2. DSI Builds Shipshape DC for
Leading Department Store Chain
Third-party logistics provider turns W&H Systems and Intelligrated
to W&H Systems and Intelligrated to Provide an Automated Solution
boost material handling speed and
efficiency for one of the nation’s largest
department stores W&H Systems President Don Betman and his team
gathered data, put together a five-year plan and
began design, but they had a few obstacles to
Please note: Intelligrated acquired the North and South
overcome along the way. The manual equipment had
American operations of FKI Logistex® in June 2009.
to be moved out, and the DC had to be relocated to a
different building to accommodate the new machinery.
In the summer of 2005, Jeffery Wolpov saw an
In addition, the team needed to obtain the proper
opportunity. His third-party logistics (3PL) company,
permits from the City of Newark.
Distribution Solutions, Inc. (DSI; acquired by Port
Logistics Group in 2008), was approached by a leading
With the pressure of receiving high volumes of
U.S. department store chain to help with container
merchandise, the store chain wanted assurance that
processing at its Newark, N.J. import facility.
the new automated distribution center was going to
work, and fast. Working with supplier Intelligrated®
Previously, a major logistics company handled the
(formerly FKI Logistex®), the W&H team provided peace
3PL tasks for the chain’s containers of merchandise as
of mind for the store chain and for DSI. The entire
they crossed the Atlantic Ocean and were unloaded
maneuver could have easily required up to 12 months
for distribution to stores around the country. But the
of planning, design and installation, but W&H and
largely manual picking, fulfillment and shipping system
Intelligrated completed it in just over five months.
made the process an inefficient and costly endeavor
for all parties involved.
“We got it done so quickly, I don’t think the
department store chain had even decided which
Wolpov and the DSI team took over operation of
products were being shipped to the East and West
the facility for the short term and started making
coasts when the first cartons went through the
improvements. Wolpov knew that to handle the high
system,” Betman said. The fast-paced project came
volumes required by the store chain, they needed to
in under budget, ahead of schedule, and exceeded
automate. DSI turned to material handling integrator
expectations.
W&H Systems, Inc. to overhaul the antiquated
distribution center and install a high-speed sortation
system.
“As a 3PL, we needed a sufficient amount of volume
or a large contract to justify the investment in
automation,” explained Wolpov. With the promise of
large volumes from the department store chain, DSI
was well-positioned to build a modern DC that could
handle the new business and take on other contracts
in the future.
www.intelligrated.com 2
3. “The team comprised of DSI, W&H and Intelligrated As DSI contracts more business, it will be able to add
staff worked harmoniously to get this done in up to six more receiving doors and 23 more shipping
time,” added Betman. “The most important thing doors to increase capacity. The W&H sorter is also
Intelligrated did was secure us production time at a designed to handle the store chain’s products on one
very busy time of the year for both Intelligrated and side of the sorter and other products on the other side
W&H. They stepped it up, and went over and above to accommodate future growth.
what was required.”
Following the rapid implementation, the lasting
result has been a system that continues to improve
distribution operations. “The reliability of the system
has really exceeded our expectations,” Wolpov said.
“The combination of proper planning, engineering,
construction and maintenance has created an
extremely reliable solution with less than one percent
downtime.”
High-Speed Sortation Systems Provide
Flexibility for Future Growth
At DSI’s new facility, a cross-docking system is used
for cartons direct from containers and Garments On An Intelligrated high-speed sliding shoe sorter routes
merchandise destined for store distribution centers.
Hangers (GOH) packed flat into cartons — as well as
other value-added services merchandise — and ready
to ship directly to stores. The system also includes wave The Cross-Dock Process
planning with both full-carton and break-pack picking
for the replenishment process, where merchandise can
Full cartons that are packed and ready to be shipped
be warehoused and sent to stores when needed.
to department stores are received at the distribution
center and off-loaded directly from an import
DSI’s new system incorporates the unique RSU™ tilted
container onto a powered extendible conveyor. The
tray sorter from W&H Systems, as well as Intelligrated’s
conveyor can be extended into the import container to
high-speed sliding shoe sorter, which sorts
facilitate the unloading of cartons. There are six cross-
merchandise for direct loading of outbound trucks
dock inbound receiving lines. Each carton passes under
destined for specific store distribution centers.
a scanner and is identified by the purchase order and
SKU bar codes. The data from these bar codes are used
“One of the benefits of our high-speed sliding shoe
to print and apply a new shipping label, which the DSI
sorters is that they can seamlessly integrate with other
system will utilize for sortation processing. The cartons
high-speed material handling equipment,” said Steve
are then transported to the outbound system and
Maisch, Intelligrated integrator sales account manager.
sorted directly to their proper destinations.
“Their compatibility with W&H Systems’ products
meant that we were able to get this project up and
running in short order, and get merchandise moving
from the shipping containers to the store shelves
rapidly and efficiently.”
www.intelligrated.com 3
4. sort location ID bar code. Wave requirements are
downloaded from the host to the sorter control system
and the sort operation is now ready to begin.
