New warehouse for La Spaziale coffee machines, a staple in the hospitality industry

Caffè d'Autore: coffee that stirs up emotions

Caffè d’Autore is the distributor of La Spaziale, a brand of modern Italian coffee machines that are a staple in the foodservice industry. In addition to also marketing coffee machines and coffee grinders for the Mazzer and Zero brands, Caffè d’Autore has an extensive technical team strategically located in Spain and Portugal, charged with providing customer service, supplying spare parts, and performing maintenance tasks.

• Headquarters: Barcelona (Spain)
• Founded in: 1990
• No. of employees: 40
• Customers: hospitality industry businesses in Spain and Portugal

Caffè d’Autore constantly adapts its business to meet the changing needs of the market. In recent months, the company has been immersed in a new transformation process aimed at integrating all logistics operations in order to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency.

“Before, we had outsourced our logistics processes for the coffee machines. At Caffè d’Autore, we managed the spare parts, and a 3PL provider would store and distribute the La Spaziale machines. With work organized like this, our customer response time was limited,” explains Roger Vilaplana, Technical Department Manager. Caffè d’Autore manages its spare parts, coffee grinders, and accessories in a warehouse in Barcelona with capacity for more than 2,800 small SKUs. Equipped with picking shelves, the center is controlled by the Easy WMS warehouse management system.

The company was aware that in order to integrate all its logistics processes and stop outsourcing the storage of the La Spaziale machines, it would need more square footage. The new Caffè d’Autore facility in Riudellots de la Selva (Girona, Spain) houses around 2,600 items on pallet racks. “Now, we’re responsible for all our logistics operations, and all our supply chain processes are integrated,” says Vilaplana.

To sync the warehouses in Barcelona and Girona, the company has implemented the same software that has provided it with such good results in its facility in Barcelona: Easy WMS from Mecalux.

“The software has completely transformed our way of working, and we’re thrilled with how it’s optimized operations in our center in Barcelona. There was no question that we also wanted to manage our new warehouse with this program,” says Vilaplana.

Advanced management of coffee machines

“The digitization of the new warehouse has enabled us to improve efficiency and minimize errors,” says Vilaplana. The Easy WMS software intervenes in all the processes that take place in the center, from the organization of the coffee machines to order processing and dispatch.

The operators use RF scanners to communicate with Easy WMS and receive precise instructions on how to carry out each task (e.g., where to slot or locate each coffee machine). “The operators are very fast and efficient because they don’t make mistakes. We’ve gained a lot of time in all operations,” says Vilaplana.

To process the goods received, the operators merely read the barcode on each pallet with their RF scanners, and Easy WMS identifies the products, entering them into the database.

“Before, the goods receipt process was slow. When our 3PL provider received the coffee machines, the workers would have to check them one by one to make sure no mistakes were made, and then we’d do a subsequent validation. With Easy WMS, on the other hand, goods receipt is much speedier,” says Vilaplana. Easy WMS assigns a location to each pallet taking into account the coffee machines’ SKU, production date, and turnover. By identifying all the goods from the time they arrive at the warehouse, the software performs real-time monitoring. As a result, the company knows the exact location of the products whenever required. Pallets are dispatched from the Caffè d’Autore warehouse to customers in the foodservice industry in Spain and Portugal. Easy WMS distributes the goods following the FIFO (first in, first out) method.

However, despite this FIFO rotation, if the company needs a specific pallet, the system will ensure that the operators can locate and distribute that item. “Before, goods management was inflexible. The products were also organized under FIFO, but there were restrictions if we wanted to change the criteria,” says Vilaplana.

To prepare orders, Easy WMS tells the operators which pallets they need to pick and their exact location. Thanks to the instructions from the software, operators travel minimal distances through the warehouse and thus can distribute the goods more quickly. “One of the benefits of Easy WMS is that we don’t have constraints or limitations; we can play it by ear,” says Vilaplana.

Advantages of integrated logistics

Caffè d’Autore has implemented an integrated logistics model with a basic objective: to boost efficiency. “Controlling our logistics operations has enabled us to integrate processes and improve our customer responsiveness,” says Vilaplana.

Today, the company has two warehouses to accommodate all the items it needs and can coordinate dispatches between the two facilities. With these two different yet simultaneously managed warehouses, Caffè d’Autore has separated the coffee machines from the spare parts and now organizes its goods more logically.

Easy WMS warehouse management software is the nexus between the two facilities, coordinating, supervising, and optimizing all operations. With this technology, Caffè d’Autore has a versatile and flexible supply chain that can adapt to business changes such as new product management.

The digitization of the warehouse has improved efficiency and minimized errors. All processes are much faster and simpler. To complete their tasks, all operators have to do is follow the instructions from Easy WMS on their RF scanners. We’ve gained time in all operations, from goods receipt to dispatch.