Case history 2012 Optimised logistics means that the goods are organised at the warehouse, the entries and the exits are regulated and traced, the procedures are lean and the data is synced with the central management system. Cometa Spa - the IT product distributer and market leader in Southern Italy, together with the software house Kirio have the right answer: no shortfalls and fast procedures The year 2000 brought a decisive turn for the Italian ICT market. From then on a continuous growth could be noted, in certain moments even exponential growth. Then in 2008, consumption of technology came to an almost complete stop. The companies, who had to fight against the crisis, usually knew how to innovate products and procedures. This is the story of Cometa Spa, specialised in the distribution of PC IT products and their components, notebooks, monitors, peripherals and accessories as well as products for the most advanced networking. Cometa, founded in 2000, extended its structure in 2008, strengthening its leadership in Southern Italy and raising the revenue compared to the previous years. So which were the decisive steps? An important purchase, the following expansion of the distribution network with growth of the owned cash & carry markets (which are nine at the moment), new informatisation and enhancement of logistics concentrated in a new and modern warehouse in Bari. Today the company has a turnover of about 50 million Euros, 65 employees, 5200 clients of computer shops, professional dealerships, local resellers and large scale retail trade. BOOSTED INFORMATISATION FOR UPHOLDING COMPETITIVENESS Cometa Spa is a company, which can certainly be defined as complex, regarding the turnover and the sales mode, which includes cash & carry, direct sellers and an e-commerce website. “The most important goal in 2008 was to maintain the turnover in this unfavourable market situation, where the products’ margins were declining. This decline already started determining an increase in terms of moveable products in relation to turnover with the consequence that we needed a higher rotation frequency in the warehouse. The sustainability of this change also happened via an overhaul of informatisation as well as logistics and sales procedures,” explains Dott. Michele Sansica, Vice Presidente at Cometa Spa. The “in house” management system we used was Mago by Microarea and a vertical for the logistics area had to be integrated immediately. After meticulous research Cometa arrived at Kirio, the software house from Bologna, who had created the K-Logistic application, the app specifically for warehouse management. “In particular we needed to speed up the operations and we had to avoid shortfalls. Kirio’s vertical software immediately convinced us and the functionality could help us on the way we needed it to. Furthermore the team was completely available regarding the implementation” Sansica says.

La revisione della logistica di Cometa è stata graduale: dapprima l’introduzione del K-Logistic nelle due sedi logistiche di Trapani e Bari (studio del layout del magazzino, progettazione relativa all’ubicazione dei prodotti e implementazione del software), poi il passaggio all’unica sede di Bari di circa mq (arecoperta). In particolare è stato installato un sistema wireless basato sulla rilevazione dei barcode che, per quanto riguarda la merce in entrata, prevede una procedura di autorizzazione dell’ingresso e l’indicazione all’operatore dove riporre il prodotto. Lato merce in uscita, il sistema riceve gli ordini del cliente, segnala all’operatore dove prelevare il prodotto che viene preparato per la spedizione al cash & carry o al cliente stesso. Tutte le informazioni vengono trasmesse in real time al gestionale Mago. An automated process was created at the goods’ entry with the indication to the warehouseman, where to put the products. On the side of the outbound goods the system receives orders from the client, tells the worker where to find the product, which will be prepared for shipping to the cash & carry point or directly to the client. Case history 2012 THE PROJECT: REORGANISATION IN THE NAME OF EFFICIENCY The overhaul of Cometa’s logistics was carried out gradually: first of all K-Logistic was introduced in the company’s two offices in Trapani and Bari (studies of the warehouse’s layout, planning the products positions and implementation of the software), followed by passing to just one office, the one in Bari, with around 5,000 sq m (covered). In particular a wireless system was installed, based on barcode identification for the incoming goods. The entire information is transmitted in real-time to the Mago management system.“K-Logistic introduced simplicity to our company. There are only a few indications one has to follow and the procedures are much more efficient, the flow is leaner and traceable” Sansica says.

ADVANTAGES AND EXTENSION OF THE PROJECT The results of this new informatisation were immediate and can be summarised in some points: Improved rotation in the warehouse and stock reduction; Almost complete elimination of mistakes and shortfalls; Cost reduction in parity with the turnover. The keyword seems to have been “order”. With the order made by an intelligent informatisation the company reached set goal. Case history 2012 “This is how we systemised the ‘heart’ of our business, which is our warehouse. Now we’re extending the project with Kirio, also involving our cash & carry network,” Sansica says. He is talking about the implementation of an application planned by Kirio to improve the cash & carry’s operability, the activities regarding logistics and the stores with direct sales, the till management etc. In particular when the client is at the till with the product, this product is “read” with its barcode and the employee can see a series of important information regarding this product: what order is belongs to, possible offers and discounts, the financial coverage of the purchaser. Therefore the invoice can be safely issued and at the same time the new needs of the cash & carry will be automatically updated. PROSPECTS The Cometa – Kirio project moves on. Currently specialists analyse the possibility to implement the vertical K-Premi application to supplier contract management in relation to warehouse safety, active promotions and prizes. “In the world of IT distribution with multinational sellers you need precise points of reference regarding certain issues. In this economic context and in the sector’s current situation you also need technical support in terms of credit management. Therefore we’re considering the implementation of another one of Kirio’s verticals, K-Fidi” Sansica concludes.