How to Optimize Your Retail Back Room with Roller Rack

Preparing your retail operation for long-term success means you’re likely elbow-deep in developing and implementing your holiday surge strategy right now. While your end cap displays are still months away from making their debut, your retail back room needs to be ready sooner than later to start taking on the increase in SKUs that comes with the holiday.

A common problem we’ve seen in the past few years is a simple one, but one that has cost retailers almost $1 trillion (yes, with a T) in sales– out-of-stocks. One in three shoppers experience out-of-stocks on their shopping trips, a number that skyrockets around the holidays as retail supply chains struggle to keep pace with customer demand. These out-of-stocks are one of the major factors forcing customers to shift away from brick and mortar stores to online retailers, even if they prefer to shop local.

Facing this challenge, retailers need to optimize their retail back rooms and reduce their dependency on distribution centers. That’s why UNEX has focused on making its Roller Rack solution the go-to choice for retailers who need to add high-capacity, efficient storage to their back rooms- and fast.



Roller Rack is a great option for optimizing your retail back room for maximum storage density for several reasons:

• Storage density- Roller Rack allows you to store 7 times more SKUs than your standard pallet rack or steel shelving unit. This allows retailers to hold a lot more inventory in their back rooms and keep front-of-house shelves full for their perusing customers.
• Faster picks- Roller Rack comes complete with Span-Track wheel beds or roller lanes, which keeps product flowing to the point of pick. When your front-of-house shelves empty out, this allows your staff to quickly replenish them without wasting their time rummaging around deep in a rack looking for a product.
• Single source supplier- We supply the rack and the track, and do so with faster lead times compared to other suppliers. No shopping around for tracks that are compatible with your beam types- we’ve already handled that for you.
• Knock-down design- We pride ourselves on making simple solutions, and Roller Rack is no exception. Its knock-down design makes it easy to set up, use, and break down when the holiday surge subsides and you need to re-organize your back room.
• Modular design- Only enough space for a single bay? What if you want to fill the backroom with several rows? Roller Rack is designed to be flexible enough for both applications, which makes it a great fit for retail back rooms regardless of their size or layout.

Whether it’s a big box chain or a local mom-and-pop, we’ve seen a lot of success with Roller Rack applications in retail back rooms. This solution is designed to make your out-of-stocks a thing of the past, and allows you to reclaim your chunk of that $1 trillion in lost sales. Contact one of our expert Pickologists today, and we’ll help you design a Roller Rack solution that brings the Power of Pickability to your retail back room.

The post How to Optimize Your Retail Back Room with Roller Rack appeared first on Carton Flow and Order Picking Solutions from UNEX.

source https://www.unex.com/retail-back-room-roller-rack/

Innovation: Is It Welcome in Your Organization?

We’ve all heard of the need for continuous improvement in processes and operations, but is that enough in today’s fast-changing materials handling industry? A recent article in Material Handling 24/7 addresses that question in its discussion of the importance of accelerating innovation: specifically, that it’s not enough to implement what it calls “linear innovation,” meaning that you innovate enough to maintain the status quo, but not enough to advance in any significant way.

Basically, this amounts to running to stand still. When it comes to innovating in the materials handling industry, slow and steady does not win the race.



Instead, what’s necessary is “exponential innovation,” or increasing the speed and expanding the application of technological innovations, so that innovations are executed in ways that become transformative, not just incremental. Sometimes exponential innovation can even generate solutions that are ahead of the current market’s demands.

In a nutshell, while linear innovations are transactional and operations-focused, exponential innovation is broader and more expansive. Rather than tackling a single problem, exponential innovating builds upon insightful “what-if” thinking, envisioning alternate scenarios, generating hard business intelligence, and supporting strategic decision-making.

How do you bridge the chasm between linear and exponential?

For starters, the evolution to exponential innovation requires an actual market issue that needs to be addressed; a team of competent, engaged people tasked with addressing the need; and the resources to explore truly game-changing innovations with the potential to scale into enterprise-wide solutions.

Considering that technologies such as robotics, sensors, mobility, AI, VR, IoT, Big Data, Cloud-based computing and more already exist and are increasingly accessible and adaptable, why are innovative solutions so seldom identified and integrated in ways that create exponential, scalable, next-generation change?

Wired magazine describes the typical situation this way: “The problem today’s organizations face is that digital transformation relies both upon technology advancement as well as organizational – and yet, it seems our inability to accelerate the latter may be putting the whole kit and caboodle in jeopardy.”



That means exponential innovation has to come from the top down – an organizational willingness to envision, embrace and nurture change, including providing ample time and resources for exploration. If you settle for innovating incrementally, that’s all you’ll get.

Innovation thrives only where it is welcomed. How receptive is your organization to exponential innovation?

