Panalpina implements new WMS in half of its warehouses

Panalpina has implemented a single warehouse management system (WMS), known as JDA, across 50 of its logistics facilities around the world, representing about half of its warehouses worldwide.

Two weeks ago, the 50th site, in Lyon, France, went live with the JDA WMS. Shortly before that, JDA was implemented at two facilities in the United States and Belgium. The global freight forwarder says that Singapore is next in line as the company moves towards full implementation.

“The speed at which we can implement JDA WMS at an existing or new site, combined with the increasing interconnection of those sites and the powerful functionalities of the system, allow us to efficiently grow our business,” said Mike Wilson, global head of logistics and manufacturing at Panalpina.

Three years ago, Panalpina announced plans to deploy a single WMS across all of its logistics facilities throughout the world.

JDA uses “scan-and-validate check points” throughout the warehousing process. Panalpina uses the system to track and compare the performance of its warehousing operations around the world, and uses the findings to set benchmarks for inventory accuracy. This model is useful to warehouses handling products that have short life cycles. The system is popular, for example, with fast-fashion customers.

The management system’s reporting and analytics module can be integrated into Panalpina’s data analytics services for inventory and demand forecasting. The forwarders explained that “Panalpina uses customer data extracted from JDA WMS to map inventories across product life cycles. Using proprietary algorithms, Panalpina calculates inventory movements to estimate minimum and maximum inventory holding, where to position inventory and what services to offer. That keeps products moving and minimizes working capital requirements in supply chains.”

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