Adam Equipment (United Kingdom) - JLR Improves Parts Supply Process by “up to 85%” as it Employs Adam Counting Scales

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has improved the speed at which it can supply car parts to customers by “up to 85%” at its new distribution centre in the Midlands, UK, after partnering with Adam Equipment to integrate counting scales into its processes.

The improvements that the counting scales have brought will help JLR alleviate the parts supply shortage the company, and the industry, has been affected by since the COVID-19 outbreak more than four years ago.

The employment of counting scales has taken place at the company’s new £220 million, 2.9 million square feet parts distribution centre in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, which has been built to consolidate parts operations in the UK from multiple sites to one, in the heart of the country.

The purpose of this consolidation, named ‘Project Mercia,’ has been to speed up the supply of parts to customers.

Matt Jackson, Logistics Operations Project Lead for Project Mercia, said: “The vast majority of our small parts SKU range offering are packed in singles, or between 5 to 10 pieces for high runners. Some of our larger PDC (parts distribution centres) can order large quantities in one go - anything up to 4000 pieces.

“These picks were being done manually which would take hours to complete. We needed our small parts picking process to become more efficient. So, we were looking at counting scales that could be added to our trolleys (and therefore be mobile).”

Julian Brindley, Global Sales Director for Adam Equipment, said: “We were approached by one of our distribution partners about the possibility of supplying JLR with counting scales that their warehouse team could use to pick orders faster, and therefore get parts shipments out of the door faster.

“We worked very closely with the distributor partner and JLR to find the best solution, and that was our GBC Counting Scale.”

Adam supplied JLR with one GBC Counting Scale to trial and assess, and when approved, JLR ordered 55 GBC units to use throughout the new warehouse.

Matt explained: “Adam’s GBC counting scales fitted the brief in terms of accuracy, size of pan, ease of use, the rechargeable battery option, and potential attachments available such as the ATP2 Printer.

“So far, where there are pick tasks for high quantities of the same part, the time to complete the picking task has been reduced by up to 85% when the scales have been used. This increase in efficiency has allowed the operation to use fewer resources to pick greater volumes.”

Julian added: “It’s been a pleasure to work with JLR on this exciting project to get parts to their customers faster, and we thank their team for considering, trialling and implementing Adam counting scales.

“I think it also demonstrates the significant, tangible benefits our counting scales can bring to global businesses like JLR.”

Read the full case study, Jaguar Land Rover Count the Benefits of the GBC, on the link below.