Auto Styling: Simplifying delivery with an OMS integration
The Challenge
Auto Styling UK Limited was founded in 2002. Their mission is to develop as the fastest growing UK quality supplier of aftermarket 4x4 Pick up & SUV accessories. They are a true multi channel business, supplying both consumers and the trade, via the web, catalogue, call centre and showroom.
Historically, the despatch process at Auto Styling had been long and laborious. Orders were generated and passed through to sales to complete the invoice, the paperwork was then taken to the warehouse where the goods were picked and packed, and then back to the sales office to book the collection via the carrier website, then passed back to the warehouse for the end of day manifest, a process that continued throughout the day. The level of paperwork required and the length of time from start to finish to process one parcel was having huge impact on resources. If there were high volumes, there was a risk of mislabelling some of the goods.
Auto Styling is using Maginus as their Order Management System. Maginus specialise in multi-channel software solutions and Auto Styling has chosen the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) option. The only disadvantage of this system was the lack of carrier interface. The excellent visibility Magnius ERP provided through the rest of the selling process was lost in the delivery operation.
The Solution
MetaPack were introduced to Auto Styling through Maginus. Mike Wheeler, Managing Director at Autostyling, is an experienced user of Maginus commented, “ours is a very complex multi-channel business and Maginus is the only system capable of handling all of our requirements within a single integrated system”. Maginus is designed for multi-channel business and can handle both B2B and B2C customers interacting with them, across a number of channels. All details relating to customers and stock are held on one database. Stock is available to fulfil orders from any channel and staff can get a 360° view of each customer showing every mailing, telephone call and transaction, regardless of the channel used.
MetaPack, who are in partnership with Maginus, were able to provide a delivery management solution which is already incorporated into the Maginus system using an API (Applied Program Interface). Maginus were central to the implementation of the MetaPack system within AutoStyling, with the team at MetaPack on hand to offer complete training. AutoStyling were particularly impressed with the ease and simplicity of the system, and completely embraced it within the warehouse. They now use MetaPack and Maginus together maximising all of the available functionality, particularly tracking and email updates. As soon as MetaPack was implemented, Auto Styling noticed the benefits immediately. The length of time to process goods from the point of order to despatch has reduced dramatically, allowing valuable resource to be released into other areas of the operation. The paperwork required to process an order is now minimal. The risk of manual errors has also been greatly reduced, as physical intervention is now at a minimum. With the introduction of MetaPack, Auto Styling is able to benefit from the versatility of the product and open pack benches anywhere. They are now operating a much slicker despatch process and this has allowed them to handle higher volumes and extend cut off times.
"The benefits we’ve gained from using MetaPack have been invaluable. It has allowed us to streamline our process and in turn offer our customers a more structured service. Implementation of the software was seamless and caused no disruption whatsoever, another example of the simplicity of the system. MetaPack is the perfect answer for all Maginus customers.”
Richard Langman
Operations Director