UNEX SpeedCell is one innovation for warehouse storage that helps order pickers pick more product more safely in less space, with the added benefit of fewer touches and greater accuracy. UNEX SpeedCell consolidates storage capacity and dramatically increases pick facings, resulting in greater SKU density, requiring less travel and search time for your order pickers. Contact your UNEX Pickologists today to see how SpeedCell can help you accelerate innovation.

The post Innovation: Is It Welcome in Your Organization? appeared first on Carton Flow and Order Picking Solutions from UNEX.

source https://www.unex.com/innovation-is-it-welcome/

UNEX Wins SDCE 100 Award for 3rd Consecutive Year

UNEX Manufacturing, Inc., the trusted industry leader in providing innovative order picking solutions, was chosen for a 2018 SDCE 100 award from Supply & Demand Chain Executive. The Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100 award recognizes innovative ideas and solutions that guide industry leaders to maximize efficiency, profitability and more. UNEX Manufacturing was selected for helping to speed assembly operations using carton flow systems to keep up with the growth of the client, which is an automotive business that transforms vans, SUVs and taxis into handicapped-accessible vehicles.



“We are extremely pleased to be selected for the third consecutive year to win this prestigious award for helping our client fit more products into their existing footprint, while speeding assembly lines,” said Brian C. Neuwirth, VP of Sales and Marketing at UNEX Manufacturing. “Our Flow Cells are made of steel construction and support up to 1000 pounds per level, making them 13 times stronger than the tube and joint flow rack systems that were previously installed at the client’s facility.”

“First and foremost, we want to congratulate the winners of this year’s Top 100 for their successful and innovative projects, which serve as models to companies of all sizes for what is achievable in their supply chains,” says John Yuva, editor for Supply & Demand Chain Executive. “Regardless of company size, these projects are best-in-class examples of the types of efficiencies and bottom-line results that supply chain executives should be striving toward in their own operations. Our 2018 winners provide a roadmap for how to get there.”

The 2018 Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100 spotlights a few of the industry’s most successful and transformational projects that deliver value to enterprises across a range of supply chain functions. The supply chain projects featured in this awards program offer a forward-looking perspective for the industry on new opportunities designed to drive operational success.

By implementing UNEX carton flow workstations and lineside racks in the sub-assembly area, workers efficiently complete small assembly tasks such as welding components, modifying doors or preassembling axels. Individuals work from a convenient work table with parts, lights and tools all within reach, rather than having to move around to different locations to find things, resulting in increased productivity. UNEX Span-Track is a patented carton flow solution that increases space utilization by 50%, reduces carton imprints with 300% more surface area than other roller track options, and increases throughput up to 150% when compared to order picking from pallets.

About Supply & Demand Chain Executive

Supply & Demand Chain Executive is the executive’s user manual for successful supply and demand chain transformation, utilizing hard-hitting analysis, viewpoints and unbiased case studies to steer executives and supply management professionals through the complicated, yet critical, world of supply and demand chain enablement to gain competitive advantage.

The post UNEX Wins SDCE 100 Award for 3rd Consecutive Year appeared first on Carton Flow and Order Picking Solutions from UNEX.

source https://www.unex.com/unex-sdce100-3rd-year/

E-Commerce Fulfillment: 7 Ways to Build (Capital E) Efficiency

Consumers now have more ways to buy than ever before, a trend that is accelerating at rocket speed through partnerships, acquisitions, software innovations and device upgrades, prompted by demanding customers and lucrative new markets and boosted by the ease of use of new interfaces, currencies and payment options. In a world where Alexa can order your household staples and notify you when your package arrives at your door, why would anyone go to the mall? In 2016, worldwide retail e-commerce fulfillment sales reached $1.915 trillion dollars; by the end of 2020, it’s projected to reach a whopping $4 trillion, according to EMarketer.com. Meeting the (multi-faceted) challenges of e-commerce sales – handling all these SKUs from all these sources via all these channels to all these destinations – will require a focus on optimization and efficiency that will revolutionize fulfillment. When so many companies are falling behind, how do you get – and stay – ahead of the game? Implementing these 7 best practices can help you streamline your supply chain for greater accuracy and efficiency in e-commerce fulfillment:

