Background

Grays Australia is a leading auctioneering and asset management company in Australia. They specialise in business valuations, marketing, and sales of inventory and equipment.

Grays launched graysonline.com.au to create a 24-hour international marketplace. This platform enables buyers to bid remotely and delivers improved returns for vendors.

Business Challenge

The organisation needed to evaluate and identify a new business system. This system would manage their warehouse operations and fulfillment activities. Grays then sought to address both current and future warehouse requirements. When deciding on the strategy for Grays, it was agreed that a “best of breed” WMS solution would be evaluated to address the need.

WMS Evaluation Results

Grays engaged Combined Management Consultants (CMC) to conduct an independent evaluation for a new Warehouse Management System.

Grays and CMC worked together to define a Common Operating Model (COM). CMC also provided Project Management, Project Governance, Quality Assurance and Business Acceptance Testing of the chosen WMS.

CMC then partnered with Darroch Consulting to provide a Strategic Review of the Warehouse Layout and Operations. The team identified several potential improvements to address complex and manual processes.

This included:

  • New operating methods to minimize product handling and boost performance.
  • A WMS tracking system to identify all product locations precisely.
  • Alternative storage solutions to maximize cubic volume usage in future operations.

Phase 1 Implementation

The team executed several key improvements:

  • Redesigned the wine storage area with enhanced picking methods.
  • Created detailed warehouse layout drawings to optimize flow and safety.
  • Installed narrow-aisle man-up picking modules for individual SKU storage.
  • Implemented interim operating methods to deliver immediate benefits.

Phase 2 Development

The second phase focused on integrating systems with the new WMS. The team:

  • Specified WMS functionality requirements to maximize efficiency.
  • Analyzed product flows throughout the facility.
  • Developed comprehensive warehouse concepts, including layouts and handling systems.

Grays ultimately selected Manhattan’s Scale System as their WMS solution.