February - Modern Materials Handling

AcuSport’s 100,000-square-footdistribution center in Bellefontaine,Ohio, is designed to guarantee timelyshipping, same-day if required.house an extension of each customer’sbusiness through guaranteed timelyshipping—same day if required—andthrough reliability that ordered productsare available to ship. Maintainingextremely accurate inventory is givenhigh priority, so customers can orderwith total confidence.AcuSport’s unique distributionnetwork, reconfigured followinga 2006 project with consultingand systems integration companyTranSystems|ESYNC, supports twodayshipping regardless of customerlocation with reduced overall logisticscosts.During the implementation ofthis network reconfiguration, Grimand the distribution team recognizedopportunities to improve theirOhio facility. So, in May of 2008,AcuSport turned to the consultingfirm again to assess options to usespace more effectively, reduce thepick zone footprint, and to improveprocess efficiency.Working with the AcuSport distributionstaff, TranSystems|ESYNCuncovered opportunities to reducepick zone size, thus reducing the traveldistances between picks. According toSenior Consultant Jeff Ross, “We sampledmultiple pick tours and found thetime spent traveling between picks tobe longer than expected.”Based on this information, theconsulting team analyzed the impactof reducing the inventory levels inpick locations and optimizing themix of pick location types. Using thisapproach, senior consultant HowardTurner estimates that the pick zoneshould shrink by about 60%. To identifythe optimal pick location for eachitem, the dimensions of the productsneeded to be captured.Accordingly, AcuSport purchaseda dimensional data collection systemcalled Cubiscan (from Quantronix,801-451-7000, www.cubiscan.com)that automates the process of obtainingproduct dimensions using ultrasonictechnology. To keep costs low,this equipment can be rented on anas-needed basis. According to ClarkSkeen, Quantronix president, “Thedimensions and weights are storedand transferred electronically, sothere’s no lost time, no lost data, orTo support AcuSport’s commitment for availabilityof the right products at the right time, inventoryis allocated when the order is placed.expensive and error-prone data entry.”The collection of this essential informationis nearly complete.The project team also found an ITissue that previously restricted theability to replenish inventory fromoverstock to pick locations and makeother material moves. To supportAcuSport’s commitment for availabilityof the right products at the righttime, inventory is allocated when theorder is placed.The issue effecting the ability tomove inventory within the warehousestemmed from the manner in whichinventory was allocated. Previously,the quantity ordered was allocated toa specific location in the warehouse,‘freezing’ its movement. Fortunately,AcuSport’s in-house IT staff wasable to quickly deploy an enhancementenabling not only the strictallocation of inventory for customerorders, but also delaying the commitmentto a specific location untilpicking begins.As a result of this and other lowcost,high-brainpower IT recommendations,including creation of a ‘hotreplenishment’ report and enhancementsto the cycle count discrepancyreport, replenishment and other materialmoves are completed more effectivelywith improved overall warehouseperformance.Armed with the data collectedthrough the Cubiscan, AcuSport’snext step along the path of operationalexcellence is to kick-off the pick zoneoptimization project late this year—significantlyreducing travel distances ofpickers and thereby doing wonders totheir picking productivity.Maida Napolitano is a contributing editorto Modern’s sister magazine LogisticsManagement.mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / FEBRUARY 2009 39