Chapter 18 Chapter Four Informatization and Efficient Logistics

Informatization is the main driving force to improve the efficiency of modern logistics. The importance of logistics to Suning is self-evident.In Suning's view, if there is no logistics, the essence of commodity exchange will cease to exist.Logistics is a part of the enterprise that should be "heavy". Suning's logistics has gone through three generations of development, and now a fully automated fourth-generation logistics has emerged.In terms of logistics, Suning has made many informatization transformations, such as the core WMS and TMS. This informatization tool allows Suning to greatly break through the limitations of manpower, and also greatly improves the efficiency of logistics.

In fact, during the rapid development of Suning, the enterprise is getting bigger and bigger, and the business volume is also getting bigger and bigger. Correspondingly, Suning's logistics workload is also getting bigger and bigger.However, due to the huge workload of Suning's logistics, it is impossible to rely on manpower alone, and efficient management can only be achieved through informatization. ——Make what should be important for the enterprise more important, and what should be lighter should be made lighter.The construction of an efficient logistics system has been one of the core contents of Suning's chain operation strategy from the very beginning, and it is the key to competitiveness.In Suning's view, the core of business or marketing is logistics.Without logistics, the essence of commodity exchange does not exist.

How important is logistics for a retail business? "The logistics platform is like an aircraft carrier, which determines the combat radius of the enterprise. Without the support of the logistics base, the enterprise will not be able to penetrate into a city, and it is easy to open a store and make money." Sun Weimin used this analogy when talking about the significance of logistics to Suning. So for a retail company, how should it understand logistics?In fact, if you study Wal-Mart and other global advanced retailers, you will find that logistics technology is the core part of their competitive strategy.Its external competitiveness appears to be low cost, daily parity, etc., but behind it must be excellent electronic logistics capabilities.That is to say, whether an enterprise can quickly push products to the market and respond quickly to customer opinions depends on the size of its logistics capabilities, and to realize the rapid turnover of goods requires an efficient and low-cost commercial logistics system.At the same time, from procurement, storage, distribution to after-sales service, each business link of a retail enterprise must be guaranteed by an efficient logistics system.

Zhang Jindong once said that the construction of an efficient logistics system has been one of the core contents of Suning's chain operation strategy from the very beginning, and it is the key to competitiveness.In Suning's view, the core of business or marketing is logistics.Without logistics, the essence of commodity exchange does not exist.For the modernization of commerce and the modernization of marketing in the entire home appliance distribution field, the core lies in the modernization of logistics.In the past, the high cost of distribution consumed the labor cost advantage of retail enterprises, and the significance of Suning's spare no effort to build its own logistics system lies in the fact that relying on its own large-scale logistics base, it will form an efficient and fast logistics system across the country. The circulation system truly creates a commercial pattern of integrated circulation.In a sense, Suning's self-built logistics system is just one of the measures to change and enhance China's backward commercial logistics competitiveness.

Make the important things of the enterprise more important, and make the light things lighter.Suning believes that the heavy part refers to storefronts and logistics. Doing more heavy means continuing to increase investment in storefront construction, and at the same time continuously improving the number, area and supporting facilities of logistics bases; the light part refers to management. , To make it lighter means to reengineer the management process of the entire enterprise with the help of information technology, including supply chain, customers, sales, etc., to make the enterprise easier to manage.

In the development of an enterprise, there are often some misunderstandings about the core competitiveness and what plays a key role in the survival of the enterprise.Just like logistics and services, in the past when the relationship between manufacturers was not smooth, distribution companies did not perform their functions well, and some functions that should have been undertaken by distribution companies were either actively or passively undertaken by manufacturing companies.However, when the cooperation between manufacturers enters a new stage, changes in the market environment lead to the gradual increase of the power of distribution companies, and the game between the two parties enters a dynamic balance, some distribution companies lose their understanding of their core competitiveness.Logistics, services, these should be managed by ourselves, and all or a large part of the capabilities forged by ourselves are outsourced to the society, or distributed to cooperative enterprises.

For a while, some home appliance chain retail companies did not pay much attention to the logistics that originally accounted for a large part of the retail cost of home appliances, so they contracted the logistics distribution to professional logistics companies, and the logistics cost should be regarded as the home appliance retail business. Out of the largest piece of cost. In Suning's view, as one of the core competitiveness of the enterprise and the core content of the chain strategy, logistics must always be in its own hands to form a real circulation force.This does not rule out cooperation with third parties, but cooperation is nothing more than cost considerations, and ultimately you still have to control the overall situation.In Ren Jun's words, the transportation fleet may not be his own, and the warehouse may be rented, but the entire operation process must be under his own monitoring and control, and it should be an information-based process management system.

This shows that Suning is different, and it also shows Suning's truest thinking about logistics.In fact, some domestic retail companies will also rent warehouses and seek social resources for cooperation.Zhao Bei, executive president of Suning Appliance Service Headquarters, said: "They have not changed much from our model, but they are different in nature. It is mainly in management. They seldom manage the carrier." , The entire management is integrated, requiring third-party partners to accept Suning's information system and follow Suning's established norms and procedures, and Suning will also have special indicators to evaluate third parties.

