The challenge
Farmers Business Network® (FBN®) is a global farmer-to-farmer network and ag tech company. With demand for its products and services soaring, FBN required five new WMS-driven DCs in a year.
The ability to remotely implement and self-configure the WMS was essential to overcome the challenges of the global pandemic, decrease rollout time, and provide FBN greater control, more independence and internal system expertise.
The solution
It was agreed that DC 1 would act as a blueprint for subsequent implementations, with a tailored 'Self Implementation' program developed to guide FBN in both project control and project execution.
Detailed technical support upfront (seamless integration with NetSuite, plus the likes of bespoke order transfer and stock management functionality) meant that moving forward FBN had all the essentials in place for a seamless and remote self-implementation rollout across its DC estate.
The benefits
FBN's first DC to be onboarded – in Newton, Iowa, and 186,000 sq.ft – quickly delivered vastly improved picking efficiencies and all the savings and benefits associated with that. The automated approach eliminated the number of people manually involved and – with an eye to the future – delivered a standardized and more professional process that staff across all sites could easily follow.
FBN is now so confident in working with the SnapFulfil technology, having implemented the environment set up, rules engine and training required via web conferencing, that the team now self implements and configures the WMS in new FBN DCs.
With a robust, proven and ever improving Self Implementation program now firmly entrenched in the process at FBN, the company fast-tracked its expansion plans and in nine months had 12 of the 15 new DCs planned for the year, fully operational and powered by SnapFulfil. Subsequently, they've begun expanding their operations to Canada and Australia.
