Exel Install the Latest in Workforce Management Systems for Selfridges
Kronos Systems announced today that Exel Selfridges have successfully
installed the Kronos iSeries Central system to manage the time, attendance,
and activity tracking of 180 employees at the National Distribution centre in
Birmingham, operated on behalf of Selfridges.
Exel, the world leader in supply chain management, opened the 177,000 square
foot distribution centre in 2001, to store and distribute around 50,000 different
product lines exclusively for the two Selfridges stores in the UK.
Mike Bebbington, IT project manager at Exel, commented, "With a completely
new warehouse to build and manage, it was important that we made the right decisions
about our IT infrastructure. We selected Kronos for three reasons. Firstly,
our research convinced us that Kronos would offer us a best of breed solution.
Secondly, Kronos were already in the process of developing an interface with
our warehouse management system, PKMS. And finally, Kronos offered a workforce
management solution specifically for the iSeries, the platform used by Exel."
The Kronos System will bring a number of benefits to Exel. Managing complex
shift patterns would be is extremely time consuming without an automated labour
management system. The Exel distribution centre operates 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. six
days a week. Full-time operators are contracted to work 160 hours per month,
and the days and times may change depending on the level of work required. Exel
managers are responsible for scheduling staff to ensure that staffing levels
match work demand. The Kronos system keeps a cumulative total of all hours worked,
making it easy for managers to schedule staff. Mike Bebbington said that "with
a pen and paper system, it would be an unimaginable administrative burden to
manage staff scheduling and to keep a close eye on hours worked. Kronos allows
us to complete a complicated, time consuming task in a fraction of the time
it would take us to achieve with a manual system."
Exel also see the Kronos system as a key to recruiting and retaining staff.
The distribution centre is in an area of low unemployment in the Midlands with
several distribution centres competing for the same pool of employees. Flexible
working arrangements offered by Exel, attract and retain those employees who
cannot work a set shift pattern. The company offer some staff zero hours contracts,
when the employee calls his manager on a Friday to discuss the hours he is free
to work the following week. Using the Kronos system to check the schedules for
the following week, the manager can then offer the employee a suitable shift
pattern. Such flexibility would be impossible without an automated labour management
system.
Operator productivity is also monitored by Exel using the Kronos system, with
the information being used to monitor the overall productivity targets set by
the distribution centre. Kronos clocks are positioned throughout the warehouse
and staff are instructed to clock in and out of each job or activity. Through
the warehouse management system, PKMS, Exel are already monitoring the volumes
of products moved/packed/picked etc. The data from the Kronos system now also
gives them the time spent by each operator on each activity. These two sets
of data combined, give Exel the information they require on operator productivity.
Exel will also use Kronos to track absence levels, holidays and lateness and
to ensure that the payroll department receive the necessary reports to pay employees.
Lynne Morris, HR manager, commented, "Without the reports from the Kronos
system, we would be faced with manual timesheets and deciphering handwriting.
This would undoubtedly result in payroll errors and queries and a heavy admin
workload."
Keith Statham, managing director of Kronos UK, said, "Businesses are waking
up to the fact that profitability levels are affected by staff productivity.
I'm delighted that Exel have chosen Kronos to help manage their labour
costs and productivity."
About Exel Selfridges
Exel Selfridges is a 177,000 square foot warehouse located in Solihull, West
Midlands. Opened in November 2001, it became fully operational in early 2002.
Exel Selfridges was designed to support Selfridges' expansion through its multi-site
strategy, with the flexibility to increase capacity in a cost-effective manner
as new stores are added. The new facility is located in the centre of the country
for servicing Selfridges' existing stores in London and the Trafford Centre,
as well as new stores opening in Exchange Square, Central Manchester (2002)
and Birmingham (2003), and for future locations.
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