in December 2004, implementation procedures for the SAP Polska ERP class system were initiated. The launch of the SAP system took place in January 2006. The implemented SAP modules are shown in Figure 2.
Within the framework of warehouse management and product distribution, the MM (Materials Management) and SD (Sales and Distribution) modules play an important role. The technical and organizational relationships between the aforementioned modules are shown in Figure 3. The couplings between the MM and SD modules shown in Figure 3 enable the introduction of automation at the level of accounting for business operations in the FI module. In more detail, the application of the SAP system in the optimization process is shown in Figure 4.
In the process of automatic generation of orders for goods, the connection between enterprises (customer –
supplier) via the Internet and solutions used by SAP, for example, mySAP Business Suite, plays a significant role (as illustrated in Figure 4). This platform enables enterprises to adapt their business activities to the changing requirements of customers and the market.
The article comes from the magazine "Logistyka" 1/2007.