Modern Materials Handling - November 2012

tomers phoned or faxed orders in, we would get 45% of ourvolume for the day before lunch,” Jones says.MSC’s old pick-and-pass order fulfillment system workedfine in that environment. After a call center representativetook an order, it would drop to the WMS. Once a paper pickticket was printed, the fulfillment process would begin whena merchandise selector, as order selectors are called, wouldget a tote in a 25-foot-high, narrow-aisle bin storage areareserved for slow moving items. Working on a man-up lifttruck, the selector would pick any items stored in this area.Since the average order is three to five line items, the totewas then passed to an induction area for a tri-level pickingmezzanine.The inductors would then route the tote to the firstpicking zone in the mezzanine where an item was stored.Following a pick, the tote was passed serially to subsequentzones until all the items were picked. After the last pick, thetote was conveyed to the packing area. In all, the processtook about three hours.“The pick-and-pass method served us well for years,”Jones says. However, as more people began to order electronically,several factors put a strain on operations.First, MSC’s business was growing rapidly. Between 2005and 2012, for instance, the business more than doubled,going from $1 billion a year to $2.3 billion a year. Some ofthat growth was organic, but some was also the result ofacquisitions, which led to what Jones describes as “lumpygrowth.” An acquisition resulted in a sudden jump in businessthat had to be absorbed into the system.More importantly, customer order patterns evolved withthe Internet. “Instead of getting 45% of our volume beforelunch, we now get 60% to 70% of our volume between3 p.m. and 6 p.m.,” Jones says. “If you take an order at 4:45p.m. in a region with a 6 p.m. ship time, that three-hourcycle time is a problem.”To cope, Jones says, MSC operated with more brawn thanbrain, adding people to pick zones to keep up with demand.That approach got the orders out the door, but at a cost to productivity.In 2005, Jones realized his processes needed to change.That year, MSC launched a process improvement programwith three goals:• Increase operational capacity: MSC needed to increaseits throughput capacity during peak hours so it could stopthrowing more labor at the problem.• Reduce cycle times: To meet the company’s ship guarantee,it had to reduce cycle times. In turn, that wouldimprove productivity and protect MSC’s service model.• Maintain quality: Since MSC primarily serves manufacturerswho rely on the distributor to keep their lines running,orders not only have to be timely, they have to be accurate.Jones insisted that changes be made with no negative impacton quality or customers.“We have no tolerance for errors,” Jones says.RIDG-U-RAKDelivered!“...we wereunder pressureto have all of our32,000 pallet positions ofrack operational. RIDG-U-RAKreally delivered... on-time and on-budget,and the way the rack system fittogether was very impressive...”Visit ridgurak.com orCall Toll Free: 1-866-479-7225See us at ProMat Booth 612Kirk HillGeneral Manager,Roberts TruckingProject: Roberts Trucking• 1.8 million Pounds of Pallet Rack• 32,000 Pallet Positions• Double Deep Selective• Slotted System• On-Time/On-Budget• Superior Quality... Fit and FinishRead more at ridgurak.com/RobertsThe most TRUSTED name in Rack!Selective Pallet Rack • Drive-In • Push-BackFlow • Pick Modules • Cantilever • Stacker CranesRoll-Out Shelving • Seismic Base Isolationmmh.com