| lia sophia is a direct selling company that offers an | | | | (Shipment Management System) to streamline the |
| extensive line of high quality jewelry at affordable | | | | automated shipping process by providing reliable |
| prices through a vast network of Advisors | | | | shipping manifests for parcel and LTL shipments. From |
| (independent sales representatives). In 2006, the | | | | a financial point of view, shipping costs were |
| company opened a new 200,000 sq. ft. facility in | | | | significantly reduced. |
| Roselle, Illinois, and took the opportunity to reconfigure | | | | |
| its current distribution environment to prepare for the | | | | QC Software's Navigator, OMS, and SMS modules |
| future. | | | | helped lia sophia improve the accuracy, capacity, and |
| | | | | flexibility of its order fulfillment operations while |
| The Direct Selling Association (DSA) clearly proves | | | | enhancing personnel productivity and resource |
| that people like to shop through direct selling. According | | | | scheduling. But, lia sophia's management became |
| to recent surveys, nearly three fourths (74 percent) of | | | | increasingly concerned over the shortcomings of its |
| Americans have purchased goods or services through | | | | existing inventory management system. |
| direct sales. Direct selling is a growing industry. | | | | |
| Sales in the U.S. have more than doubled in the last | | | | In 2008, lia sophia made the decision to initiate Phase |
| decade to more than $30 billion and are now more | | | | IV of the project, and engaged QC Software to |
| than $100 billion worldwide reports the DSA. | | | | supply a replacement inventory management system. |
| | | | | "We became increasingly concerned regarding |
| "Our systems were manual and paper-based," said | | | | weaknesses in our legacy inventory management |
| Tom Lang, Director of Operations. With a goal to | | | | system. The software wasn't stable, or well supported, |
| improve the material flow and increase the throughput | | | | and lacked some key functionality. In addition, our |
| of the material handling system, lia sophia worked with | | | | concerns were growing over the future financial |
| a systems integrator that recommended QC | | | | stability of the company developing the software. We |
| Enterprise, by QC Software, system as the best fit for | | | | decided that it didn't make sense to continue |
| functionality and configurability. | | | | developing the product, and we would be better off |
| | | | | putting our energy into something to replace it. We felt |
| Phase I was completed in the late fall of 2006 with the | | | | that it would be better to migrate to a single platform, |
| implementation of QC Software's OMS (Order | | | | and we worked with QC Software to implement its |
| Management System) to plan orders for picking using | | | | Inventory Management System (IMS), so that we had |
| specific cartonization rules that optimized the number | | | | a single suite of integrated software tools from a |
| of cartons for order fulfillment. Orders are now | | | | single vendor," noted Lang. |
| planned in waves of boxes for the Pick-to-Light (PTL), | | | | |
| A-Frame or both. The PTL waves are planned for the | | | | According to Lang, "We are in the direct selling |
| slower moving items and to supplement A-Frame | | | | business. We don't just sell jewelry, we sell a business |
| picking, where the A-Frame waves are planned for | | | | opportunity. Perhaps even more critical than shipping |
| the faster moving items to automate the picking | | | | the jewelry is getting business supplies to our |
| process. A print and apply system was added to the | | | | independent reps. New lia sophia advisors are supplied |
| A-Frame's carton induction to keep pace with the | | | | with what's referred to as a Starter Kit. It contains |
| A-Frame. If the A-Frame reports a short pick, the QC | | | | samples and the necessary staples they need to start |
| OMS automatically schedules and re-picks the shorted | | | | a business. In addition, they need supplies to sustain |
| item at the PTL. This streamlining of picks has reduced | | | | their business. Those two types of shipments are |
| shipping costs because backorders are kept to a | | | | extremely critical, and we wanted to make sure that |
| minimum. | | | | they get the appropriate attention." |
| | | | | |
| | | | | QC Software ( is the leading provider of Tier 1 |
| | | | | warehouse control systems to the warehousing and |
| Phase II of the project was implemented in 2007 | | | | distribution industries. Since 1996, QC Software, |
| because lia sophia was still growing exponentially, and | | | | utilizing state of the art technology combined with |
| required additional capacity to fulfill their orders. A | | | | extensive research, development, and rigorous testing, |
| second A-Frame, with a print and apply for carton | | | | has developed the QC Enterprise suite of products. |
| induction, was added to provide additional system | | | | Designed to be modular in nature, easily configurable, |
| throughput .To eliminate the pack-out area bottleneck, | | | | and platform independent, this highly scalable solution |
| a second pack out area was added. The new order | | | | satisfies the needs of any size warehouse. |
| expedited function allowed the company to isolate | | | | |
| individual orders for rapid processing. | | | | |
| | | | | QC Software, Inc. |
| In Phase III, lia sophia implemented QC SMS™ | | | | |