“Because we wanted to limit the inconvenience caused by the move and had no experience with filling warehouse racks ourselves, we asked Jan to oversee the preparations,” says Stefan van der Stelt, Continuous Improvement Engineer. “We were able to provide him with all information on the items via a template, which he then used to calculate the ideal warehouse layout for us. In the meantime, we regularly kept in touch and we could always contact him if we ran into a problem.

Because we wanted to go very quickly, on the day of the move, at times we had to just set aside a ‘problem item’ and deal with it later. As a result, we still needed to make stock corrections here and there, but that’s nothing compared to the time that we saved. Some companies prefer to fill a new warehouse in phases, taking weeks to do it. We, on the other hand, wanted to get it done fast so that we could deliver to our customers again quickly. Jan helped with this by thinking along with us during the preparation and by taking action if we encountered any problems. We also found his extra check afterwards to be very valuable. We would definitely recommend his service to companies that want to limit the disruption of a move.”

Jochen Koelewijn, Operations Manager: “We once filled a dual lift module with 600 unique items. That took us so long that when we purchased the new shuttles, in which even more pieces had to be accommodated, we immediately decided to look for an alternative solution. We came to Jan De Graeve through the supplier of the warehouse system.

At the start, we sent all available information digitally so that Jan could get a good sense of the stocks. Fortunately, we were able to extract a lot of data directly from our own management package. The first milestone in the process was measuring the items. Based on this, Jan advised us exactly which and how many plastic trays we needed for storing the items. The most efficient filling was calculated using the eff-fill software.”

This was followed by two days of physical relocation of the warehouse. “Good preparation with eff-fill has saved us months of start-up troubles. The only issue we encountered is that some drawers went over their maximum weight limits. But I’ve heard that Jan has developed a solution for this and now also offers the option of not only measuring pieces in advance, but also weighing them so that the use of space in the warehouse system can be even better optimised.

The entire process has once again shown how important good stock management is. The less your stock management is under control, the more complex a warehouse transfer becomes. If you put shit in it, shit comes out. In that respect, a collaboration with Jan will also be an eye-opener for many companies and a fresh, new start to approach their stock management more professionally from then on.”

The last milestone in the relocation process was that Jan communicated all the data from the new warehouse with the software. “The physical move was completed on Friday, and we had a perfectly running system on Monday. Anticipating a move like that gives you a lot of worries, so that was a great relief. I would certainly recommend a collaboration with Jan De Graeve to everyone.”

Dorota Müller, purchasing manager: “Since the available storage space was relatively limited, we felt it was important to make optimal use of all capacity from the start. Kardex, the supplier of our warehouse systems, recommended the services of Jan De Graeve to us. And he has certainly helped us a lot with optimally storing all the parts. Using his specialised software program eff-fill, he calculated the ideal location in the warehouse for each part based on the part’s dimensions.

Jan worked very independently and thought along with us to find the best solution for our specific situation. He is highly skilled in his profession, very helpful and also quite pleasant to work with. Thanks to his intelligent storage system, it is now very easy to find all the parts and we even have space left over in our warehouse for new parts. Our collaboration has delivered exactly the result we had in mind and I would definitely recommend working with Jan to anyone who is installing a new warehouse or relocating an existing one.”

Manager Jan Ledaine: “We have known Jan for a long time. During our search for a new warehouse solution, we even went to look at a certain system together so that he could give us some tips. It was the most natural thing for us to involve him in the transformation of our warehouse.

Working from an inventory of all parts, Jan made the calculation for the most efficient warehouse filling with his eff-fill software. Based on that information, we purchased the appropriate containers. Thanks to the good preparation ‒ Jan even took care of the pre-printed stickers for the trays ‒ we were able to move all the parts in one day. It was really a relief that everything fit perfectly. The system works impeccably.

I have often recommended Jan’s services to colleagues because I’m genuinely very satisfied with his work. When you work with Jan, you can be sure that everything will be okay. He takes a very orderly and structured approach, knows exactly what he’s doing and has a lot of experience. I also consider the fact that he works with his own software to be a real added value. He knows it inside and out.”

Leo Franke, managing director: “We already had some ideas of our own about how we would move and furnish the new warehouse, but when Jan came by, he convinced us that there were better methods. So, we decided to work with him.”

