A retailer serving customers with value-oriented apparel, footwear, accessories and home merchandise needed to support growing store-replenishment demand while managing labor availability and increasing merchandise volumes. The application required efficiently processing break-pack merchandise and allocating it across individual store orders. The 400,000-square-foot brownfield Jacksonville, Texas facility was designed around technology capable of picking, sorting and packing 55+ million units annually.
The Challenge
Active Facility: The new solution had to be installed in an active brownfield warehouse without disrupting live orders.
Labor Cost & Shortages: Difficulties finding and retaining enough qualified labor to consolidate orders and replenish stores.
Increasing Merchandise Volume: The solution needed to fulfill current store order capacity needs and scale for future growth.
Increased Customer Expectations: The new solution needed to accommodate heightened customer demand for apparel, footwear, accessories, and home items with higher facility throughput.
The Solution
Berkshire Grey Stride™ Robotic Unit Sorter: Automates the consolidation process. Merchandise is presented to operators in supply containers, inducted into the system and automatically sorted into the appropriate store containers.
Intelligent Routing: Completed containers are then automatically released to takeaway conveyor for downstream processing.
The Result
Improved Labor Utilization: The system increased labor efficiency by 4X. One operator can pick, sort, and pack 1000’s items per hour with virtually no training.
Faster Store Replenishment: Within months, replenishment of its 575+ stores increased with 33%+ early productivity improvement
10% Increase Per Container Fill: More units per carton, contributing to increased throughput and reduced transportation requirements