That is to say, in Suning, there will never be a situation where a third-party carrier manages itself, and the carrier will not let the carrier release or pick up the goods in the warehouse, but allow itself to only play the role of a warehouse manager for sending, receiving and storing .Mastering inventory by yourself is beneficial to asset security on the one hand, and greatly improves inventory accuracy on the other hand.Suning seldom has the phenomenon that the customer has purchased but the warehouse is out of stock. In addition, logistics has a more important significance in Suning, which is to undertake many service functions.Different from traditional commodity circulation, home appliance logistics has the characteristics of large volume, many types, complicated models, high storage and distribution requirements, and high work intensity.At the same time, as the price competition space continues to shrink, service has become one of the important weights for home appliance chain enterprises to win the market.For a long time, a large number of service problems in the home appliance industry have been caused by insufficient basic investment and weak service platforms.Delayed delivery, difficult installation, repeated maintenance and other problems can not be solved simply by relying on the attitude of the service personnel, but must have the material conditions of the service.

For Suning, logistics is not just delivery, but also a service for customers.Because delivery personnel need to meet customers, a full package of delivery services must be considered.Such a concept has derived many value-added services of Suning Logistics beyond delivery. For example, the traditional way of selling color TVs is that the customer inspects the machine on site, and then debugs and inspects the machine when it is delivered to the home, which is troublesome for both the customer and the merchant.However, Suning broke this model and adopted the method of warehouse debugging and door-to-door machine inspection.The staff will adjust the color TV to be delivered in the warehouse, and even help the customer to adjust the channels one by one, and then the delivery personnel will come to the door to test the machine and deliver it at one time, so as to ensure that the one delivered to the customer's home is ready-to-use " finished product".Such a small link increases the workload of logistics and distribution, but it is convenient for customers.

Similarly, Suning has opened a telephone ordering service, and the delivery personnel not only have to deliver the goods, but also collect money when they come to the door.The customer took a fancy to the product in the mall, but did not bring enough money. Suning allowed the arrears to be sold, and the customer only had to make up the balance when the delivery worker came to the door.If the delivery workers find that the customer is not at home when they come to the door, they will put a Sunshine service card on the door, which reflects Suning's meticulous service everywhere. In 2006, the construction of Suning logistics base was in full swing.At the special report meeting of the logistics base construction project department held this year, Zhang Jindong listened carefully to the report of the project team, and then said something like this: "The importance of the logistics base construction work is gradually increasing in the chain development process of the group. Highlights, in a sense, even surpasses the construction of chain stores. Whether the group can maintain a rapid and stable development momentum in the future, whether it can consolidate and improve its market position, the construction of logistics bases is the most critical step; , A powerful weapon that embodies the true core competitive position.” In his view, logistics distribution is the background support for chain development and ultimately determines the development of modern chain enterprises. Realize the construction of logistics base.The importance of the construction of the logistics base must reach a consensus within the group, "With the strong backstage support of the logistics base, we can become the strongest commercial chain enterprise." ——Suning has experienced three generations of logistics models, and on the basis of informatization, the third generation of logistics has become more automated.In addition, the third-generation logistics emphasizes process-based and functionalization, and the original process is further refined. The warehouse adds functions such as platform management, arrival notification, electronic label picking, and cross-docking. Distribution also transitions from result management to process management. .And all of this is based on the development of information systems. Looking back at the development history of Suning Logistics, it can be roughly divided into three generations.Suning's first-generation logistics, that is, the traditional logistics distribution model.Although it is a traditional model, it was still a transformation and innovation of the home appliance logistics model at that time.In the early 1990s, due to the scattered and small-scale sales channels of home appliances, its operation mode was basically that of an old department store.This is a relatively primitive state, which cannot be called a modern logistics model, and the concept of a logistics base has not even been formed. However, with the advent of the era of product surplus, home appliance retailers have gradually grown.Relying