Quiksilver is an Australian surf brand known for its boardshorts, bikinis, and snowboarding gear. To accommodate rapid growth, Quiksilver opened a new National Distribution Centre in Geelong. The previous paper-based systems could not handle the increased volume. Dexion implemented its Real-time Distribution System using RF scanning to consolidate orders, increase picking accuracy to over 99%, and double pick rates. The new system allowed Quiksilver to efficiently adapt to changing market conditions while maintaining its surf culture.

1. Quiksilver.
The mountain, the wave and the warehouse.

3. “The first thing I did was spend
a lot of time on the floor.
Walk in the company’s shoes
for a mile or two.”
“You take the drop, put your board on an in Geelong’s dockside North Shore.
edge, you lean over, carve your first turn
With an eventual capacity of 22,000 square
and look down the line. You’re alive…
metres across three levels, this new facility
nothing else matters. We are the mountain
was to act as the regional hub for the
and the wave.”
South-Pacific and set the company up for
It’s not your average corporate mission the next and necessary stage of growth.
statement. But then, Quiksilver is not your When Dexion was initially approached in
average corporation. Since its foundation August 2005 by Brett Delaney, the then
in a 1960s Torquay garage, ‘Quiky’ has national logistics manager, the facility was
written its own chapter in Australia’s moving about 20,000 units a day. The goal
national story. was to increase this to 225,000 units a day.
The company’s boardshorts and bikinis But there were serious growing pains, as
fast became as much a part of summer as Jared West, Quiksilver’s current national
sunburn, backyard cricket and visits to the logistics manager explains: “The systems
beach. In the mountains, gnarly dudes got in place couldn’t cope with the substantial
“Big Air” on Quiky snowboards while closer growth of the business. When we moved
to sea level, the sponsored Tony Hawk to Geelong, everything was paper based.
rewrote the rules of skateboarding and There were few links between internal
sports superstardom. warehouse divisions, which lead to
problems with nearly one in eight deliveries.
But by the mid 2000s, Quiksilver had
On top of that, moving to Geelong was a
become something of a captive to its own
bit of a shock for many people internally.”
success and was growing at a rapid rate.
This forced the move of some operations At Torquay, if the surf was up, it was tools
away from its spiritual Surf Coast home, down and into the water. While we had to
opening a new National Distribution Centre grow and take advantage of opportunities,
Dexion Case Study – Quiksilver

4. “After commencing an order,
RDS ensures that each shipper is
conveyed to all required picking zones.”
we also had to make sure we didn’t lose Due to the paperbased systems, where
the culture that made us Quiky. Brett and orders were phoned in and printed on
the rest of the management team worked separate pieces of paper, there wasn’t a lot
very hard to ensure our culture was not of integration. “Sometimes there would be
eroded due to the move away from two or three separate deliveries to a single
Torquay,” states Jared. destination within a day or two of each
So what was the approach? “The first thing other. It was not only inefficient for Quiksilver,
I did,’ says Dexion’s Simon Ingram, ‘was but fiddly and frustrating for the retailers.”
spend a lot of time on the floor. Walk in the
The installation of Dexion’s Real-time
company’s shoes for a mile or two.
Distribution System (RDS), including RF
“It was important that we immersed handheld scanner guns, enabled a fluid
ourselves in the Quiksilver culture. For any transition to paperless operation and
solution to be effective, it had to fit in with allowed data to be captured at the point of
where the company had been and where action. “By acting as a link between our
it was heading. We worked very closely
people, the orders and Movex, RDS really
with the DC staff at all levels. The staff
unleashed the shackles as far as productivity
were great, happy to show you the current
and accuracy goes,” says Peter Small,
processes and learn the potential new
Quiksilver’s on-site IT manager.
technologies as they went.”
Challenge number one was to consolidate “After commencing an order, RDS ensures
orders. “Quiky has three main product that each shipper is conveyed to all required
range seasons per brand annually,” picking zones,” says Peter. “If something is
explains Ingram. “There were also different missed, say because a lane is full, the order
product divisions: shoes, wetsuits, is simply re-circulated until all zones have
snowboarding gear. been visited before exiting to sortation.”
Dexion Case Study – Quiksilver

5. “Pick rates almost doubled and order
accuracy sits somewhere north of 99.6%.”
Dexion prescribed a 3-tier Carton Live lists that are attached externally, allowing
Storage System for the facility, which, in Quiksilver to track the precise location of
addition to the overall racking profile, has every order in transit and retailers to know
the capacity for a potential 5 million units. exactly which stock is in which box.
Ingram explains. “Some, like the Kelly Something that can be immediately critical
Slater range of boardshorts, leave as fast if there’s a fresh powder dump or a
as they arrive. Others, like full-length promising swell on the way.
steamers, take a little longer.
The second stage of the Geelong DC went
“To make the best use of the people on fully live in May 2009, when the global
the floor, we had to gauge which were financial crisis was giving retail markets
going to be the movers, and ensure access merry hell. But the new system proved
was easy and replenishment systems itself capable of meeting these challenges,
could keep up.” Dexion’s solution, coupled as West explains. “Given the increased
with the Lawson Movex system allowed the beach: tank tops, skate sneakers and allowing those people to add more value
operational efficiencies generated by the
transactions to be updated in real-time, boardies abound. Battered old Malibus, to the place.
Dexion systems, we were able to adjust
producing some stunning results. waxed twin-fins and giant posters of
our throughput settings and adapt to this “The solution that Dexion’s team has
new environment really quite quickly. In surfing heroes cover the walls. In the staff designed intuitively understands the human
“Pick rates almost doubled and order
fact, our express order turnaround now car park, boards sit on roof racks patiently spirit of Quiksilver, and the seamless way
accuracy sits somewhere north of 99.6%,”
operates within a 24 hour fulfilment awaiting the end of the shift. the two act together has allowed us to
notes West. “And all this while achieving
substantial reductions in overall operating period,” West says. By improving pick It’s clear that Quiksilver’s people walk the achieve some really great results.”
costs.” Retail customers are delighted not accuracy to something near 100%, the walk. They have a great team and it shows As our interview ends and the sun outside
only with the near-perfect accuracy of their company has also been able to turn its when you’re on site. “People who come to starts to cast long shadows across the
order fulfilment, but also a revamped attention to its other great asset - its people. work here tend to stick around. Getting neighbouring docks, West checks his
approach to packing information.
As you walk through the distribution the systems right has freed us up to invest watch. “Off for a surf?” I ask him. “No,” he
Dexion’s RDS generates bar-coded pack centre, most of the folk look dressed for in training and multi-skilling, thereby grins sheepishly. “Golf.”
Dexion Case Study – Quiksilver