To meet current and anticipated growth in sales, stores, unit volumes and other key metrics, a leading shoe and accessory retailer needed to update and expand its store fulfillment distribution center’s (DC) capabilities.
The subsequent, multi-phase revamp of the facility included replacing outdated controls with Pyramid Director Warehouse Execution System (WES), resulting in a significant increase in inventory visibility, as well as the implementation of better control for faster store responsiveness.
In the first phase of the retrofit, Pyramid updated and/or replaced existing, obsolete and patchwork material handling equipment, controls and infrastructure. Director WES was installed, replacing multiple, non-integrated supervisory systems and interfacing with an existing, legacy warehouse management system (WMS).
The second phase saw the retirement of the legacy WMS, which was replaced with a new one from Manhattan Associates. Plus the application of the Warehouse Execution Software to support all picking and packing, and integration of the WMS with all new and existing equipment.
Today, the system features a fully automated receiving process, with check-in, print, and application of internal control labels, and sortation for crossdocking, reserve storage, or exception areas.
In the picking areas, operators use handheld terminals to perform full case picks by wave as directed by a put-to-light system. Less-than-full case picks occur in a separate area, with Director WES managing inventory control and directing operators by marquees to transfer inventory to a packing sorter.
High-speed pop-up sortation routes cases to a case break sorter, shipping, or remediation for exception handling. At the packing sorter, induction workstations manage de-casing, with individual articles inducted by wave onto a cross-belt sorter. Any errors are handled in a separate remediation operation, supervised by Director WES.
Finally, in shipping, all packed cartons route to a shipping print/apply labeler, merge with pre-allocated and crossdocked cases from receiving, and travel to a high-speed slat/shoe sorter for distribution to multiple docks.
Want to learn more? Read the full application brief here.