on their own strength, many home appliance retailers have opened their stores in core business districts.At this time, if we continue the previous model, it will undoubtedly be a waste of good business resources.For example, in the Xinjiekou store in Nanjing opened by Suning in 1999, the rent per square meter of the store can reach 3 yuan per day, while it only costs 30 cents in other places.It seems a waste to open a warehouse in such a good place. As a result, Suning began to adopt the idea of ​​not having a warehouse in the store, but setting up a warehouse in another place; it does not test the machine on site when selling goods, and customers only need to wait at home after issuing a ticket, and a special delivery vehicle will deliver the goods to their door.These distribution vehicles are full of goods, and they are concentrated to serve many customers and carry out unified distribution, thereby reducing costs.This innovative model has gradually evolved into a new industry standard after its launch and has been continued to this day. However, with the rapid development of Suning, the first-generation logistics model can no longer meet the needs of Suning.When Suning has gradually completed the layout from first-tier cities to entering some second- and third-tier cities, and basically established a nationwide chain network, according to the original chain plan, Suning has established a logistics distribution network in more than 90 cities across the country.Managing such a large network becomes a problem in itself. If we continue to continue the early decentralized, manual logistics model, it will make inefficiency, and the high cost will squeeze out Suning's relatively meager profit margins.Therefore, after examining the advanced logistics models in developed countries, Suning proposed its own second-generation logistics model that includes information-based shopping, digital distribution, and technological management, and puts more emphasis on service functions to form a real logistics base. In fact, at the end of 2005, when the SAP project was actively advancing, Suning also promoted the construction of the second-generation logistics base.As early as March 2005, Suning announced its own "5315" plan, saying that it would build 500 service outlets, 30 customer service centers and 15 second-generation large-scale logistics bases across the country, so as to build a service network platform covering the whole country. . As a strategic project promoted at the same time as the SAP project, the construction of the logistics base is actually an inevitable requirement of the market after Suning's chain development reaches a certain stage.Because to a certain extent, whether a complete and effective logistics system is established determines the success or failure of the chain operation. When Suning celebrated its 15th birthday, the first Hangzhou logistics base built according to Suning's second-generation logistics theory was officially opened. This second-generation logistics base covers an area of ​​50 acres, of which the pure storage area is about 10,000 square meters, with a total investment of tens of millions of yuan.The second-generation logistics base adopts advanced automatic mechanical tools such as three-dimensional mechanical shelves, electric pallet trucks, hydraulic trolleys, incoming hydraulic platforms, and clamping cars, and adopts the WMS inventory management system integrated on the SAP information management system platform for management. , The distribution also uniformly adopts vehicles equipped with GPRS global positioning system, and the management personnel are all highly educated logistics professionals. Compared with the first-generation logistics distribution center, the inventory turnover rate of the second-generation logistics base has increased by 30%, the capital occupation rate has decreased by 20% to 30%, and the overall operating cost has been cut in half.This modern management mode has brought about the following changes in several indicators of the operational efficiency of Suning's logistics system: the multi-layer three-dimensional mechanical warehouse shelf doubles the inventory quantity under the same storage area compared with the traditional inventory method; the use of automatic operating machinery improves the efficiency of loading and unloading Increased by about 3 times; standardized operation reduces the probability of failure by 90%; the automatic management of mechanical operations by the WMS inventory management system makes the error rate of purchase and shipment almost zero, and improves inventory accuracy and storage utilization, reducing operating costs ; The distribution vehicles under information management greatly improve the response ability and delivery capacity, and at the same time, the number of logistics staff will be reduced by more than 2/3. Overall, the opening of the second-generation logistics base has saved about half of Suning's logistics costs and greatly improved service quality.With the opening of the second-generation logistics base in Hangzhou, all the foreign warehouses set up at that time in Huzhou, Jiaxing and Shaoxing that it radiated were cancelled, and the logistics base was fully responsible for the distribution of products sold by Suning chain network in this area.In addition, the three major service management systems of logistics, after-sales and customer service in Suning Hangzhou will also be fully settled in the office, and will also take