plano | References | Etos Distributie | Etos Distribution Center
Automated planning with the Forecast and task rotation planning
The Etos distribution center (Etos DC) in Beverwijk supplies all 530 stores in the Netherlands. Almost the entire range of drugstore products is handled here, from receipt to loading. Every day, 80 orders are received, which are distributed across 60 trucks. On a total area of 16,000m², 240 people are employed, about half of whom are temporary workers.
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Etos Distribution Center
Book Demo
Initial situation
“The main reason for switching to a workforce Management system was to make improvements. We wanted to be able to plan automatically and faster, including task rotation,” explains Erik Schavemaker, Manager Warehouse Etos DC.
“Our distribution center is process-oriented. Employees work on as many different tasks as possible throughout the warehouse: Receiving, reach truck, picking and loading. By rotating different tasks per day, we ensure movement and variety for the employees. This is beneficial for their well-being, health and musculoskeletal system. The plano WFM software offers this possibility. I haven‘t seen this anywhere else. This also ensured that during the selection process, the longlist quickly became much shorter. You can fully configure the settings yourself and it‘s all very user-friendly.”
After years of manual personnel planning in Excel, Etos‘ distribution center was looking for an automated workforce management system. The main requirements were the ability to rotate tasks, automate the Duty roster and create forecasts.
Branche
Logistics
Number of employees
approx. 240
plano in use
plano Optimizer, plano Forecast, plano Task Rotation Planning, plano Reporting
Erik Schavemaker
part of Ahold
Project goals
Automation and task rotation
- Very fast planning leads to enormous time savings
- Easily rotate many different tasks
- More time for team management and well-being of
employees
More flexibility in personnel planning
- Optimized planning based on forecast data
- Daily information available to employment agencies
- A fair schedule for all employees
In compliance with laws and regulations
- Planning never violates legal or collective employment agreement
rules - Allowances go directly into the payroll system
Improvement
Required temporary workers are immediately visible
Etos DC employed one planner in the past. Time recording and task rotation were still carried out manually in Excel. “With plano, we now schedule with the push of a button, which has changed the planner‘s role. We can also export a report from plano for the request of the required temporary staff, which the employment agency can access directly. This is updated twice a week from the forecasting module and daily during the week itself. Additionally, plano stores all data so that it can also serve as a reference.“
The optimizer, automated scheduling
Erik: “It used to take the planner at least a day to put together the work schedule. Nowadays, a team leader can turn on the ‚Optimizer‘ in plano and get a cup of coffee. When he comes back, the schedule has been created. We have about 25 different tasks. The qualifications for each employee are already in the system, so everyone is scheduled on the right tasks. The Team leader only has to set the absences, from sick or free people, for example, correctly in advance.” Scheduling is done based on a certain and the fairest possible allocation.
Improvements for planners
- Less time-consuming and manual work through automation
- Reduction of scheduling errors through web-based all-in-one system
- Healthier employees through task rotation
- No violations of legal or collective employment agreement (CAO) rules
Improvements for employees
- Consideration of employees‘ shift and task preferences
- High scheduling reliability for employees
- Team managers have more time left for their employees
- Overtime and other benefits are processed automatically
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