Daikin has switched on the ignition to Manhattan Associates’ Manhattan SCALE warehouse management solution (WMS) at its new distribution centre in Warwick Farm, Sydney.

Manhattan SCALE serves as an all-encompassing automated warehouse solution to optimise manufacturing, fulfilment and dispatch operations at Daikin Park – the largest air conditioning DC in Australia. By offering end-to-end visibility and flexible control over DC operations, the new solution allows Daikin to better manage and expand operations to meet the huge growth the company has experienced in Australia over recent years.

“By upgrading the Daikin Park facility with Manhattan SCALE, we are now able to take back full control of our operations by having better access to warehouse, transport and logistics and customer data. During a high-pressure time, like the one we are currently experiencing with the pandemic, this information has been extremely valuable. Having this kind of visibility allows us to make better business decisions to improve efficiencies and customer experiences,” says Michael Trad, head of SCM & IT, ANZ at Daikin.

“Since going live with the Manhattan system, we are able to track our products at every point throughout the supply chain. This enhancement has significantly boosted the level of information we can share with our delivery drivers and customers, so that they are kept informed about all aspects of their orders.”

As part of Daikin’s wider business strategy, the company recently consolidated six distribution centres into the new 33,000 sqm Daikin Park facility, making it a central hub to house the company’s raw materials, spare parts, finished goods and manufacturing supplies. Daikin Park, which has achieved massive cost savings for the company, operates with an outbound volume of 9,000 orders per day with an inventory capacity of over 40,000 cubic metres.

Daikin’s decision to upgrade Daikin Park with the Manhattan solution was part of its business plan to move away from relying on a 3PL and to bring its WMS in-house. Since the move, Daikin has gained the visibility needed to evaluate, manage, and innovate operations to make big improvements for the business and its customers.

“To ensure the solution was tailored to fit Daikin’s unique business needs, we collaborated closely with the company to maximise the level of flexibility and configurability the solution was able to achieve, and to make sure staff were trained up and ready to transition into using the new system,” says Rahul Pillai, senior principal consultant at Manhattan Associates. “Overall, the project has been a big success and we are very pleased to have helped Daikin achieve its goal of operating self-sufficiently.”