on the function of training Suning's new employees. Today, the "5315" of that year has already become a symbolic code name, but Suning insists on the pace of building its own service platform and has never stopped. In 2007, Suning Appliance put forward a plan to build a third-generation logistics base.Due to the characteristics of seasonal differences, holiday demand, and huge sales network, high investment requirements have been put forward for the logistics system of home appliance chain operation.Logistics distribution costs usually consist of warehousing, labor, vehicle depreciation, road and bridge fees, fuel costs, etc.Among them, the overall cost of transportation accounts for 30% of the logistics cost. In order to further maintain its competitive advantage and significantly reduce logistics and transportation costs, in 2007, Suning introduced a transportation management system (TMS), aiming at retail distribution and long-distance distribution of orders, optimizing route scheduling plans, effectively reducing distribution mileage and working hours, and completely transforming labor costs. The traditional way of scheduling.According to estimates, this mode can shorten the actual transportation distance of each vehicle by 20% to 30%.At the same time, all palletized products are neatly stacked in the warehouse, and the serial number, warehousing, and outbound of each product are all provided with barcodes to ensure that the entire process of products from manufacturers to consumers has data records, ensuring that service quality can be traced . In July 2007, as the representative of Suning Appliance's third-generation logistics base, Nanjing Yuhua Logistics Base was put into use. The third-generation logistics base adopts the integration scheme of the mechanized three-dimensional storage system, and through the implementation of the three-dimensional warehouse system in the warehouse, the mechanized transportation system, WMS and TMS, it has become one of the most advanced logistics centers in the domestic electrical appliance chain industry. The information technology mainly applied in the third-generation logistics center includes WMS and TMS.Through WMS, Suning Logistics can realize order management, inventory management, receiving management, picking management, inventory management, warehouse transfer management, realize barcode management, real-time monitoring of warehouse operations, and realize the combination of RF (radio frequency) and monitoring equipment; through TMS , Suning can improve the response time of distribution services, improve the utilization rate of vehicle resources, reduce transportation costs, and fully use electronic maps and GPS (Global Positioning System) in logistics distribution services to achieve on-time delivery. At present, the third-generation logistics center that Suning Appliance has built is Nanjing Yuhua Logistics Center, the Shenyang Logistics Center is under construction, and the upcoming logistics centers include Beijing, Wuxi, Chengdu, Xuzhou and Chongqing. The third-generation logistics center will undertake the long-distance allocation of goods sold by chain stores in the surrounding areas of the city where the logistics center is located (within 300 kilometers), store distribution, retail distribution (within 150 kilometers), pipeline distribution, bracket distribution, etc. .After completion, each logistics center can meet the operating requirements of an annual commodity turnover of about 5 billion to 10 billion yuan. The Jiangsu Nanjing Yuhua Logistics Center, which has been built so far, is constructed according to the standard of "specialized division of labor, standardized operation, modular structure, and hierarchical management".Established urban distribution within 150 kilometers of radiation in Nanjing, with a warehouse area of ​​46,000 square meters, fully applying mechanized, automated, and informatized modern logistics equipment and systems, with a storage capacity of up to 3 million units (sets), and a daily operating capacity of up to 30,000 units (sets), supporting sales of 30 billion yuan. According to the plan, Suning Appliance will eventually have about 60 large-scale modern logistics bases across the country.In an interview with the media, Zhang Jindong made it clear that accelerating the construction of a logistics center is the material foundation Suning Appliance has laid for the goal of a century-old store. ——Suning built a three-level logistics network, integrated the original scattered and small warehouses, and adopted a two-level distribution model to meet the requirements of informatization. Focusing on the strategy of building the core competitiveness of logistics, Suning has established a three-level logistics network (RDC-CDC-XD) of regional distribution centers, urban distribution centers, and distribution points. The difference between the third-generation logistics center and the previous logistics center is that it adopts a two-level distribution model: the first-level distribution and distribution service is responsible for distributing and transporting various commodities from the regional warehouse to all the second-level cities in the region ; The second-level distribution service is the comprehensive delivery and distribution service of goods to thousands of households by the logistics distribution service centers of the second-level cities in the region. In Zhao Bei's impression, Suning's warehouse is divided into three generations.The