Industry & Manufacturing

Bona: Building Operational Excellence with Solochain WMS

Bona’s Monroe, North Carolina facility serves as the company’s North American distribution center, generating more than half of global revenue. The site supports retail giants like Walmart, Target, and Amazon, as well as professional customers including flooring distributors and subcontractors. In 2022, Bona made the strategic decision to bring distribution in-house, transitioning from a 3PL model to a fully owned and operated facility.

Use Case

The company

Bona is a global, family-owned company that supplies products for installing, renovating, maintaining and restoring premium floors. Founded in 1919, Bona pioneered the industry by offering waterborne hardwood floor finishing and floor care products. Today, Bona prioritizes the environmental impact of its product and innovates high quality systems for most premium floor surfaces including wood, tile, vinyl, resilient, rubber and laminate. The head office is in Malmö, Sweden, and the company is represented globally across 90 countries through 17 subsidiaries, 70 distributors, 4 production sites and over 700 employees.

Generix is my most trusted vendor right now. The partnership we’ve built is based on mutual investment in each other’s success. Their team didn’t just implement a system, they helped us build a better business.

— Fran Gaines, Warehouse Systems Manager, Bona

The challenges

Implement a robust WMS to support a newly built greenfield site

Ensure rapid deployment to meet aggressive go-live timelines

Integrate seamlessly with SAP ERP and support complex customer requirements

Improve inventory visibility, compliance, and operational efficiency

The Generix solution

Selection

After evaluating several Tier 1 WMS providers, Bona selected SOLOCHAIN WMS from Generix Group. The decision was driven by SOLOCHAIN’s comprehensive feature set, flexibility, and the expertise demonstrated by the Generix implementation team. Discovery sessions began in September 2022, and the first inbound receiving went live by December 2022, followed by outbound operations in January 2023.

Deployment

The implementation was fast-tracked to meet Bona’s urgent timeline. Key highlights include:
– On-site discovery and configuration support from Generix experts
– Seamless integration with SAP, including EDI and labeling requirements
– Custom training sessions in Montreal, enabling Bona to manage label compliance (e.g., bilingual shipping labels for Canada)
– Collaborative problem-solving during a challenging startup phase, with Generix analysts providing hands-on support on the warehouse floor

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The results

Since implementing the SOLOCHAIN WMS, Bona transformed its warehouse operations:

– Error reduction through automation of previously manual processes (e.g., freeze protect handling)
– Improved inventory control with batch tracking for perishable goods like adhesives
– Optimized warehouse space via mixed-batch pallet functionality
– Reduced manual labor and increased productivity in handling high-volume SKUs
– Compliance with Canadian bilingual labeling regulations, managed entirely in-house

Solochain Warehouse Management System (WMS)

The future

Bona continues to evolve its operations with SOLOCHAIN at the core of its distribution strategy. The Monroe site now operates with greater agility, visibility, and control, setting the stage for future growth across North America. The partnership with Generix remains a cornerstone of Bona’s commitment to operational excellence.