DC Velocity - April 2017

M at er i a l H a nd l i n g ST O RAG E SY S TE M S

π

SHELVING
SOLUTIONS
COMPLETE CATALOG

1-800-295-5510

SAME DAY SHIPPING

A display mounted on the cart tells the associate the location of a needed item and the quantity to select. After selecting the specified number of items, the worker scans them to confirm the right product has been chosen. Lights on the cart indicate which tote should receive the items. The carts are designed so that each tote sits on a scale that tracks the weight of the gathered load and compares the total with the expected weight. Once picking is complete, the associate wheels the cart to a takeaway conveyor for transport to the shipping sorter.

A separate two-level picking area is used for split-case picking of non-food items. The process is identical to the procedure followed in the food picking zones, using the carts, displays, and indicator lights, except that non-food items are picked into orange-colored totes.

The fastest-moving items are selected as full cases on the
first floor of the building in a separate area designed for
this purpose. In this zone, known as the Food Case SA area,
products can be picked in one of two ways. The highest-de-
mand products are placed next to conveyors so they can be
quickly picked onto a belt using pick lists. These products
will later be transferred onto wheeled delivery trolleys that
can be rolled right onto trucks. Slower-moving items that
are not located near the belt conveyor are also selected using
pick lists. They are then checked with RF devices and placed
directly onto trolleys for shipping.

An additional area on the first floor houses pharmaceutical items, which for security and tracking purposes are kept separate from the other product storage and picking areas. Between 200 and 300 different SKUs are typically processed in this area on any given day. By the end of the day, every item from the pharmaceutical area will be picked. Nothing remains for the next day.

Finally, a temperature-controlled area on the first floor holds products like sweets and chocolates, which are stored at a temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit. In this area, workers either pick full cases onto trolleys or gather single items into green totes sitting on the trolleys. Insulated blankets are draped over the trolleys to keep the items cool during transport.

All of these picking activities are timed to bring products together at the shipping area to meet a dispatch schedule. Items from the automated storage systems and the picking areas converge into the sliding shoe “surfing” sorter, which can handle 10,000 cases per hour. The sorter has 42 divert lanes to gather cases and totes. Each of the divert lanes is dedicated to collecting products for specific stores. Because there are 80 stores to serve, each lane must handle two or more stores. However, products are gathered for one store at a time.

Once diverted to the lanes, the cases and totes are manually placed onto trolleys. The worker hand scans each case as it is loaded as a final accuracy check. The trolleys are then rolled onto delivery trucks. When the trucks arrive at their destination, the trolleys can be rolled right into the stores for direct putaway on store shelves.

About 10 percent of the products that enter the facility are simply cross-docked upon arrival. These cases are placed onto conveyors in receiving and then pass through the sliding shoe sorter to the store divert lanes, where they are gathered with the rest of the cases and totes.

PRODUCTIVE AND ACCURATE

Each day, the facility ships between 100,000 and 120,000 cases with a high degree of accuracy, thanks to the scanners, weigh systems, and software that tracks them all. Without the degree of automation found in the Sagamihara facility, Itochu-Shokuhin would not be able to meet the growing demands of Seven & i Holdings.

“The facility has met our goals,” says Kakoi. “From
receiving to shipping, our productivity has doubled with
the automation.”
Kakoi says the automation in the Sagamihara facility will
be the model for the company’s future distribution opera-
tions. He adds that working with Daifuku through the years
has been important to the company’s success.

“They understand what we do and how our business works. And they know the best system for our operations. They were able to look at the greater picture to understand our needs,” he says. “And we also have systems now that older associates can work with—without the heavy lifting.”