warehouse rented in Jiangdongmen, Nanjing City is the most basic first-generation warehouse. At that time, the warehouses were not yet three-dimensional, and they were all flat warehouses. Suning devoted all its efforts to research on stacking, and both storage and distribution were very primitive.Later, Suning built second-generation warehouses in Hangzhou and Beijing, but because the warehouses built at that time were relatively small, when the system went online, they had not yet fully realized the requirements for informatization.It was not until Suning built a third-generation logistics base in Nanjing and started its own third-generation logistics that it fully realized paperless information operations. In the stage of rapid expansion of Suning, basically every city will build a new warehouse, and even set up its own warehouse in some counties. "As long as you come to a city, where is the store and where is the warehouse?" Zhao Bei said.The direct consequence of this is that Suning has built many warehouses in China, but these warehouses are not too big.When the warehouses are scattered and small, or even only one or two thousand square meters, the inventory stocking is not full and rich, and when the store sells more varieties, it will face the serious problem of out of stock. There are not enough warehouses at all, but it seems that there are many warehouses.Suning is considering integrating the large and small warehouses built in various places.From the second half of 2002, Suning began to gradually incorporate warehouses that were previously scattered in various places.In the first year, warehouses in the tertiary market were incorporated, and in the second year, warehouses in the secondary market were incorporated. After about two years of adjustments, it was not until 2005 that the transformation from local warehouses to central warehouses was finally completed. "In the past, for example, Suning had its own warehouse in Zhenjiang, but after the integration, Zhenjiang no longer has its own warehouse. The stores in Zhenjiang shared the goods from the Nanjing warehouse, and actually sold Nanjing goods. That is to say We made a simple transformation and set up a central warehouse for radiation and sharing." Zhao Bei explained.When a user in Zhenjiang places an order, the warehouse in Nanjing receives the information and then tallies the goods. After the goods are sorted in the evening, they are shipped overnight.The distance from Nanjing to Zhenjiang is about 100 kilometers, and it takes between two and three hours. Basically, Suning's logistics can also deliver the goods directly to the user's home early the next morning. Because of the integration and sharing, Suning can dismantle many small warehouses like Zhenjiang, and then build a larger central warehouse with a wide range of radiation like the Nanjing warehouse, and make more goods reserves.This not only improves the quality of logistics and transportation, but also provides sufficient support for front-end sales, and also reduces the accumulation of funds and personnel due to the construction of warehouses in various places, making the turnover and operation of resources more efficient, and greatly improving Suning's operating quality. . "We now have only 86 central warehouses across the country. The regional distribution centers set up in some cities are central warehouses. We are also called RDCs. In secondary cities like Zhenjiang, we will set up distribution points." Zhao Bei said. The logistics defined by Suning actually refers to the entire process from receiving goods from suppliers to consumers purchasing and delivering goods to consumers, while upstream supply before that is not included in Suning’s definition.Let's take a look at how Suning's logistics system works. Zhao Bei said that only when the purchasing department places an order with the factory will it enter Suning's logistics system.In the middle, Suning will make an appointment through the B2B system, and feed back to the manufacturer how many goods the warehouse needs and the scheduling situation. Before there is no system, receiving goods is a headache.The work on the platform is sometimes tight and sometimes loose. When it is tight, there is a long queue of external factory delivery vehicles, and when it is loose, the workload on the platform is not enough.A simple appointment can solve the very important connection problem between factory logistics and channel logistics.The factory will either deliver the goods through its own logistics transfer station or directly, and Suning will complete the receipt of the goods according to the orders generated by the system.The quantity and model of the goods must match, not only that, but the order number must also match completely. Only after the batch is complete, Suning will confirm that the goods received are the ones they want.After the goods are received, the staff will stack and place them according to the rules of warehousing. Depending on the product, the logistics process is also different.Large items basically enter the central warehouse.But for small items, some of them need to be placed directly in the store according to the needs of consumers.This has led to its delivery being divided into two categories, one is that the factory directly delivers to the store, and the other is still sent to the central warehouse.At this time, it is necessary for the purchasing department to issue a transfer order to the logistics in the system, and then