DC Velocity - October 2009

equipment&applications CONVEYORS
Full speed ahead
Snaking through the DC from
receiving to shipping, the conveyor
system plays a crucial role in getting product in and out of
the facility quickly. For that reason, it was important to
choose a conveyor that would be able to meet the DC’s high
throughput needs without a hitch.
To reduce the risk of shutdowns, the company selected a
modular belt conveyor featuring intelligent controls that
help maintain uniform spacing between items. Uniform
spacing reduces the risk of package jams, a common cause
of downtime.
The conveyors used at Fort Payne correct “gapping” prob-
lems automatically, says Whiteford. When a package enters
one of the conveyor’s modular sections, a photo eye senses
the gap between it and the package in front of it, he
explains. If the package is too far behind, it speeds up that
section of the conveyor to correct the spacing. When the
packages are too close together, the conveyor section slows
down.

light technology, which is used at one
of the older DCs, because it was
deemed more efficient for an opera-
tion serving a large number of stores.
The conveyor automatically shuts
itself off if it’s not needed, which has
the potential to reduce energy con-
sumption by as much as 30 percent.

“The Children’s Place is always concerned about environmental conditions,” says Whiteford, “and when you are running that much conveyor, there is a pretty big electric bill.”

It appears these efforts have paid off. Compared to the retailer’s other DCs, receiving capacity and throughput at the Fort Payne facility are almost 50 percent higher. “We have been processing, on the outbound [side], over 2. 5 million units shipped per week,” reports Frank Loewen, senior director of logistics. “This is being done on one shift. Before we opened up the Alabama DC, our average transit time was over three days. When we opened Alabama, this was reduced to less than two days, which represents about a 40-percent reduction in delivery transit time to our stores.”

As for what’s next, it seems operations at the Alabama DC won’t be slowing down anytime soon. The retailer is currently expanding its operations at the Fort Payne DC and is looking at automated solutions to keep up with the growth in its online business.

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