an integrated system to track items within the four walls of
its DC. The second, Perfect Pallets, is using track and trace
technology to keep tabs on assets scattered throughout the
United States and Canada.
A WHOLESALE BOOST TO VISIBILITY
For Cooper-Booth, a regional supplier to convenience
stores, tobacco outlets, drug stores, and grocers, the move to
a sophisticated track/trace system began with its 2009 decision to replace its RF scanning system with voice technology. The wholesaler’s original objective in shifting to voice
was to kick up picking productivity and accuracy at its
100,000-square-foot DC in Mountville, Pa. Over time, however, the company expanded the system to applications like
receiving and putaway, and eventually, inventory tracking.
As a result, it now has an end-to-end visibility system that
provides info on orders and inventory status, as well as data
needed for tasks ranging from labor monitoring to regulatory compliance.
The system, which incorporates scanning technology, a
TopVOX voice recognition system, and the company’s
warehouse management system (WMS), keeps close tabs
on inventory from the moment it arrives at the facility. As
workers deposit incoming merchandise into picking slots,
they scan the locations with Motorola handhelds to marry
the slot with the product. When customer orders come in,
the WMS allocates products to specific orders and relays
picking instructions to workers via the voice system. As
workers complete the picks, they read check digits back to
the WMS system to verify that items were picked from the
correct slots and to confirm the pick.
Data collected during the picking process is automatically transmitted to the WMS, ensuring that its information is
updated in real time. Along with the order and inventory
status updates, data collected during picking provides visibility into worker performance, which helps the company
to better manage its labor.
“We know our productivity, and we know where our
errors are coming from,” explains Trevor Martin, Cooper-Booth’s vice president of operations. He reports that compared with the old RF system, the voice system has not only
improved accuracy but also boosted productivity anywhere
from 10 to 20 percent, depending on the pick area.
The company has seen other benefits as well. For example, the system provides data needed to track product lots—
a capability required by many states in the event of a food
or drug recall. It also collects information needed to meet
tax record-keeping requirements for tobacco products.
“For tracking purposes, we match the TopVOX data that
comes back from picking to the lot that was scanned as it
was placed into the pick slot,” Martin explains.
On top of that, the system enables Cooper-Booth to provide customers with visibility into their orders. Clients no
longer have to call or e-mail the company to find out
whether an order has been completed or what items a specific order contains. These days, obtaining that information
is as simple as logging onto a website.
PERFECT TRACKING
Cooper-Booth’s use of a tracking system to monitor goods
within a DC is just one illustration of how visibility systems
are deployed. In other instances, companies use the technology to track the movement of goods out in the wider
world. Perfect Pallets is one example.
Based in Indianapolis, Perfect Pallets serves as a pallet
