BY DAVID MALONEY, SENIOR EDITOR
SORTATION
materialhandlingupdate
HANDLING CASES OF BEVERAGES IS NEVER EASY. THAT’S BECAUSE LIQ-uid-filled cases are heavy to lug around and if dropped, can quickly create a sticky
mess. In addition to being hard on the back, manual processing and sorting often
result in less-than-stellar order accuracy rates, especially for operations that ship
multiple cases to a variety of customers.
That’s why Horizon Beverage of Norton, Mass., was determined to make some
operational changes when it recently moved to a new distribution center. “We had
capacity issues in the old building, and our error rates were high,” says Michael
Epstein, the company’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.
After mulling its options, the company decided on a solution that would address
all of its pain points: accuracy, product damage, and ergonomic woes. It would partially automate its operations.
REAPING THE BENEFITS OF REPEAL
Horizon began its business life as Brockton Wholesale Beverage at an auspicious
time—the day after Prohibition ended in 1933. The company has grown steadily
ever since, acquiring its current name, Horizon Beverage, in 1998. Fourth-genera-tion descendants of the founder now run the company.
Today’s Horizon Beverage is a wholesaler of beer, wine, and spirits throughout
Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It also runs a brokerage operation in New Hampshire,
Vermont, and Maine, which are all “control states” that regulate alcohol wholesaling.
Wholesale distribution for the company covers a wide range of customers through-
Horizon Beverage’s
new distribution
center is designed to
assure the smooth
flow of beer, wine,
and spirits.
Pouring it on