• Consolidate picks: A sensible cluster-picking strategy with appropriately sized carts allows pickers to handle multiple orders in a single trip, which increases pick rates and reduces travel time.
• Build cohesion across channels: In e-commerce, there’s no room for segregated fulfillment. You must be able to receive, fulfill, ship, and return equally well in and across each of your facilities, from warehouses to retail centers, seamlessly and transparently, to ensure operational accuracy and follow through. Focus on creating cross-channel transparency, communication and competence.
• Keep omni-channel warehouse strategies omnipresent: When designing or renovating your DCs, plan for fluid omni-channel processes with optimum functionality and flexibility to meet demand in every channel.
• Equalize production, fulfillment and labor loads: Integrate supply chain systems to balance workloads, minimize fluctuations for your facilities, equipment and staff, and accommodate seasonality.
• Fine-tune your WMS: Expand existing WMS capabilities to include automation and applications designed to meet the specific challenges of e-commerce fulfillment. Supplement your WMS with a slotting analysis program like SKUBE to ensure every SKU or part you carry is optimized and accounted for.
• Scrutinize seasonality: A close study of seasonal demand patterns often reveals distinct differences by channel. For instance, holiday fulfillment for wholesale orders will increase and peak significantly earlier than for e-commerce orders, allowing you to analyze and optimize seasonal hiring and training.
• Supplement with regional or pop-up DCs: Since 2016, DC operators have been experimenting with the use of smaller, temporary fulfillment facilities to handle the highest volume, fastest-moving SKUs for increased speed and efficiency, especially near large urban hubs.

Realistically, the “traditional” DC has no place in today’s fast-paced, high-demand, customer-centric, omni-channel marketplace. Successful operators recognize this reality – and invest in innovations to meet its challenges with speed and efficiency.  UNEX Manufacturing helps e-commerce operations improve efficiencies and speed of fulfillment with carton flow, pick shelves, gravity conveyors and other material handling systems. UNEX solutions help e-commerce businesses reduce operating costs and keep orders flowing. Contact your UNEX Pickologist today.

The post E-Commerce Fulfillment: 7 Ways to Build (Capital E) Efficiency appeared first on Carton Flow and Order Picking Solutions from UNEX.

source https://www.unex.com/e-commerce-fulfillment-efficiency/

E-Commerce Fulfillment: 7 Ways to Build Efficiency With a Capital E

Consumers now have more ways to buy than ever before, a trend that is accelerating at rocket speed through partnerships, acquisitions, software innovations and device upgrades, prompted by demanding customers and lucrative new markets and boosted by the ease of use of new interfaces, currencies and payment options. In a world where Alexa can order your household staples and notify you when your package arrives at your door, why would anyone go to the mall? In 2016, worldwide retail e-commerce fulfillment reached $1.915 trillion dollars; by the end of 2020, it’s projected to reach a whopping $4 trillion, according to EMarketer.com. Meeting the (multi-faceted) challenges of e-commerce sales – handling all these SKUs from all these sources via all these channels to all these destinations – will require a focus on optimization and efficiency that will revolutionize fulfillment. When so many companies are falling behind, how do you get – and stay – ahead of the game? Implementing these 7 best practices can help you streamline your supply chain for greater accuracy and efficiency in e-commerce fulfillment:  

1. Consolidate picks: A sensible cluster-picking strategy with appropriately sized carts allows pickers to handle multiple orders in a single trip, which increases pick rates and reduces travel time.
2. Build cohesion across channels: In e-commerce, there’s no room for segregated fulfillment. You must be able to receive, fulfill, ship, and return equally well in and across each of your facilities, from warehouses to retail centers, seamlessly and transparently, to ensure operational accuracy and follow through. Focus on creating cross-channel transparency, communication and competence.
3. Keep omni-channel warehouse strategies omnipresent: When designing or renovating your DCs, plan for fluid omni-channel processes with optimum functionality and flexibility to meet demand in every channel.
4. Equalize production, fulfillment and labor loads: Integrate supply chain systems to balance workloads, minimize fluctuations for your facilities, equipment and staff, and accommodate seasonality.
5. Fine-tune your WMS: Expand existing WMS capabilities to include automation and applications designed to meet the specific challenges of e-commerce fulfillment. Utilizing your WMS alongside a slotting analysis program like SKUBE will ensure every inch of useful space is being used in the best way possible.
6. Scrutinize seasonality: A close study of seasonal demand patterns often reveals distinct differences by channel. For instance, holiday fulfillment for wholesale orders will increase and peak significantly earlier than for e-commerce orders, allowing you to analyze and optimize seasonal hiring and training.
7. Supplement with regional or pop-up DCs: Since 2016, DC operators have been experimenting with the use of smaller, temporary fulfillment facilities to handle the highest volume, fastest-moving SKUs for increased speed and efficiency, especially near large urban hubs.

Realistically, the “traditional” DC has no place in today’s fast-paced, high-demand, customer-centric, omni-channel marketplace. Successful operators recognize this reality – and invest in innovations to meet its challenges with speed and efficiency. UNEX Manufacturing helps e-commerce operations improve efficiencies and speed of fulfillment with carton flow solutions and other material handling systems. UNEX solutions help e-commerce businesses reduce operating costs and keep orders flowing. Contact your UNEX Pickologist today.

The post E-Commerce Fulfillment: 7 Ways to Build Efficiency With a Capital E appeared first on Carton Flow and Order Picking Solutions from UNEX.

source https://www.unex.com/e-commerce-fulfillment-7-ways/