Special
Delivery
pack that combines a washcloth with body and
face cleansers.
Among other advantages, the low SKU count—
coupled with high demand density—has simplified order fulfillment and minimized the need for
rack storage. Most inventory is stored as cases in
forward locations.
SMOOTH OPERATOR
Daily operations at the Ohio fulfillment center
are directed by a HighJump warehouse management system (WMS). Early on in the process,
the software determines where the various orders
will be filled. Orders that have a similar profile
and contain the same SKUs are directed to batch
pick stations. (These orders
are batched into waves based
on which SKU they contain.)
For these orders, the fulfillment process starts with
the pre-labeling of shipping
cartons and envelopes using
print-and-apply machines.
After labeling, the cartons and
envelopes are sent to 36 packing stations. Meanwhile, cases
of SKUs needed for batch-es are selected from the forward rack locations
according to directions transmitted by radio-fre-quency (RF) devices. The cases are then sent to the
packing stations, with each station receiving only
the products needed for a single batch.
At the pack station, a worker removes the product (or products) from the case and places them
into the prelabeled cartons and envelopes. All of
the orders being processed at a pack station at
any one time contain the same items in the same
quantity to expedite the packing process and
minimize the chance of errors. “It’s easily controllable,” notes Jackson. Completed orders are then
placed onto takeaway conveyors for transport to
sorting.
Orders that don’t fit the profile of the batch
orders being processed at that time—either
because they contain different products or because
they include multiple SKUs—are processed in a
pick-to-light area that includes about 100 loca-
tions in flow racks. Lights illuminate in the pick-
to-light area to direct the picking of orders into
totes, which are then taken to 28 dedicated pack
stations. This pack area can scale to 34 stations to
allow for growth.
At the pack stations, shipping cartons are
labeled using Zebra label printers and the orders
are packed. After the finished cartons are weighed
on Mettler Toledo scales, they’re placed onto a
takeaway conveyor that feeds a vertical lifting
conveyor supplied by Qimarox. The lift is used
to raise the cartons to an overhead conveyor line
that’s high enough to allow lift trucks transporting products needed to replenish the pick-to-light flow racks to pass below. In Ohio, Crown
lift trucks are used, while Toyota forklifts are
deployed in the California DC.
Completed cartons and envelopes from both
the main packing area and
the pick-to-light packing
stations are transported via
roller conveyors to a sliding shoe sorter supplied by
Hytrol. The cartons are sorted
to 36 destination bins based
on ZIP code. (The company
also employs routing software from Creative Logistics
Solutions.)
Bastian used a similar sorting layout in the California facility, with one
difference. At the Torrance building, it installed a
Bastian ZiPline high-speed cross-belt sorter, rather than the sliding shoe model. (The sliding shoe
sorter, which has a high capacity, was chosen for
Ohio to accommodate the higher volumes processed at that facility.)
As for how it has all worked out, Dollar Shave
Club says it has been very pleased with the productivity and flexibility it gained by opening its
own distribution facilities. The company is meeting its goal of shipping orders within 24 hours of
receipt, and it views both operations as a step up
from the days when the e-tailer relied on a third
party for fulfillment.
“It’s all about the member experience. When
they place an order, we can ship it as quickly and
efficiently as possible,” says Jackson. “We are able
to now offer the same high level of service to all of
our members across the country.” c
DAVID MALONEY IS EDITORIAL DIRECTOR AT
DC VELOCITY.
