BY VICTORIA KICKHAM, SENIOR EDITOR
AUTOMATION
Footwear and accessories retailer Journeys is poised to accommodate future
growth thanks to a distribution center upgrade that includes an efficiency-
enhancing warehouse execution system.
OMNICHANNEL BUSINESS TRENDS CONTINUE TO
push the boundaries of traditional retail operations, sending companies racing toward technology solutions that not
only expedite the fulfillment and delivery processes, but
can also set the stage to accommodate long-term growth.
Specialty retailer Journeys recently expanded its Lebanon,
Tenn., warehouse and distribution center with those very
goals in mind and today is reaping the benefits of a streamlined operation that can efficiently handle its fast-growing
order volume.
As Journeys’ leaders have described it, the Tennessee
warehouse and DC needed an upgrade that would do more
than just automate distribution center processes; it needed
one that would provide the flexibility to deal with changing
demands on both the traditional retail and e-commerce
sides of the business while offering scalability to accom-
modate future growth. The Journeys team embarked on
a facility expansion and upgrade that would include addi-
tional storage space, increased automation—especially for
picking processes—and a warehouse execution system
(WES) that would tie everything together by creating
a more efficient flow of orders through the building. A
software system that helps highly automated DCs connect
disparate systems and functions in one platform, the WES
is helping Journeys better manage its e-commerce orders
for a more successful omnichannel operation.
“For fast-growing omnichannel retailers, it’s hard to predict trends and which way revenue will increase for [store-based] retail, e-commerce, or both,” says Jeremy Davidson,
vice president of sales for supply chain consulting firm
Fortna, which partnered with Journeys on the upgrade and
expansion. “[Journeys] wanted to have the ability to turn
Material Handling
Journey
toward
automation
