Increased Product Accessibility

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Computer Associates are a rapidly expanding business software company currently occupying both a multilevel office building and a 25,000 ft² warehouse facility in Slough.

Originally software packs and instruction manuals were being stored on the ground floor of the main office with palletised loads being held in a local off-site warehouse.  Computer associates had identified a capacity and logistics problem with this arrangement and approached STS Storage Systems for help.

Working together our conclusions were that both storage operations needed to be under one roof in order to give improved warehouse efficiencies and cut out transport costs between the two sites.  Additional capacity could be incorporated depending on the size of the building chosen with the added advantage of returning expensive office space to it's original purpose in the main office building.

STS Storage Systems were provided with information relating to the storage capacity increases required, the type of handling equipment currently in use and the picking activities.  At this stage STS Storage Systems looked at several warehouses in the local area and advised Computer Associates of their potential capacities.

Once a suitable building had been found working drawings were produced.  Computer Associates and STS Storage Systems then turned their attention to the move itself.  In order to keep disruption to a minimum we decided to phase the installation as follows:

Phase 1
In just three days STS Storage Systems installed six metre high pallet racking to give 1,000 pallet positions.  Computer Associates then removed all of their existing pallets from the off site warehouse and loaded them into the pallet racking installation. 

STS Storage Systems were then able to dismantle and buy back the existing pallet racking giving a credit against the cost of the new racks.  This also gave Computer Associates a considerable saving in man power and avoided the logistical implications of trying to incorporate their existing pallet racking into the new building.

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Phase 2
STS Storage Systems then installed 1,400 M² of adjustable shelving for manual and diskette storage and 3,000 M² of Longspan shelving to store software packs.  The shelving was laid out with relatively generous gangways so that continuous picking operations using large trolleys could be performed by several operators at once without congestion.  With an eye to the future provision has been made to allow a Mezzanine floor to be added over the shelving when required.  STS Storage Systems also provided a total of thirty inexpensive packing benches based on low level Longspan shelving fitted with purpose made MDF Worktops.  Computer Associates were then able to vacate their existing shelving within the main office block and move their stock directly into the new shelving.  STS Storage Systems also dismantled and bought back the original shelving resulting in a similar credit and other savings as with phase 1.

Shortly after the installation had been completed Computer Associates conducted a regular stock check.  Due to the improvements made in accessibility this stock check was carried out with a 75% reduction in time.