transport it from the central warehouse to the store.Similar to this, for the operation of samples, gifts, and prototypes, the order is first placed from the procurement to the logistics, and then delivered to the store. Breaking it down, Suning's logistics not only has to undertake the function of delivering goods to consumers, but also allocates and replenishes stores for stores.After the integration of warehouses, there will also be a problem of integration and connection between RDCs (regional distribution centers).Therefore, logistics will also undertake the transfer function between central warehouses, such as from one warehouse to another, from Nanjing to Shenyang, Beijing, etc. It should be noted that under the three-level network architecture of Suning Logistics, the bottom-level distribution point (XD) is not actually a warehouse concept.Because there is no inventory there, the goods temporarily stored at the transfer point are all sold goods and belong to consumers.The purpose of the transfer point is to serve as a "small foothold" after the goods are transported over a long distance at night, for example, after being transported from Nanjing to Zhenjiang.These transfer points can be attached to the warehouse of the store, or find a transporter such as the postal service, or Suning can build a "warehouse" of two to three hundred square meters by itself. In the third-generation logistics, Suning can make the entire supply chain shorter and more flexible.Taking Anhui as an example, in the previous connection with the factory, the factory needed to deliver goods one by one to places such as Chuzhou, Fuyang, Anqing, etc., but after the integration of logistics, there are only three central warehouses in Anhui, Hefei, Wuhu, and Bengbu.Through these central warehouses to cover the whole province, the factory can directly deliver the goods to the central warehouse.This not only makes the inventory of the factory more concentrated and larger, but also enables centralized operation management, making resources more concentrated. However, the problem to be solved is that the integration of the supply chain faces many complicated factors. The factory may not only supply Suning, or the factory has its own logistics transfer station in some cities. If it follows the Suning model to build its own logistics, Not particularly beneficial in itself.This requires more difficult coordination. ——With the support of WMS and TMS, Suning's management of logistics has been refined, and the logistics standard of "delivering the right goods to the right place at the right time" has been realized. Most of the 86 central warehouses currently built by Suning are leased, and only the four warehouses in Nanjing, Beijing, Shenyang and Hangzhou are self-constructed.However, relying on renting warehouses can no longer solve the practical problems Suning faces in logistics. When the warehouse is shared, on the one hand, the area of ​​the warehouse needs to be large enough, and on the other hand, it must also meet the logistics characteristics of Suning. "Delivery to the user's home requires a family run, but a car can only hold 25 to 30 goods at most, so the number of small trucks is large, and a large operating space is required." If the daily shipment volume is 1,000 spare parts, it means that there are hundreds of vehicles for delivery, and a large venue is necessary. Because of these two limitations, when Suning started the construction of the logistics base in 2005, it proposed to build 60 central warehouses independently to achieve standardized management, so as to truly establish its own logistics strength.Suning's third-generation logistics has realized shelf management, greatly improved the degree of mechanized operations, and increased the role of information technology. For WMS, Zhao Bei vividly described it as "hotel management", "Which building, which room, and which room a person lives in is all arranged at the time of check-in. In fact, goods can also be stored in the warehouse." Think of it as a room in a hotel, and everything is arranged. Where to put these goods and where to get them are all assigned by the information system. This is not easy to make mistakes, and the efficiency is also high.” If you carefully observe the operation of Suning's logistics system, you will find that it is very different from the common logistics model.In Suning, due to the transformation of informatization, logistics has been highly mechanized and informatized.Whether it is the transmission of information or the assignment of tasks, it is very fast. When a user purchases a product at a Suning store, the store will issue a receipt after the user pays. Such a simple action as the "front desk" triggers a series of work processes in the "background".First of all, the information of the store issuing bills will soon be transmitted to the central warehouse where it is located through the national networked information system.For example, the purchase information of Zhenjiang users can be known by Nanjing logistics center within a few seconds. Then the logistics center will start to work at two ends.Part of the distribution is arranged by specialized personnel to determine which vehicle will complete the task. At the same time, the personnel in charge of the warehouse will pick the goods.The labor allocation part will be transferred to Suning's TMS, POS system, member management system, etc., and the labor allocation and scientific scheduling can be completed in a very