strategicinsight SUSTAINABLE LOGISTICS
fill a large number of orders with minimal steps. When an
order is complete, the picker delivers it to one of nine order
processing stations, which are located at the end of each lane.
There, each item is scanned, and ceiling-mounted cameras
record the items in the shipping carton. After the serial numbers have been confirmed (or “committed”), the package is
sealed, weighed for quality control and shipping fees, labeled,
and placed on an adjacent conveyor. The packages are conveyed through a scan tunnel, which reads the shipping bar
code on the top of the carton.
The associated sortation system
automatically diverts each carton to
the appropriate parcel consolidation
container in the shipping area.
OWC can program the system for
each day’s mix of orders and carriers, and the sorter will push the cartons and envelopes to the correct
loading stations. “We used to do all
that manually,” O’Connor says.
“That was an area where we saw a huge labor savings while
eliminating parcel-to-carrier sortation errors altogether.”
OWC has deployed some other technologies in its order
processing and shipping processes, such as multicarrier
shipping software integrated with its enterprise resource
planning system. So why not go with a fully automated sys-
tem? “OWC’s application of technology is a highly targeted
process, rather than a blanket approach,” O’Connor says.
“We have found that our paper-based system—combined
with effective pick-routine strategies and a targeted, com-
pact facility layout—provides the efficiencies required to
meet our current and future order picking needs.”
went live in November 2011, reflects OWC’s green approach
to operations. Because the system reduces errors, it saves
electricity and fuel that would have been consumed by re-
shipments or supplemental shipments, O’Connor notes.
The conveyor system, moreover, uses 40 percent less elec-
tricity than its predecessor. It saves energy by running only
when optical sensors detect packages. “Before, we ran a
zero-pressure accumulator for 16 hours a day. It was always
on, drawing juice,” O’Connor recalls. “The new system
wakes up when we need it and goes
to sleep when we don’t.”
Dematic’s engineers were able to
narrow the width of the conveyor
and reduce its length by half com-
pared with the previous configura-
tion. Yet order fulfillment capacity
has doubled, according to
O’Connor. “We are approaching half
a million orders, which would have
been the maximum capacity of our
old system. This system is capable of sorting over 1 million
orders in the same footprint.”
The new system is modular and easy to reconfigure or
scale up or down. OWC is pleased that its Platinum LEED
facility can now handle whatever comes its way. “In con-
sumer electronics, we have to be extremely flexible because
of the nature of the business,” O’Connor says. “When a new
device comes out, the whole game changes. If we cannot
react overnight, then we can lose our advantage. We need
very high levels of rapid flexibility, with very little invest-
ment required to make changes.” ;
SAME SPACE, TWICE THE THROUGHPUT
The new picking lane, conveyor, and sortation setup, which
Editor’s note: For a peek inside OWC’s main warehouse, go
to http://eshop.macsales.com/green/index.html and take the
“virtual tour.”
OWC’s DC goes Platinum
Other World Computing’s corporate campus in
Woodstock, Ill., has earned the coveted Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification. The building includes offices, a 24/7 call center, an
Internet operations data center, a light manufacturing
and assembly area, and a distribution center. Here are just
a few of the many environmentally friendly features that
have helped OWC earn the Platinum designation:
▪ An on-site wind turbine produces more than enough
electricity to power the entire operation. The turbine
feeds power to the local electric company, which distrib-
utes it back to OWC and shares the excess with other cus-
tomers. A tiered system of electricity from the grid, wind,
generator, and battery backup systems ensures a reliable
supply of energy.
