UKMEDI Delivers Medical Supplies Faster and Smarter with Ongoing WMS

Small and Fast Orders with a Flexible WMS

"We sell medical supplies to a mixture of B2B and B2C customers. Our specialty is small, fast orders. Where we fit in is the NHS (National Health Service in England), private hospitals, or dentists. When they run out of something, they want it fast and accurate. That’s our thing," explains Founder and CEO Robbie Gleeson.

When selecting a WMS, flexibility was the key factor. "We picked Ongoing WMS due to its flexibility—being able to do things in the order that we wanted to do them. That really is it, it’s about not being forced to work in a particular way, and that has given us efficiency gains."

A Faster, More Efficient Workflow

With Ongoing WMS, UKMEDI has streamlined its pick, pack, and dispatch processes. Orders are picked using Android handheld devices and dispatched from Windows machines, thanks to Ongoing's device-agnostic scanning interface that runs directly from any web browser. "We usually use the Android devices for goods-in, but it’s nice being able to do it on a desktop as well. Having that option to run the scanning interface in a Windows machine is pretty neat," Robbie shares.

The impact on efficiency has been striking. "The efficiency savings of pick 42% faster, pack 66% faster. And they come from the flexibility—being able to change the allocation algorithms. Previously, we were forced to always pick by the First-In-First-Out (FIFO) principle," he explains. "For packing, it has been about removing the steps we don’t want to take and including the steps that we do want to take. That has made such a difference!"

A WMS That Adapts to Business Needs

One of the key advantages of Ongoing WMS for UKMEDI has been its adaptability. The open API has been particularly valuable, allowing the company to integrate automation and further optimize operations. "The flexibility with the open API has been very useful as well. We are building on this and plan to include automation equipment."

Additionally, UKMEDI has found its collaboration with Ongoing to be highly beneficial. "It has been fantastic! Having access to someone who not only knows what to do but who also does it is amazing. If I have the price for a change and can figure out how much money that can save me, I can make a decision on whether to do it or not. I don’t know of any other WMS that will change something for a cost at all; you are just hoping that they will do it for everybody," Robbie says.

UKMEDI was up and running with Ongoing WMS in record time. "The onboarding was very good. We were live within a month, probably three weeks." Their system integrates smoothly with Shopify, EasyPost, Sendcloud, and Inventory Planner to further streamline daily operations.

A Long-Term WMS Partner

For UKMEDI, Ongoing WMS has provided the flexibility and efficiency needed to maintain its fast-paced business. "It's been all positive. The issues that we have with Ongoing are so small." Robbie elaborates, "For every WMS I have used before, there has always been something that has been really annoying, and with Ongoing, it has just been small changes. It has been a completely different experience. I don’t feel like I want to go anywhere else, which is a big thing for us."

With a warehouse management system that adapts to their needs, UKMEDI can continue to do what they do best—deliver essential medical supplies with both speed and accuracy.