News CloudDSI Global technology solutions

Our mission is to make our customers successful as it relates to all things inventory in the digital economy.

Northern Powergrid Awards Contract to DSI to Increase Supply Chain Accuracy

Berkshire, United Kingdom; Kansas City, Mo. – DSI announced today that Northern Powergrid, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, has selected DSI’s Digital Supply Chain Platform (DSCP)™ to increase inventory visibility and accuracy.

Northern Powergrid manages the power network that delivers electricity to 3.9 million homes and businesses across North East England, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire. The electricity distributor awarded DSI the contract to provide a mobile-first supply chain solution that can track inventory in real time, both in the warehouse and out in the field, following a comprehensive tender process.

DSCP was selected as it can provide a single solution for mobile inventory management that performs disconnected (offline). Additionally, DSI can serve as a trusted source for the mobile devices on which to use the app.

Northern Powergrid’s Logistics Manager, Colin Atkinson, said: “We want to ensure that we have the right materials, in the right place at the right time so we can operate as effectively and efficiently as possible and provide a better service for our customers. Having a mobile automation solution will improve our ability to keep track of materials and provide our people with the information they need at their fingertips.”

Last year, servicing the supply chain entailed processing tens of thousands of material requests. Keeping track of these requests and providing assurance to business users has become increasingly challenging and more important as Northern Powergrid becomes subject to more stringent regulatory targets. The company will implement the DSCP not only to track requests across the supply chain, but also to meet current and future regulatory requirements.

“DSI has a proven track record of serving customers in highly regulated industries such as utilities,” said Mark Goode, Chief Revenue Officer, DSI. “We are committed to providing the flexibility and traceability across the supply chain to meet or exceed regulatory requirements now and as new regulations are added.”

This project will deliver Northern Powergrid’s required improvements through the introduction of a mobile-first app that will capture each stage of a material request as it passes through the supply chain. At this stage Northern Powergrid’s requirements focus predominantly on a barcode driven solution. However, the company’s vision is of a system fronted by a web-based solution that allows logistics supervisory staff to monitor the overall progress of an entire pick run or to pinpoint the location of an individual request.

It will provide a range of management information including picker productivity, pick accuracy and delivery time and location stamps. The system will also allow Northern Powergrid to track the progress of its unique requests from receipt, confirmation that materials have been reserved, picked and then through the various stages of the delivery process.

The project is underway with the new mobile-first app expected to go live in Northern Powergrid in spring 2017.

About DSI

DSI is the Digital Supply Chain Platform™ company that provides mobile-first and cloud supply chain solutions for the digital economy. Visit www.dsiglobal.com to learn more.

About Northern Powergrid
Northern Powergrid is the electricity distribution business for North East England, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire. The company, which is part of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, is responsible for the power network that delivers electricity safely and reliably to 8 million customers and 3.9 million homes and businesses. Northern Powergrid’s network consists of more than 63,000 substations and 95,000 kilometres of overhead power lines and underground cables, covering an area of more than 25,000 square kilometres.