Food Logistics serves the entire food supply chain industry with targeted content for manufacturers, retailers, and distributors.
Issue link: https://foodlogistics.epubxp.com/i/467905
20 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 • FOOD LOGISTICS www.foodlogistics.com Mich. warehouse. "In an automated world, building a pallet is less demanding physically for the employees since they place products on a belt that is at the same height with every pick, eliminating the bending and reaching that a manual build requires. The automated system also uses an automated stretchwrap- per that better secures the load to each pallet compared to an employee manually wrapping a pallet, ensuring our product is delivered securely to our customers." Identifying the most sensible solution isn't the only challenge facing decision makers, Vercillo adds. For companies to deploy new technologies successfully, they need to have a technology implementation plan. Vercillo says half of warehouse technology implementations fail, usually due to poor planning. Companies should consider what equip- ment they are already using to run their ware- houses. "The front end and back end systems must talk to each other," Vercillo says. E-Commerce raises interest The growth of e-commerce has raised inter- est in the ability to fulfill smaller orders and deliver in shorter time periods. And while e-commerce has grabbed a lot of attention recently, it is not the only reason the supply chain has recognized the need to handle more smaller orders faster. Retailers are moving to smaller size stores, reversing the "mega store" trend of the previous two decades, fueling more smaller orders. "'Dark stores' are pop- ping up," observes Dave Simpson, executive sales manager at SSI Schaefer, the Germany- based logistics provider, referring to the con- version of certain stores to serve as sortation centers to buffer and sequence orders for delivery to retail destinations. "You almost have to treat it (the 'dark' store) like an e-commerce environment," says Brian Sherman, vice president of sales and engineering at Arlington Heights, Ill.-based Witron Integrated Logistics Corp. While supply chain managers have to consider the return on investment of the automated sys- tems, Sherman says full-scale automation for case picking can make sense for a company handling 10,000 to 20,000 SKUs. Contributing to the demand for more smaller orders has been SKU proliferation, a trend that has grabbed the f&b; sector as much as any consumer goods industry. "Ebbs and flows have always been an issue, but the lows and highs are getting more extreme," says Dan Sanker, president of • Robots build pallets at the Coca Cola Co. warehouse in Grand Rapids, Mich. Coca Cola Co. • Opex Corp.'s robotic picking and replenishment has reduced labor required for e-commerce retailers. Opex Corp