Multinational Manufacturer of Metal Cutting Tools Integrates Horizontal Carousels for Continuous Uptime 24/7
Multinational Manufacturer of Metal Cutting Tools Integrates Horizontal Carousels for Continuous Uptime 24/7
Challenge
Challenge
A manufacturer of metal cutting tools outgrew their 15,000 square foot warehouse space. With over 9,000 SKU’s and orders coming in from 11 regional sales offices it was common to see 900 to 1100 orders a day. The company wanted to optimize their warehouse space while simultaneously boosting productivity and efficiency to keep up with high volume demand.
Solution
Solution
To facilitate continued growth and improve efficiencies the company installed six horizontal carousels that how occupy 4500 square feet and hold three times the inventory. The six bottom drive carousels stand ten feet high, have 38 bins each and are split into two pods of three.
Bottom drive carousels from White are engineered for larger live loads (up to 2500 lbs.) per bin and heavier duty cycles. In addition to the systems durability, easily accessible floor level motors, enhanced wheel and track point of contact, and reduced bin stress due to the bottom drive configuration are further benefits.
Employing a “pick and pass” method, the operator from pod one picks and then passes an incomplete order to the operator in pod two who completes the order and sends it on to shipping. One operator in a single pod will pick up to 400 lines an hour or approximately 40,000 parts a day with an average of 3 lines per order.
Orders are downloaded to the PC and sorted by ship method. A pick ticket is printed and then scanned to set up batches of up to 16. The TXP software optimizes the batches to minimize carousel rotation and lights the Lightree to indicate the position and quantity of the SKU to be picked. Orders are picked into assigned totes as directed by the Sortbar.
Results
Results
The company’s customers expect fast delivery. Due to the high efficiency and dependability of the carousel technology it is typical to ship 99% of incoming orders the same day. “The carousel system allows us to complete shipment of that days orders and use the night shift for replenishment.” states the company’s logistics manager.
He goes on to explain, “We run these carousels 24/7 and have not experienced one day of downtime in six years.” White Systems carousel technology performs flawlessly even under the rigors of 24/7 operation. Without the durability and efficiency of White’s bottom drive carousels Iscar Metals could not maintain such a high customer satisfaction level.