short period of time.The inspection of warehouse managers will call WMS to conveniently locate the goods that need to be delivered. The core information technology used in Suning's third-generation logistics is WMS and TMS. WMS mainly includes functions such as inventory management, storage location management, cross-dock management, platform management, etc., and has RF system, pallet code technology, label printing technology, LED display technology, etc., which can well manage the operation of huge warehouses. And effectively support the various information needs of different users, and balance the workload more reasonably. WMS can improve the utilization rate of limited storage space and reduce operating costs by starting from details such as cargo location optimization, reduction of packaging damage, reduction of product identification errors, and improvement of inventory accuracy. To create more logistics value. In 2009, Suning launched the WMS management of the flat warehouse, realizing the operation management of the storage of goods in the flat warehouse and the guidance of the system for entering and exiting the warehouse.Due to the successful operation of Hangzhou Pingku WMS pilot, the system will directly transition from Pingku WMS to the logistics base WMS mode when the company's later logistics base goes online. TMS will play a huge role in solving retail distribution and long-distance distribution of orders, optimizing route scheduling plans, and significantly reducing distribution mileage and working hours. efficiency. In August 2009, on the basis of implementing segmented address entry, Suning collected addresses, road conditions, vehicle parameters, and dispatching methods for Nanjing and Shanghai companies, simplified the dispatching work, and directly located customer address information with electronic maps .At present, Nanjing has started the online work. "Operation mechanization, management informationization, network integration, and talent knowledgeization", the goal of Suning's logistics construction is to strive to achieve a higher degree of "four modernizations", to achieve more refined management in logistics business, to achieve "in the right Send the right product to the right place at the right time" logistics standard. However, Suning has also experienced several stages of development in the whole process of logistics control and more refined management.This is true even for something as simple as confirming that the user has received the product.At the beginning, Suning used the method of calling the delivery worker to confirm after arriving at the user's address.This will cause too many calls in a certain period of time, so that the logistics cannot be answered effectively, so it is still impossible to guarantee whether the delivery worker will deliver and whether it will be delivered correctly. Then, Suning changed the confirmation method of delivery task completion to sending text messages.Although this solves the problem of call concentration, it is still impossible to confirm whether the driver is delivered correctly. Until Suning adopted the full online system, and the joint communication operator developed the ST (store, storage) card, the delivery worker’s mobile phone had delivery information, and the customer had the receipt link password in his hand. The delivery worker had to deliver the goods correctly. The correct password can only be entered into the mobile phone at the user's home, and then sent back to the logistics base to complete a delivery task.This ensures that delivery workers get the right item to the right place at the right time. Later, Suning adopted TMS, the system will automatically schedule, and the user can know the arrival time of the goods accurately, even down to the hour.In Suning's plan, the next step is to install a GPS system on each transport vehicle, requiring the vehicle to follow the route. "We can calculate the money with the driver according to the kilometer, reduce the cost, and achieve the purpose of cost management and refined management." ——People always have their own limits, and technology is a tool extension made by people to break through their own limits.This is what makes a "thinking reed" awe-inspiring. What is technology?What can technology bring to Suning? Zhao Bei was deeply impressed by a sentence Zhang Jindong said: "Enterprises must have something admirable at the technical level, and now they must talk about science and technology." Zhang Jindong felt that the retail industry needs to change from the previous labor-intensive and capital-intensive to technology-intensive.Technology is actually like a powerful arm to Suning. The main brain has not changed, but more business ideas can be realized through this more efficient and powerful arm. In the field of logistics, informatization has actually changed the impression of logistics in people's minds.From labor-intensive to truly supported by information technology, people have achieved breakthroughs with the use of information tools, breaking through the limits of human brain and physical strength. The transformation of logistics by informatization makes Suning's new and old logistics systems seem to be in two eras.Going deep into Suning's logistics system, we can see that informatization has completely subverted Suning's logistics model, enabling Suning to completely get rid of the inefficient manual operation of the past, and greatly expanding the carrying space and imagination space of logistics. From manual to system, from offline to online, Suning's information system has carried out in-depth transformation of the entire process in terms of logistics, from warehousing to distribution, delivery, and later settlement and payment. 