The RSU™ sorter, developed by W&H Systems, consists
of tilted carrying trays that travel on an enclosed track
conveyor. The DSI system is configured as a 965-tray,
single-level system. The sorter operates at a speed
of 120 feet per minute, which presents approximately
60 trays per minute to each of the two induction
areas. There are three manual inductions at each end
of the sorter. The trays are presented to the product
Cartons containing merchandise that does not match
inductors at a five-degree angle for easy placement of
the department store chain’s content requirements
items onto the sorter trays. The maximum capacity of
must be repacked. These cartons are then directed
this sorter with full tray utilization is 7,200 pieces per
to a special area where each carton is opened and
hour.
repacked to the department store’s requirements. The
repacked cartons are placed on a takeaway conveyor
Items are loaded with the bar code facing up, or
and transported to the outbound system.
forward into trays, and are scanned by an overhead
camera. The data contained in the product’s bar
Garments on Hangers (GOH) are off-loaded at
code is transmitted to the sorter control system and
two receiving doors and staged on trolleys for
identified. It is then matched to the wave information
packing into cartons. These garments are packed in
previously downloaded, and assigned a specific sort
cartons according to the department store chain’s
location.
specifications (style, color, size and quantity). Shipping
labels are applied to full cartons and they are pushed
As the carrying trays reach their proper discharge point,
onto a takeaway conveyor, where they pass through a
the divert mechanism is fired by the W&H control
semi-automatic sealing machine and are transported
system that releases the bottom edges of the RSU™
to the outbound system.
carrying trays. Gravity is utilized to allow the products
to gently slide from the tilted trays into a chute where
Replenishment Process they accumulate.
Each side of the RSU™ sorter has a total of 142 sort
Individual Unit Picking Merchandise that is to be locations: 139 order locations; one for items that have
stored at the distribution center and shipped as non-readable bar codes; one for not-identified items
individual units is received, unloaded and palletized that the bar code can read but for which there is no
according to SKU. Orders are generated for this requirement; and one jackpot location.
merchandise by store department and carton. 139
order cartons are grouped and the items batch-picked Operators pick the pieces out of the holding trays
for that group/wave. and pack them into the cartons on pack-out tables.
When the carton is full, or the wave is complete, the
At the beginning of each wave, cartons with store- operator pushes the carton onto a takeaway conveyor
order bar codes attached are placed onto pack-out under the sorter. The cartons are then transported to
tables at the sort locations of the RSU™ sorter. A an accumulation conveyor that feeds a tape-sealing
handheld short-range RF scan gun is used to scan machine. The tape-sealing machine then moves the
each carton bar code and assign it to the RSU™ cartons onto the outbound system.
www.intelligrated.com 4
5. Full-Carton Picking
Delivering the
Full cartons are stored at the distribution center and picked when they are required
Results
for an order. The full cartons are palletized and then brought to a staging area. Here DSI’s new DC has meant better
efficiency through better time
they are labeled and placed onto a take-away conveyor and then transported to the management, reduced labor
and overall costs. Since the
outbound system.
facility went into operation, Port
Logistics Group has achieved the
following results:
Outbound “Cross-Dock” System
• Record production numbers
with zero overtime
Cartons are merged into one line via a high-speed combiner from Intelligrated. The • Cross-dock operations routinely
exceeding operational plans by
combiner directly feeds the shipping sorter. An Intelligrated high-speed sliding shoe 10 percent
sorter diverts cartons into 23 pitched gravity conveyor lines that are designed to
• Up to 380,000 units processed
accumulate cartons for either processing or truck loading. This high-speed sorter in a one-week timeframe with
the RSU™ sorter – twice the one-
gently directs cartons to their proper shipping line at a capacity of up to 6,000
week maximum of the old facility
cartons per hour.
• Increased individual labor
productivity by 50 percent
Of the 23 lines, 20 are utilized for direct loading of outbound trucks destined for
• Consistent pricing and greater
specific store distribution centers, one line transports cartons to a repack area, one line margins
to a lay down area where cartons are held for other distribution centers that are not
• Twelve-month on-time delivery
actively being loaded, and one line to a no-read/jackpot area for bar codes that cannot performance of 99.7 percent
be read. Cartons can exit off the end of the sorter if their destination line is full and
• Less than one percent
recirculated back to sorter induction for another divert attempt. downtime
DSI’s 3PL Distribution
Center in Newark,
N.J. takes advantage
of automation to
streamline receiving,
storage, processing
and shipping
of merchandise
fulfillment.
The carrying trays of the RSU sorter are tilted in preparation for sortation. A roller mounted under
the carrying tray rides on a support rail, and the carrying trays are tilted by simply modifying their
elevation.
www.intelligrated.com 5
