EF Logistic Services: Improving the movement and communication of employees
- Customer: EF Logistics Services s.r.o.
- Type: Private company
- Industry: Logistics
- Solution: Nivy Watch
- Address: Prievozská 4/C, 821 09 Bratislava, Slovakia
Summary
EF Logistics continuously strives to improve controls over multiple warehouse zones while improving and accelerating non-verbal communication between employees. Therefore, they chose the intelligent NIVY Watch as a solution that will help them with these challenges and further streamline their internal processes. The deployment of the watch has simplified the monitoring of the given warehouse zones and the exchange of information has been accelerated. This also allowed the company to analyze work processes step by step, and also take into account their time requirements.
About EF Logistics
EF Logistics, a member of the EMIL FREY group, offers logistics and warehousing services for spare parts for motor vehicles in Lozorno, Slovakia. The Swiss group EMIL FREY is the largest private company engaged in the import and sale of new motor vehicles, used vehicles, as well as the sale and distribution of spare parts. According to Handelszeitung, the company employed more than 22,000 people in 2019 and had sales of 11 billion Swiss francs. Since 2017, the company has been the largest car dealer in Europe.
The company’s goal is to constantly improve the services provided to clients and at the same time increase the efficiency of its own operations. EF Logistics strives to systematically develop these aspects of its business, but customer satisfaction remains the company’s top priority.
Challenges and goals
EF Logistics faced two major challenges in its warehouses.
The first challenge was to improve control in warehouse areas, where employees found it more difficult to identify damage to goods. Nivy Watch was to help monitor employees in the zones, identify their movements, increase work efficiency and improve workflows and systems.
Another challenge was to streamline communication in the warehouse. Non-verbal communication is becoming increasingly important and even extremely useful in a warehouse with a larger area and increased movement of people. Because there was not enough mobile signal in some storage areas, phones were often unusable. If the manager wanted to reach a colleague, he was forced to look for him directly in the warehouse, even several times a day. This way of working was inefficient in terms of time and also due to the increased burden on the manager and employees.
These two challenges were key in EF Logistics’s decision on how to monitor the movement of employees in the warehouse and have real-life data, on the basis of which (also by connecting internal systems to Power BI) work tasks can be evaluated at a given time and place. Another goal was also to provide employees with a non-restrictive communication tool that does not rely solely on a mobile signal.
Solution
EF Logistics chose NIVY Watch as a solution to their requirements concerning employee control and communication.
NIVY Watch consists of professional smart watches, Android firmware, multi-charging station and NIVY Data Factory cloud storage. The watch is equipped with specialized hardware and software that identifies the surrounding Bluetooth sensors and accurately determines the distance and time spent near them. This function can be used as an indoor positioning system.
“We were very pleased with the proactive approach of the team around NIVY Watch and their willingness to incorporate new ideas and functions to use their watches.”
Peter Lászlo Quality Manager, EF Logistics.
The watch can also be used to send short messages between managers and employees using NIVY Data Factory, a mobile application, or a pre-configured set of texts from the watch.
The company EF Logistics also considered alternative solutions but found that there was not any wide range of options that would solve their problem and that would be sophisticated and at the same time easy to implement. The company noted NIVY Watch at the end of 2020 and they believed that they could be the answer to their requirements.
“The watches seemed to us to be an ideal solution, because they free our employees’ hands and do not restrict them in other activities,” added Peter Lászlo, Quality Manager for EF Logistics.
Through NIVY Watch, the company managed to address the challenges associated with activity monitoring and internal communication, as well as the request for system integration with Power BI. In addition, the deployment did not require the installation of any additional cabling or expensive hardware.
EF Logistics evaluated the implementation of the entire NIVY Watch system as simple and straightforward. They were comfortable with a pre-configured system, where no additional interventions or special skills were needed to operate it. They were able to deploy and operate the solution themselves, and the only step they had to take was to place Bluetooth sensors around the warehouse. Immediately after their placement, the watch began collecting data, which was immediately displayed in the NIVY Data Factory cloud application.
Results
The company uses the NIVY Watch solution as an interior location system, and also to simplify communication between employees. Almost immediately, it registered a positive impact on the overall work processes.
Following the submission of movement data to employees, EF Logistics recorded an increase in movement in previously neglected zones, thus resolving the control problem. In addition, NIVY Watch provided them with more effective communication between managers and employees without the need for physical interaction between them.
“The deployment of NIVY Watch was extremely fast and we managed it practically on our own.”
Peter Lászlo Quality Manager, EF logistics
Thanks to the huge amount of data obtained, the company’s management was able to start working with staff to further improve internal workflows. They also recorded a significantly more responsible performance of work activities, which ensured the smooth and safe operation of the warehouse.
- Increased movement in neglected areas
- Improved effective communication
- Detection of inefficient workflows
- Improved work performance
“From our point of view, interior localization, communication, the ability to accurately measure the time required for various tasks, as well as ease and speed of deployment are the most useful features of NIVY Watch. We would recommend NIVY Watch to other companies because it is a technology that can be adapted to any needs in various areas of production, services or administration,” concluded Peter Lászlo, Quality Manager for EF Logistics.
The company EF Logistics evaluates NIVY Watch as an extremely effective solution to their challenges and intends to expand the use of the system further within the company – to areas where non-verbal communication is important, which is also effective, fast, targeted and without the need for direct physical contact.
More info about Emil Frey: https://www.emilfrey.cz
More info about NIVY Watch: https://nivy.watch