在南京物流基地，笔者看到，进货月台上，一台夹抱机正在紧张地忙碌着。冰箱、彩电从送货厂家的货车上被搬了下来，贴上苏宁自己编制的条形码，然后成批放在货物托盘上入库。为了确保产品不损毁，每个托盘都会用绳子固定。必要的时候，一些商品还会被抽检，开箱验机。经过流程优化之后，这样的送货流程只需5分钟就可以搞定。 优化的过程其实很简单，就是增加了一个预约环节。在送货之前进行预约，到送货时间，只需要在系统上打一张内项交货单，就可以清楚地知道送货车应该停在哪个月台、哪个收货门。因为采用了机械化作业，效率提高了很多。以前卸一批货，8个人要紧忙慢赶40分钟。现在一个人拣货、一个人卸货，只需要20分钟。 入库商品的管理工作也因为有了WMS而轻松了很多。考虑到商品的流转问题，仓库在摆放商品时实行分类制。商品入库时，系统会自动根据前半个月、一个月的数据分配每个托盘应该到达的仓位。发货原则是先进先出，哪怕只是提前一分钟。在以前仓库是人工管理、平库管理时，先进先出是一件非常困难的事情。 没有管理系统之前，甚至需要员工凭印象去仓库拿货、发货，一些老员工因此会比新员工吃香不少。而现在只需要打印条形码，库单可以直接告诉仓库工作人员货物具体的仓位。使用了WMS之后，库存商品损毁的概率几乎为零。 因为系统平台的构建基于SOA架构的软件系统设计，各个业务模块的软件应用程序都与大的管理平台对接，WMS也不例外。 通过实现信息流共享，苏宁的服务反应机制发生了彻底的变化。每一次卖场销售发生后，配送中心、仓库都能知道具体的情况。除了消费者自提的商品，凡是需要物流配送的，其相关信息在卖场就会被录入配送服务单。之后，配送中心会根据作业量以及各个区域的情况具体分配送货任务。而在分配送货任务的同时，仓库已经知道要提的货是什么，就可以开始分配，工作人员去相应的仓位拿货。 通过系统管理的方式，仓库的作业时间、作业强度变得平均起来，并且整体的作业时间也缩短了。以前配一车货要2个小时，现在一般20分钟就好了，有时甚至只要十几分钟。而且现在经常是仓库理好了货在等物流配送的车辆。以前是车等货，现在是货等车。因为有了WMS，苏宁和上游供货商，以及大通、邮政、宅急送等外包服务运输公司的对接变得非常便捷。 对接让许多浪费的时间被节省了下来。在上游环节，以前没有经过系统进行的预约程序，就会出现或者仓库太小面积不够，需要临时整库，或者人员不够的情况。这都会让工厂送货的车辆等候很久，有时候甚至会等待一两天的时间，车辆排成长龙等待卸货是常有的事。而在下游的消费者环节，苏宁内部派工也变得简单了。 信息化最直观的作用就是减少了很多手工操作。手工操作不仅耗费了大量的劳动力，而且在零售这样烦琐的业态中，很容易出错。信息化则在很大程度上可以杜绝出错。 在SAP系统上线之前，苏宁会专门设置录单员的岗位。当消费者在前台购物之后，开票的同时会填写包含了住址、电话、姓名等信息的手工单据。而这些单据都需要专门的录单员将之录入到系统中。这样后台的配送及售后人员才能够看到这些需要跟进作业的单子。 据苏宁电器服务总部物流管理中心总监助理陈清回忆，1998年物流还叫储运部，负责仓储及配送，而且彼时更多的是配合批发进行操作。但是当时的所谓系统实际上只是一个最原始的DOS系统，在日常运作中基本上还是纯手工操作。仓管员需要用账本来记录货物进出的账目，然后由专门的总账室统账，并将所有的数据录入到DOS系统中。这个账目是无法实现共享的，被沉淀在物流的环节，无论是店面还是采购部门都无法实时知晓库存的信息。只有等到总账室将所有的账目信息全部录入之后形成一个库存报表，再由人工分送到各个门店及职能部门，供其参考。 通常来讲，这个过程会花费至少一天的时间。那时候在苏宁，大量的人力都消耗在类似这样的信息传递中。门店的销售信息传到储运部，储运部的库存信息传到门店，都需要人跑来跑去，弊端显而易见。早年因为跑丢了单，张近东才痛下决心要上SAP系统，上信息化系统。 到了2000年，在使用了金力系统之后，苏宁终于可以做到库存信息的共享，不再依赖于手工的信息传递。但是，供销存的关系依然没有理顺。在减少库存这一方面，苏宁还是需要总账室，还是需要录单员，只有系统录入之后才能真正减少库存。录单成为一件逃不开的事情。在销售旺季，苏宁的主要增援岗位就是录单员。而说到底，这只是一个数据信息的传递问题，还是不能实现如SAP时代通过前台开票的动作自动地减少库存。 苏宁先是逐步将手工的工作都搬到了线上，而且尽可能做到信息的共享。比如，将前台销售信息和库存信息共享起来，将各个分公司的数据信息共享起来，不再需要一台台登录服务器，而是全国性地调用数据信息。这些努力使得苏宁的所有作业过程及单据传递都可以在系统里操作。 在手工派工时期，传送到物流的订单全部需要由派工人员进行手工派分，再安排运输车辆行进的线路。这对派工员的要求就非常高，需要派工员熟悉当地的道路交通，只有这样才能实现合理派工。一些老派工员对路径的熟悉程度令人称奇，只要问到市区的某一条路，他马上就能告诉你具体的位置。 但是，人脑所能记忆的毕竟有限，而且这种能力没法复制，苏宁依然受限于此。直到早期的ERP系统上线后，苏宁还是沿袭了以前手工派工的做法，需要人工分单、手工排程。但是手工的做法已经越来越无法满足苏宁日益膨胀的业务规模。 2009年，苏宁开始在南京地区试点TMS，以解决送货不准时的问题。苏宁电器售后服务管理中心总监殷霞对这个系统的描述是：“这个系统可以根据顾客在商场购物时留下的地址，根据系统自带的电子地图以及顾客希望送货的时间，在店面关门的时候，将第二天要配送的商品集中到一辆车上，并打出一张线路图。这张线路图非常精确、合理，可以最大限度地省油，而且在时间上也有保证。去年我们在上海尝试配车，几十辆车一分钟不到就都配好了。以前人工配车至少要花半个小时。” 时间的节省是如何实现的？笔者看到，只要消费一产生，消费者的住址信息就会在系统自带的记忆地图上形成一个经纬度相交的点，然后根据相关规则、信息，比如南京地区的中心接到的一些交通管理的信息，如禁行、单行线等，这些信息都会纳入到系统，在此基础上，最终由软件来计算及分配，具体由哪辆车进行配送。 苏宁电器物流管理中心配送业务规划部经理李磊介绍说，系统可以辅助物流，将订单信息转化为物流所需要的信息，包括货物的内容、提货的地点、派送的时间。派送任务会被层层分解、分配。从依靠人的经验来区分到依靠系统辅助来作大的细分，效率大大提高了。基本上，依靠系统已经可以做到6～10分钟派好工。如果地址准确，则15分钟就可以到车。“以前手工派工的时候，因为没有地址录入，都是靠人工填写，准确度很差。有的时候有些顾客填写得很模糊，比如就写南京市某某花园，你就不知道这是哪的地址。虽然派工员可以根据他所留的座机判断出在什么区，但经常会出现地址和电话都不对的情况，就没有办法派发货物。”李磊说。 站在现时的基点上回头来看苏宁过去的物流，会有一种很原始的感觉。陈清对这种显著的变化感慨万千。在1998年时，派工还需要靠人来抄写。送到什么地方，送到哪些人的手中，哪怕要累积到1000～2000张工单，都需要司机自己去抄写。对车辆进行管理也是件累人的事情，派工员需要挨个翻着纸质的表格来看。与之相比，现在的物流实在是太轻松了。送货的任务清单可以直接打印出来，系统里也可以直接查到具体是哪个司机在送货，出去的是哪一辆车，状况如何等等。 甚至，物流配送人员的称呼也发生了变化，从以前的装卸工变成了送货服务人员，从以前简单的送货服务发展到更多的增值服务。比如，送货服务人员可以带着POS机上门送货收款，满足时尚用户刷卡的需求。这既是苏宁服务水平的提高，实际上也是苏宁对顾客日益增长的需求的满足。陈清记得以前送货可能还要向客户收取费用，现在不仅不收费还添加了很多增值服务。 物流的结算也发生了很大的变化，从分散到集中。2009年，苏宁将物流结算的工作全部转移到南京总部进行操作，不仅对许多线下不可控的工作进行了整合，而且也更节省人力。据陈清估算，如果以今天苏宁配送中心的规模计算，全国可能需要200多个结算员，但是经过整合调整，现在苏宁只需要4 个结算员就足够了。更多的事情都交给了系统，结算员的工作主要集中在监控结算过程是否出现异常。苏宁称之为流程的集中管控。 支付也从以往由子公司支付，每月与承运商对账，由其下属的财务出具财务报表的方式，变革为由总部统一线上支付运费。在陈清看来，这是苏宁2009年的一个很重要的变革。在由各分公司、子公司支付时，其支付的周期不可控，结算的准确性也不可控。“我记得有一年，北京分公司在年底的时候可能五六月的结算还没有做完，这就影响到我们和承运商的合作。因为我们的合同账期是一个月，但实际上分公司并没有做到这一点。”相反，总部统一线上支付，利用SAP系统上的相关模块，由物流执行到财务审核，之后再通过支付平台就可以线上直接支付了。效率大大提高了。 在与供应商的对接上，被改变的还不仅仅是结算方式。实际上，在前文中笔者已经提到，SAP系统对物流的改造更在于对逻辑和规则的要求更为严格。在收货入库方面，以前还可以考虑到物流具有很强的计划性，因此在货物要得很急的时候，手续不全也可以先收货再补办手续，后期再录入系统。但是在SAP系统上线之后，在严格要求的系统逻辑下，已经不再允许出现没有订单却收货，或者没有货物，却开“负卖”单提前销售的情况。虽然在上线之初，对于这一点，相关的物流、财务、销售、采购部门矛盾闹得不可开交，最后还是逐渐适应了这样的逻辑和规则。 系统让苏宁物流的管理方式发生了方方面面的变化。从以往无法及时得到有效经营信息到现在实现实时的管理，苏宁可以通过系统随时调用整理过的物流作业信息。这就使得苏宁的物流管理更为精细化。 苏宁还与通信运营服务商合作开发了一个全程在线系统。当送货工将一台货送达之后，能够通过短信的方式把信息发送到平台上面，告诉物流基地货到底有没有送达。如果没有送达，客服人员也能及时地告诉顾客是因为什么原因没有送达。这样就提高了送货效率。而在以前，则必须等待送货工回到物流基地才能知晓送货的结果。 陈清说，在以前纯手工作业的时代，物流基地只能跟踪一个结果。而在SAP系统之下，物流中心则可以通过SAP系统的端口对全国进行监管，实时掌握情况。“我们以前知道的只是一个送没送完货的结果。而现在每一个环节我们都会知道，比如提没提货、派没派工、最终有没有送到，包括具体是几点送到的，都可以看到。”依靠系统，苏宁已经能够建立物流配送的绩效管理，可以改善物流的送货及时率和消单率。 更为精细化的管理使得苏宁对员工也可以实现KPI的绩效管理。无论是派工还是送货，每个岗位都对应一个具体的指标。以前苏宁没有办法对派工进行管理，不知道送货员有没有送货，因为看不到具体数据。而现在派工有没有完成，完成率如何，都可以在系统中看到。 也许，以前的苏宁还可以依靠自觉性进行管理，但是当苏宁的组织规模越来越庞大的时候，自觉性必须被规则所代替。而且，以往一些好的个人经验也可以优化到系统中，进行全国范围的共享。 内部管理效率的提升及管理的精细化，最终带给消费者的就是服务效率的提升和满意度的提高。运用WMS和TMS，苏宁可以在很短的时间内将作业按照最优化的线路、时间、成本派发。以前都是通过派单，现在则是通过系统的信息化手段就能够把顾客的地址在电脑里面标出坐标，就像经纬度一样。有了坐标之后，系统会自动根据预设的算法计算出具体的路线，从而提高分派作业任务的效率。 正确的时间、正确的货物、正确的地点，这是物流的标准。以前消费者对此没有一个很实在的概念，但是现在消费者可以通过苏宁的统一展示平台，从订单下达开始到收货，全程了解订单的运行情况。从以前只能精确到天，到现在逐渐可以精确到小时，消费者减少了等待时间，必然会给予苏宁更高的满意度。 物流水平的提升，使得物流配送服务的承诺已经可以提前到销售端了。销售端可以先期对顾客作出大致的承诺，然后再由后端配送人员进行进一步的精确服务。 在以前，物流中心会买很多地图，把送货区域画出来。销售人员要自己看地图，自己去查记地址，然后才能告诉顾客如何送货，才能对顾客作出相应的承诺。而现在，物流中心在系统里开发了一个相关的功能模块，前台销售人员可以在系统里清楚地看到，某个区域允许作出什么样的服务承诺，这样传递给后台的送货任务就会更准确一些。比如，如果消费者住在市区，承诺的送货时间就可以精确到上午或者下午。而如果消费者住在郊区，就只能承诺是今天或者明天送货了。通过这样的方式，前台销售人员可以非常准确地把苏宁的物流能力展示给顾客。 从不可控到可控、从不能共享到能够共享、从滞后到实时、从粗放到精细，正是系统帮助苏宁突破了人力的极限，使得处理大量的物流作业也变得游刃有余，并且还将这种游刃有余明白地展示给了消费者。