LIKE MANY FAST-GROWING BUSINESSES, TVH PARTS
Co. faced a space crunch a few years back. The company,
which distributes spare parts for industrial trucks and agricultural vehicles, was experiencing runaway sales growth,
which had led to a steep rise in the number of stock-keeping units (SKUs) it had to manage. Among other things,
that meant it needed to find a way to squeeze more items
into its North American headquarters and distribution
center in Olathe, Kansas, which ships out more than 5,500
orders every day.
But that wasn’t all the company was looking to do. In
addition to maximizing storage, the spare-parts supplier
was looking to automate its distribution operations, with
an eye toward increasing throughput, reducing manual
workflow, and preparing for the future.
“We decided to invest in a new [automated] system due
to our fantastic growth in the number of SKUs we have to
manage,” said Rod Strickland, director of logistics at TVH,
in a statement. “The main design criterion for us was flexibility. We wanted a solution that could handle not just the
current growth but also our future growth.”
MORE CAPACITY, BETTER SERVICE
For help, the company turned to Wels, Austria-based systems integrator TGW Logistics Group, which was working
on a similar project at TVH’s Waregem, Belgium, headquarters.
Working with TGW, the company chose for its Kansas
DC a five-aisle shuttle system with 51,000 storage locations
along with several goods-to-person picking workstations.
The system was specifically engineered for ease of expansion: Not only can more of the modular workstations be
added as volume ramps up, but the shuttle itself can easily
be doubled to 10 aisles.
The Kansas facility’s shuttle was designed in close coordination with the team designing the system at TVH’s
headquarters in Belgium. As a result, synergies between
the two systems were utilized, both in plant design and the
warehouse control system (WCS) interface, TGW says.
According to company leaders, the new shuttle system
and workstations have now been integrated into the building and fit seamlessly into existing workflows. The result
has been increased throughput with a reduction in manual
processes. Among other benefits, this means TVH can now
provide its customers with better service as well as extend
its order-placement deadlines, they say.
“The TGW solution provides a large storage capacity
within a small area—yet delivers the high throughput to
meet our customer’s demand,” said Chad Zollman, chief
security officer at TGW USA, in the statement. “This solves
for two of the largest issues faced in supply chain distribution by optimizing both space utilization through shuttle
storage density and labor scarcity through elimination of
manual workflows.” n
Lift off
Like many fast-growing companies, spare-parts supplier TVH Parts Co. was running up against a
shortage of space in its U.S. DC. Installing an automated five-aisle shuttle system took care of that
problem and kicked operations into high gear.
“We wanted a reliable product,” Sullivan says. “Our last
system worked well for us [for many years], so we wanted
to continue that.”
PROBLEMS SOLVED
To solve all of these challenges, Modo 8 designed a system
that uses high-efficiency motor-driven roller (MDR) TREW
Hilmot conveyor. Features include polyurethane-coated
rollers that help keep products from getting stuck. The system also addresses size and weight concerns.
“[The system is] constantly centering products so you
can minimize any issue of products getting stuck,” Sullivan
explains.
The net result is a sortation and conveyor system that has
increased throughput, reduced the amount of time it takes
to pick and pack orders, and virtually eliminated errors.
Products are picked and sent to the loading docks faster
than ever, Sullivan says, and operational time has been cut
by about an hour per night. In addition, the simplicity of
the system, combined with remote diagnostic tools, has
made it easier for staff to address any maintenance issues
that might arise.
And perhaps best of all, employees have renewed confidence in the system’s reliability and efficiency.
“Pickers are able to pick without worrying about the conveyor line backing up,” Sullivan adds. “We’re seeing nightly
shifts done earlier, between 10% and 15%, since we’ve put
the system in.” n
