BEAMS HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.

BEAMS has more than 160 stores in Japan and overseas, and proposes a new lifestyle and culture through goods and products in various categories centering around fashion, daily goods and interiors, music and art. They are also attracting attention through the advanced and cutting-edge logistics that supports their business. We interviewed Mr. Ryota Yamauchi of the Logistics Business Department, Logistics Division.

Mr. Ryota Yamauchi, Logistics Department, Logistics Division, BEAMS HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.

The logistics base that supports the breakthrough of BEAMS is "BEAMS WARE STATION" in Shinsuna, Koto-ku, Tokyo. With a total floor area of about 16,500 square meters and a four-story building, there are about 1 million items stocked. As inventory increased with the number of stores, products that were inspected at "BEAMS TRANSFER CENTER" in Minamisuna nearby were sorted and stored here for shipment to each store. In Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, there is a warehouse that stores items for sale, and logistics is mainly carried out at these three locations.

BEAMS has more than 30 brands and sells a wide variety of products selected from Japan and overseas. In addition, they are developing products by collaborating with companies and regions, and it is necessary to manage a huge number of items and respond quickly and accurately to requests from stores nationwide. Up to now, they have been promoting mechanization by using “Fashion Sort®”, which sorts clothes on hangers and "Linisort®", which automatically sorts products at high speed, both contributing to an efficient logistics system.

In 2011, they started to devise a plan to utilize RFID (Automatic Identification Technology); they made a small start in 2012 and introduced the RFID system in 2015. RFID tags are attached to all products, and picking cart terminals, handy terminals, and material handling, have been all improved to support the RFID system. RFID is used for sorting, picking, and shipping inspection. "We don't have to look for tags like we used to, we just have to move products, so the efficiency of the loading and unloading work has improved dramatically," says Mr. Yamauchi. This cutting-edge logistics system has gained in popularity, and more than 100 companies have visited to see it.

At "BEAMS JAPAN" in Shinjuku, Tokyo, which conveys the charm of Japan to the world, you can find a wide range of items such as sundries and food, which are also shipped from this base. "While clothes can be sorted by material handling machines, machines and human hands are used according to the characteristics of the product such as pottery and food. Of course, the introduction of RFID has improved the efficiency of picking process."

The RFID system is also being used in-store. By reading the RFID tag with a handy scanner, the work time for accounting, backyard inspection, and inventory has been greatly shortened, and the staff's customer service time has increased.

(Upper) "Linsort®" that sorts products automatically
(Lower) "Fashion Sort®" that sorts products on hangers at high speed

Mr. Yamauchi explains the importance of their in-house logistics system: "Our company is committed to providing meticulous service to customers, and we are working on our own logistics so that we can respond swiftly and accurately, while continuing to propose a better system". He added, "In the shipping plan of logistics, we work closely with merchandisers to make a distribution plan. That is also a strength unique to our own logistics."

In the past, it was mainstream to put as many products as possible in the backyard of the store. However, the problem was that store stock increased and products could not be supplied to other stores. By centrally managing inventory through logistics, you can distribute seasonal products to stores in real time. The BEAMS WARE STATION functions like a backyard in a store, allowing stores to get on with what they do best.

They also provide route delivery to stores in Tokyo. An orange 2-ton branded truck delivers products to about 50 stores in and around Tokyo. It covers parts of Machida, Tachikawa, Yokohama, Omiya, and Kashiwa.

An orange 2-ton truck with the BEAMS logo delivers to about 50 stores in and around Tokyo.

BEAMS also put great effort into its e-commerce business in order to enhance brand value and competitiveness, and in 2016 they integrated the corporate and e-commerce site to open the "official BEAMS site". At the same time, they integrated the inventory across real and e-commerce stores, by taking in-house the distribution for e-commerce which had previously been outsourced. BEAMS WARE STATION centrally manages inventory for both online and offline stores. It was made possible by improving the inventory accuracy by utilizing RFID. "We have recently introduced a material handling machine and an automatic packing machine, and we deliver about 2,000 items per day. In the e-commerce business, logistics directly comes into contact with customers, so we designed the packaging as an original product, and in addition we are making efforts such as automatic packing according to the size."

As a company that offers fashion and lifestyle products, they show their craftsmanship with the corporate colors orange and blue being used even for logistics materials such as racks and folding containers for stocking and transportation. "The conveyors that convey products also have red and blue colors for the inlets and outlets which represents arteries and veins. There are many places in the hall that uses the corporate color. When we are making something, we are always aware of the corporate color," Mr. Yamauchi said with a smile.

There is another reason for customizing materials. "There are about 300 people working in the facility, including people with disabilities, and the number of temporary staff is increasing recently. Therefore, a work environment that is easy for everyone is required. The selection of materials and design is important for the staff" says Mr. Yamauchi. It is important to be able to judge intuitively. "We ask JPR for materials such as folding containers, dolly carts, pallets, and Z racks (hanger racks). There are about 7 types of folding containers alone, with customized colors and letters so that they can be used for various purposes. We change the color and design when making a new material. The dolly truck we purchased previously has a black corner color and by changing the color, it is easier for everyone to move smoothly." If you don't understand something at a glance, you will have to create a complicated environment such as posting instructional papers to the wall. By changing the color of materials, it is possible to improve work efficiency on site.

Finally, we asked Mr. Yamauchi about his future aspirations. "In order to increase the amount of storage and shipments, we will further utilize RFID and mechanize the series of work including expansion of material handling as much as possible to promote an efficient and error-free logistics environment. We would like to ask for your cooperation in manufacturing BEAMS-like materials."

BEAMS enhances customer satisfaction and brand competitiveness while achieving swift and accurate logistics through RFID utilization, in-house logistics, and Tokyo route delivery. Being ahead of the times, the spirit of BEAMS, which continues to disseminate new lifestyles and culture, is still alive in the physical distribution field and we are sure it will continue to evolve.

"Folding container" with a window that allows workers to check products when its being stacked. It also features a logo.

*RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) is an epoch-making information technology that uses the Internet to enable people and things to be identified and managed with a small wireless chip. IC cards such as Suica and Edy (contactless payment cards) are examples of high-profile RFID applications.