48 DC VELOCITY DECEMBER 2018 www.dcvelocity.com
applications
A look at how DCs are using equipment and
services to rev up their operations
SPIKES IN BUSINESS ACTIVITY PRESENTED A GOOD
news/bad news scenario for Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe
Inc. Although the maker of potato bread, hot dog rolls, and
hamburger buns welcomed the added business created by
seasonal demand for its products, the increased volume put
a strain on the company’s manual picking and fulfillment
processes. Company leaders sought relief in the form of
warehouse automation and are now reaping the benefits
of a fully automated robotic
material handling solution at
the company’s Chambersberg,
Pa., distribution facility. Faster
and more accurate order fulfillment, better space utilization,
and a reduction in labor costs
are some of the biggest rewards
of the 2017 project to date.
RISING TO THE CHALLENGE
Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe faced a host of challenges
in managing a spike in demand during the summer months.
Its completely manual process for order picking and fulfillment meant that workers had to plan and prep loads hours
in advance of dispatch, which created problems when there
were last-minute changes. The facility also struggled with
space constraints and an increase in seasonal staff as it
worked to get more products out the door. Managers grew
increasingly concerned about employee safety while bending, lifting, and moving products around the warehouse,
and they worried about errors in order fulfillment.
Company leaders turned to Cimcorp to solve those problems, settling on a combination of a high-density pallet storage and retrieval system along with Cimcorp’s MultiPick
automated pallet storage and retrieval system (AS/RS)