Because Technische Groothandel POST also provides over-the-counter service, not only order picking had to be taken into account in the warehouse layout, but also the call-up of items for over-the-counter sales. “That made the design more complicated, but Jan absorbed our input efficiently and coordinated his proposal well with us, which resulted in a workable result.”

Jan also coordinated the actual move. “We were able to carry it out perfectly according to plan. I would definitely recommend Jan’s services: he has a lot of insight into how to organise cabinets of this type and he also guides you in a way that’s calm and efficient.”

Roel Konings, Head of Logistics: “We came into contact with eff-fill through the distributor of the warehouse system. Manager Jan De Graeve was able to convince us of the added value of his working method at the first meeting. We received a detailed quotation and Jan also discussed all the steps with us on-site. We supplied our data in the form he requested and he explained to us which products we could put in which trays and how we could best arrange them.

It saves a lot of work if you don’t have to think of all that yourself. That would have been a lot more difficult. With Jan’s experience, the warehouse filling could be done right, from the start. The entire filling went smoothly and after 1.5 days the regular process could be resumed.”

“After an initial meeting with Jan, it was immediately clear that his services would add value to our move”, says Arie Nugteren, Spare Parts Sales Manager at HDW. “During the preparation, Jan gave a clear and concise explanation of what was expected of us, based on a few examples, and more specifically, which data was required to proceed properly. As soon as the plan of action was ready, Jan discussed it with us and then followed it up remotely at our request via TeamViewer. That went flawlessly and we were very pleased with this way of working. Because of the coronavirus, we spread out the ultimate move somewhat in time, but in the end, we are very satisfied with the result, which is exactly as Jan had told us.”

“It is not the case that when you work with eff-fill you transfer control of everything”, notes Arie. “There are still a number of things you have to prepare yourself. But eff-fill was the missing piece that enabled the entire move to go quickly, efficiently and coherently.”

“Jan once organised the stock for us and he does good advertising for his warehouse services, so it didn’t take long to make the choice to call on him to fill in our new warehouse lift”, says Ann Stroo.

“We had a specific requirement to combine different groups of parts per drawer so that we could use fewer drawers and still keep certain parts together. That took a lot of puzzling, but Jan started working on it and using his software program eff-fill, he effectively found a solution. But it didn’t stop there: you not only get an overview and a schedule for proper filling, but also a lot of advice. Jan was there when we did the inventory beforehand and also for the final move. He explained everything clearly, step by step. If we had done everything ourselves, it not only would have taken much longer, but it would have been less efficient. We would certainly recommend that other companies use Jan’s experience and knowledge.”

After taking over three companies, Wabtec decided to centralise its Dutch activities in one service centre, specifically in Ede. Because the relocation of the old carrousel systems proved to be too expensive, two new carrousel warehouse systems were also purchased. These were higher and had deeper shelves than the old systems.

“When I joined Wabtec, they were in the process of organising the warehouse move”, says Supply Chain and Demand Planning Manager William Ruiter. “But because this seemed to be difficult and expensive, we ultimately decided to work with someone who had done this kind of thing before. At my previous employer, I had positive experiences with Jan who had managed a similar project on the basis of his eff-fill process. One small problem: the physical move was planned for 7 weeks later. But Jan visited us the same week and made a limited inventory to assess the feasibility of the project. He had previously moved a shelf warehouse to a shuttle system and a carrousel to a shuttle, but he had never outlined the process from carrousel to carrousel. So it was a challenge for him, too, but he did succeed. We received a step-by-step plan and from that moment on, everything went smoothly, both the preparation and the physical move itself, which Jan also guided us with. We moved right on schedule at the end of November and the following Monday we were able to get back to work.”

“The supplier of the carousel system put us in touch with Jan. It was clear already from our first meeting that he had the expertise we were looking for and that – just as we had suspected – careful planning was key.
I think that Jan was a bit taken aback by our ambitious plan of getting the move done in just one month’s time. But he took up the challenge and delivered on every one of his promises. He had to work on a tight deadline, but so did we: we had plenty of homework of our own to do. Meanwhile, he kept a close eye on the progress. We received same-day feedback on the data we supplied. And Jan would call us first thing the next morning to discuss the next steps. He had a very good sense of how to keep things moving along.
Our warehouse has everything we wanted it to have, and it’s more efficient. The next step is to take a more thoughtful approach to managing our stock, which is possible thanks to the better overview that we now have.”