HighJump Software, a global provider of supply chain management software, has announced that Batteries Plus has implemented the HighJump warehouse management system (WMS) in its new national distribution center in Glendale, Wis. Based near Milwaukee in Hartland, Wis., Batteries Plus is the nation's largest battery and light bulb franchise retailer.

Through its national chain of franchise stores, which are found in every state except Hawaii, Batteries Plus serves over seven million customers annually. Until recently, the company used a third party logistics provider (3PL) to manage its entire distribution operation. To support its rapid growth, the company moved into a state-of-the-art distribution center in Glendale, Wis. in May 2011. The process included a lengthy search for a WMS that would provide the flexibility and performance Batteries Plus needs - now and in the future. The company’s in-house IT team evaluated a number of different solutions before selecting HighJump Software as a partner.

“Our biggest challenge was to find a best-of-breed WMS that allowed us to tailor the system to fit our unique processes and high growth business conditions,” said Michael Lehman, CIO at Batteries Plus. “We knew the HighJump adaptability tools would make it easy for our team to fully leverage all aspects of this powerful system.”

Batteries Plus has experienced exceptional growth over the past 12 months. The company added 57 stores in 2011 and expects to add another 58 by the end of 2012. After only a few months using the HighJump warehouse management system in its new distribution center, the company has reported a 33 percent increase in overall distribution volume capacity. Also, federal regulations demand a set of special labeling requirements for lithium batteries, which must accompany the product from the factory to retail store shelves. The HighJump WMS platform was built with such requirements in mind, so the new system was adapted quickly and easily by the Batteries Plus IT team.

In addition, Batteries Plus has already integrated several new pieces of functionality into its WMS with the HighJump App Station - a value added resource that further extends the flexibility of the HighJump WMS. “We’ve been impressed with the HighJump App Station,” said Victor Lecato, WMS System Analyst at Batteries Plus. “We’ve already implemented several new feature sets, including quick-view and the archiving/purging package. It only took 20 minutes to download and implement each of them. This is clearly the future of WMS.”

“The combined impact of Batteries Plus’ new DC and the HighJump WMS are a great case study in supply chain optimization,” said Russell Fleischer, CEO of HighJump Software. “I think many other companies can identify with Batteries Plus’ need for speed and flexibility. Their story perfectly illustrates the immediate performance gains that smart companies experience when they merge a modern distribution model with adaptable supply chain management software.”