Ecommerce retailer GreenlandMX digitises its warehouse

GreenlandMX: specialists in off-road motorbikes

GreenlandMX is an online store for off-road motorbikes and accessories. Based in Valdorros, Spain, the company has been selling products via its website for over 15 years, making it a benchmark for online sales in its sector.

• Headquarters: Valdorros
• Founded in: 2004
• No. of employees: 30+

GreenlandMX is an online shop specialising in accessories, spare parts, and gear for off-road motorcycles. The business has marketed its products online for over 10 years, becoming a leader in its sector.

For its business and online shop to run optimally, GreenlandMX requires flawless organisation of its logistics processes to enable same-day dispatch of all orders placed by customers through the website. “Our modern warehouse, which is about 6,000 m², stores more than 23,000 SKUs. This storage capacity and the proper distribution of the goods enables us to deliver orders in record time and at the best possible price,” says Javier Solas, Manager of GreenlandMX.

The company also set up a physical shop in its facility. Open to the public, customers can shop for items they need as well as pick up orders they have purchased online.

To simultaneously manage stock and orders in the warehouse and the shop, GreenlandMX opted to digitise its logistics operations with Easy WMS software from Mecalux and the WMS for Ecommerce and Multi Carrier Shipping Software modules.

“We came to realise that managing our facility manually with the SAP ERP system was inefficient. In installing Easy WMS, our goal was to optimise location utilisation, minimise operator travel in the warehouse and maintain tighter inventory control,” says Solas.

GreenlandMX decided to install Easy WMS when its number of daily orders started to climb. “We needed to digitise our facility because we could no longer manage orders manually. We were wasting a lot of time locating products for each order and controlling stock. Managing a warehouse manually when you’re preparing 50 or 60 orders a day is viable, but when you go beyond that, you have to digitise,” says Solas.

The GreenlandMX facility is equipped with racks that occupy practically all available floor space. They are designed to store individual products such as spare motorbike parts and accessories. The warehouse also has a large receiving and dispatch area that acts as a buffer. There, the goods the company receives from suppliers are deposited on the floor until they are assigned a location or even re-dispatched.

In the GreenlandMX facility, the Mecalux software coordinates cross-docking, whereby orders are distributed directly without being stored previously. “Easy WMS is configured to manage cross-docking, which we do in the receiving area. For instance, when 100 units of a product arrive, the WMS might tell us to leave 25 units in cross-docking because they have to be shipped that same day. It’s a functionality we use quite often and that saves a lot of time,” says Solas. The software also controls and optimises another key operation in the GreenlandMX warehouse: “We receive returns for about 3% of our total orders. Easy WMS organises returns as if they were just another good received,” says Solas.

WMS for Ecommerce: optimisation of online orders

The main operation in the GreenlandMX facility is order picking. With Easy WMS, the company has optimised and enhanced the work of its operators, tripling the number of orders prepared every day.

“Before implementing the Mecalux software, we prepared around 170 orders a day. Now, every day, we dispatch 500 orders that are distributed throughout Europe,” says Solas.

The company, which had been using the SAP ERP system to prepare orders, chose to install the WMS for Ecommerce module from Easy WMS to drive this operation. With its highly intuitive interface, this program has simplified workflows, increasing productivity.

WMS for Ecommerce organises order picking starting in the receiving area. There, operators identify the products that arrive at the warehouse. The software then decides what to do with each of them: store them or ship them the same day. To prepare orders, the program sorts items based on whether they are part of a single- or multi-unit order.

“We’ve seen an improvement in our facility since implementing Mecalux’s WMS for Ecommerce module. The system has been customised to adapt to our needs, and it facilitates order picking tremendously,” says Solas.

Using a cart with eight trays — each corresponding to an order — the operators walk through the warehouse locating the items they need to put together each order. Following instructions from the software, they can prepare up to eight orders simultaneously.

Transferring data and information in real time, the ERP system and WMS for Ecommerce module communicate with each other to ensure the efficient operation and management of the facility and get the most out of all logistics processes.

Goods storage

“Easy WMS assigns a location to each product taking into account its turnover rate,” says Solas. As they are small, the motorbike parts and accessories are stored in small plastic or cardboard boxes that are then placed on the racks. Rather than recording each box in the system separately, Mecalux’s Easy WMS controls the rack locations and the goods they contain. Each product is assigned a location on the racks and labelled with a code. A location can hold more items or fewer items depending on its size or on the quantity required to perform picking. One advantage of the software is the ease with which GreenlandMX can modify the products assigned to each location.

To streamline the work of the operators, Easy WMS can assign items locations on the go. For example, if operators need to store a new product, they can assign it a location using their RF scanner.

Easy WMS also manages replenishment, showing the operators how many goods to replenish and which positions to deposit them in. This operation is typically carried out in the morning, although it can also take place during off-peak hours during the day, i.e., when there is a lull in picking. Correct organisation of replenishment avoids stockouts, which prevent operators from filling orders on time.

The physical shop open to the public in the GreenlandMX facility sees quite a few customers. When the shop clerks need more stock, they can go directly to the warehouse to pick it without having to wait to receive it. The software strictly controls the movements of the goods to avoid inventory imbalances.

Multi Carrier Shipping Software: dispatch organisation

“The Multi Carrier Shipping Software module allows us to integrate our entire dispatch management process with the transport agencies and to minimise our error rate. The minute we close an order, Easy WMS generates the labels, the packing list, and all the documentation the carrier needs to distribute the shipments,” says Solas.

Multi Carrier Shipping Software is designed to oversee all packing, labelling, and shipping processes. The software sends precise instructions to operators on how to pack the orders (e.g., it tells them whether to place all items in a single package or in several ones). The next step is order labelling. Multicarrier Shipping Software knows in advance which agency will distribute each order and prints a personalised label for each parcel. The label includes, among other details, the tracking number that customers can use to monitor their orders in real time.

In the GreenlandMX facility, the module connects with the transport agencies SEUR, Correos Express, DPD, DHL and UPS. Once the labelling process is finished, the packages are organised in the dispatch area. When the carriers arrive, they merely have to pick up the parcels and load them onto the lorry. Thanks to the software, the carriers have all the information they need, such as the orders to collect, the number of packages and the destination.

Forward-looking logistics

“Our focus is on continuing to grow as we’ve been doing since 2004. We also want to expand the number of countries where our orders are shipped. In terms of sales, 2020 and 2021 have been very good years, as a result of the boom in online shopping,” says Solas.

The Mecalux warehouse management software has boosted productivity in GreenlandMX’s facility, tripling the number of orders prepared on a daily basis.

“Easy WMS manages the warehouse comprehensively: it controls stock and implements an advanced product location and order picking strategy. All processes in our facility are optimised,” says Solas.

Easy WMS has been adapted to our needs and organises all operations in our facility with maximum efficiency. Before implementing the Mecalux software, we prepared around 170 orders a day. Now, every day, we dispatch 500 orders that are distributed throughout Europe.