How Revo Kitchens Optimized Warehouse Space with a SaaS-based WMS 

Revo Kitchens is the only stockist of pre-assembled German kitchens in the UK. They have a unique business model in the kitchen industry. Their premium quality kitchens are available for same-day collection from the stock in their UK-based warehouse and showroom or nationwide delivery in 2 days.

The retailer imports large quantities of ready made kitchen cabinets from two of Germany’s largest kitchen manufacturers, so they can pass on discounts of up to 70% to customers. They guarantee 48-hour delivery time for their thousands of stock units that serve a wide range of customers from families and businesses to expert designers.

Revo Kitchens collaborates with clients both remotely and in-store to design their dream kitchens at competitive prices. To enhance their service and reach more customers, they also decided to launch an online store. However, to effectively manage sales and inventory across their various sales channels, the business needed robust support for product fulfillment and streamlined service delivery.

Challenges

Managing inventory for a business like Revo Kitchens, which deals with complex, multi-component products, presents unique challenges. As they expanded their operations to include both online and offline sales, they faced significant difficulties in tracking stock and fulfilling orders efficiently. From managing distinct inventory items across various locations (in the warehouse) to dealing with manual processes that led to inaccuracies and delays, Revo Kitchens encountered these specific hurdles that impacted their operational efficiency.

1. Difficulty managing online and offline sales inventory

Revo Kitchens sells complete kitchens that comprise of multiple components. These modular kitchens are stocked in their UK warehouse and on display in their showroom or offline store. Managing and tracking all inventory items in store and warehouse was a challenge, as they are all unique items. With the addition of an online presence, Revo Kitchens anticipated additional difficulty while tracking and fulfilling orders.

2. Inventory inaccuracies and delays

In their 10,000 sq. ft. warehouse, Revo Kitchens often faced the challenge of inventory inaccuracies. The cause of this was manual inventory inbounding processes. At the same time, the retailer also struggled with fulfillment delays. That’s because they had to manually process orders received, raise the invoice by going through a handful of different steps, and create a picking list for pickers to locate the products ordered. At the picking stage, locating the correct products took a long time, which resulted in delays.

3. Inefficient warehouse space usage

To manage their sales and supply chain, Revo Kitchens used an ERP software. While effective for sales and picking lists, the retailer struggled with inventory tracking due to the ERP’s single-location field constraint. This limitation meant that only a few product units could be assigned to one bay at a time. For example, if Bay 1 holds 50 units, additional units must be stored in Bays 2 and 3 without the ability to monitor exact quantities per bay after orders are fulfilled.

As Revo Kitchens sells large units of inventory, the allocated bays would soon fill up. So, they’d have some products that would cross over 10 pallets in different locations. The tall units would need individual spaces, so they’d have one product stored across 8 locations. This resulted in inefficient warehouse space utilization and complicated inventory management, as a single product may be scattered across multiple bays.

4. Limited Inventory updates

With the ERP system managing their inventory, Revo Kitchens only had access to in-stock quantity numbers. When the items in storage were invoiced out, the team deducted the number from the total in-stock items. Every time they did a stock take with the ERP software, it would try and account for the stock units deducted. Also, when a product was invoiced, the system would assume that the product left the building when it hadn’t.

Implementation

To ease their challenges, Revo Kitchens decided to upgrade to SaaS technology. They were looking for software capable of making a remarkable difference in our daily workflows, which led them to research different Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) in the UK. After discovering Anchanto and understanding the extent of its inventory and warehouse management technology, Revo Kitchens decided to implement it.

The implementation was a thorough process that enabled Revo Kitchens’ team to learn how the WMS from Anchanto works and the best way to leverage it for their needs. They also requested a few changes to significantly enhance their operations and were truly impressed with Anchanto’s flexibility and dedication to continuous improvement.

“The Anchanto WMS has significantly enhanced our operations, and we are truly impressed with their flexibility and dedication to continuous improvement. Their proactive approach to refining the software has made a remarkable difference in our daily workflows. The recent updates have been seamless, and we greatly appreciate your team’s effort and expertise in ensuring everything runs smoothly. We are excited about the future and look forward to continuing our partnership with Anchanto.”

– Oliver Blair, Revo Kitchens

Solutions

Faced with significant inventory management and warehousing challenges, Revo Kitchens needed a robust approach to streamline their operations. To overcome these obstacles, they implemented a series of strategic solutions powered by Anchanto’s WMS. These solutions not only addressed the specific difficulties they encountered but also set the stage for smoother operations and continued growth.

Here are the solutions that helped Revo Kitchens overcome their operational obstacles and achieve greater success:

1. Centralized inventory management

With the Anchanto Warehouse Management system, Revo Kitchens can keep track of all of the units that they import. The barcoding and the organization of inventory have been very beneficial to their staff. The WMS is integrated with Revo Kitchen’s online store through a Magento integration that allows them to track inventory sold online. They also manage in-person sales through the webstore, which means they are still processed by the WMS. This ensures all the inventory is accounted for irrespective of where it is stored and sold.

2. Efficient inventory records and picking

The introduction of PDA scanners enabled Revo Kitchens to navigate their warehouse with ease and have every product correctly labeled and recorded on the WMS. The thoroughness of the WMS helps the warehousing team take quick action, reduce errors, and save on paperwork. With their sales channels directly linked to the WMS, all orders are directly sent to the warehouse PDAs initiating immediate picking as anyone in the warehouse can just go and pick the inventory ordered.

3. Enhanced warehouse space management

Anchanto Warehouse Management has enabled Revo Kitchens to stay dynamic about the way they stock. It has helped the retailer make the most of their warehouse space by fitting more products into the space that they have. The system allows the retailer to divide a bay into 8 separate locations. This allows them to put away stock in any unique combination of units in a bay. The WMS also helps them see what is in the back of shelves or bays without having to move products out of the way. Additionally, Revo Kitchens has very high racking (over 10m), which impacts their visibility of what’s in storage. But with PDAs they can scout products by location.

4. Accurate stock status

Revo Kitchens could only track in-stock quantities. With the WMS from Anchanto, the retailer can track their stock at different stages. They can see stock statuses on the WMS based on stock available to purchase, what’s in the picking process, what’s due in the warehouse, as well as inbounds. These statuses help the retailer track down stock and keep customers updated.

Revo Kitchens has successfully transformed its inventory management and warehousing operations through the implementation of Anchanto’s Warehouse Management System. This transformation has enabled the retailer to overcome significant challenges, streamline processes, and improve overall efficiency.

As the retailer continues to grow and expand its operations, the next logical step is to further leverage Anchanto’s WMS capabilities. This will include exploring advanced analytics for even more precise inventory forecasting. By continuously adapting and scaling their use of the WMS, Revo Kitchens aims to maintain their competitive edge, improve customer satisfaction, and support their long-term business goals. Anchanto remains a vital partner in this journey, offering the technology and support needed to drive continued success.