Barona warehousing services
Barona is a strongly growing 3PL warehouse operator based in the Vantaa region near Helsinki. The company offers its customers modern warehousing services, as well as a ready-made concept for e-commerce logistics. The 3PL warehouse handles goods for over 70 companies of all sizes and types.
The company was experiencing significant growth and realized that its current WMS wouldn't support its future needs. Therefore, in 2020, the company developed a comprehensive growth plan and started the search for a new 3PL warehouse management system.
Centralizing 3PL warehouses into one logistics center
Previously, the company’s 3PL operations were spread across six smaller warehouses throughout Finland. As part of the growth plan, Barona centralized these operations into a new 31,000 m² logistics center, Avialogis, equipped with AutoStore, vertical storage lifts, and manual warehouse areas.
The company needed a modern warehouse management system that could handle 3PL warehouse operations. To achieve optimal efficiency in the facility, Barona chose FidaWare WMS as its preferred solution, and Roima completed the implementation in 2022.
FidaWare WMS is seamlessly integrated with several vertical storage lift machines and the AutoStore system to efficiently handle and shelve small products. The system links manual and automated warehouse areas to ensure an optimal flow of goods throughout the warehouse.
Enhancing 3PL warehousing with Value Added Services
Barona offers third-party logistics and thus storing of goods, picking, packing, and shipping for its customers. Value Added Services (VAS) plays a significant role in the 3PL warehouse, and with FidaWare WMS, Barona can efficiently manage and handle a variety of Value Added Services.
The WMS facilitates the creation of display pallets for e.g. supermarkets by mixing different products into a new product. It also efficiently supports Barona in co-packing, which involves combining different items to create a new product, such as mixing various paint colors. Additionally, the WMS supports the handling and storage of dangerous goods. When handling dangerous materials, the system automatically prints safety sheets, ensuring all necessary handling instructions and safety precautions are communicated.
FidaWare WMS also supports ecommerce returns management. Each ecommerce order includes a return label for smooth returns handling. Upon receiving a customer return, the warehouse operator scans the return label ID. Then, the quality of the returned goods is checked before they are either placed back into the AutoStore or in the manual warehouse.
Customized 3PL WMS
With FidaWare WMS, Barona has all the necessary functions to ensure efficient 3PL warehouse operations and better service for its customers.
FidaWare provides Barona with a comprehensive overview of customers, orders, and data while handling orders across all customers.
The 3PL warehouse management system manages the entire flow of goods for all customers, from inbound to outbound, and optimizes all warehouse processes. The WMS includes a customer portal that gives Barona’s customers access to a real-time overview of only their own inventory and order status. Flexible integration to the customers’ ERP-systems enables quick onboarding of new customers.
Barona uses the FidaWare dashboard to obtain a real-time graphical view of warehouse KPIs and monitor overall warehouse activity. The dashboard is extensively used for resource planning, identifying bottlenecks, and retrieving various types of historical data.
Director of development and projects at Barona, Juha Salo, is satisfied with the WMS solution and explains: “We chose FidaWare WMS, as it is a tailored and evolving 3PL WMS with all the necessary functionalities, allowing us to deliver the best possible service and quality to our customers."
Efficient and sustainable 3PL logistics
FidaWare WMS has significantly increased Barona’s efficiency and improved the quality of the warehouse processes.
The 3PL WMS eliminates the usage of paper-based picking lists and reduces the usage of packing materials. Additionally, the system contains built-in quality control points and barcode scanning, which reduces the risk of human errors. This subsequently reduces incorrect deliveries and minimizes the need for redeliveries.