Storage in the Omni-Channel World

With the exponential growth of e-commerce orders, distribution centers have had to change their operating procedures. With storefronts closing, DCs that service brick & mortar locations only must change their order fulfillment processes to keep up with the increase of picking greater volumes of individual items. In omni-channel fulfillment, all the resources of the supply chain are focused on transparently serving a single shopper who has placed a single order.

Many traditional warehouse operations are not set up to efficiently accommodate a large range of orders with varying units and lines per order – characteristics typical of multi-channel orders. The omni-channel world needs to have orders picked quickly and accurately. Using multi-level racks for pallets, carton flow or with shelving increases the number of storage locations available for the ever-growing number of SKUs typical of an omni-channel warehouse.

High-density pick modules are often used in omni-channel warehouses. They are multi-level; a combination of mezzanines, conveyors, carton flow racks, pallet racks, static racks and other equipment that delivers goods to pickers at each level. By stacking the racks, less space on the floor is taken while pickers can take less time to pick orders from the rack of SKUs that are close by and easy to reach.

Multi-level pick modules use FIFO (first in, first out) stock rotation by using tilted shelves that uses gravity flow to deliver products to the pick face. With FIFO, order pickers are presented with the product in the right order to be picked or when you want to make sure older products (ones that have been in storage a while) are picked first.

If using carton flow in your omni-channel picking operation, cartons can be replenished from the back of the shelving while picking goes on at the front. Pickers can pick from open boxes or individual items on shelves. Pallet flow systems allow the pallet to flow forward once is has been picked. Conveyors can tie everything together in the picking operation by bringing items to the picker or transporting empty cartons and pallets away so they can be recycled. This combination of material handling solutions allows DC’s to shave valuable seconds off of each order picked and allows them to accommodate the ever-increasing demand of e-commerce channels.

At UNEX, many clients use our Pick Shelves, which are customizable and easy-to-mount, to improve pick rates. These are angled to provide clear visibility and accessibility at the pick point. Angled shelves boost picker productivity by 30% while increasing space utilization up to 50%.

A pick module system is often the best choice for a high-volume, high throughput distribution center operation – the typical omni-channel DC. Let our Pickologists help you improve your picking operations and speed throughput in your omni-channel warehouse so you can keep up with your omni-channel orders.

The post Storage in the Omni-Channel World appeared first on Carton Flow and Order Picking Solutions from UNEX.

source http://www.unex.com/storage-omni-channel-world/

UNEX Chosen as Finalist in Manufacturing Day Award

UNEX Manufacturing, Inc., the trusted industry leader in providing innovative order picking solutions, has been chosen as a finalist for the New Jersey Manufacturing awards in the medium-sized Manufacturer of the Year category. The New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program (NJMEP) and the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA), in conjunction with New Jersey Business magazine select the winners based on their innovative business strategies and leadership capabilities that bring value to clients and the industry as a whole.

“With the US manufacturing industry supplying over $2.18 trillion to the US economy last year, UNEX Manufacturing is proud to contribute to this growing market and to be recognized as a finalist for this prestigious manufacturing business award,” said Brian C. Neuwirth, VP of Sales and Marketing at UNEX Manufacturing. “UNEX maximizes our customers’ investments with robust, quality solutions manufactured in our state-of-the-art plant in New Jersey.”

UNEX Manufacturing designs, manufactures and installs innovative solutions for order picking, lineside storage and warehouse shelving that are cost-effective and reliable. UNEX solutions improve inventory control with easy access to parts/products, optimize storage and space in the warehouse and speed the order picking process to improve customer service.

Category winners for the New Jersey Manufacturing Awards will be announced at the “Made in New Jersey” event on October 6^th, 2017, at the Bridgewater Marriott. You can register here if you’d like to attend. This coincides with National Manufacturing Day, an annual celebration that brings together over 3000 organizations in the US, Canada and Mexico who meet to educate students, educators, business people, media and politicians about the manufacturing industry in order to improve the public’s perception of the market and to celebrate modern manufacturing.

New Jersey Business magazine has partnered with the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program (NJMEP) to profile the award finalists in the October 2017 issue of New Jersey Business. NJMEP is a not-for-profit company that works with New Jersey’s small to mid-sized manufacturers to help them become more efficient, profitable and globally competitive.

The post UNEX Chosen as Finalist in Manufacturing Day Award appeared first on Carton Flow and Order Picking Solutions from UNEX.

source http://www.unex.com/manufacturing-day-award/

Speeding Up the Assembly Line

Changing customer demands are transforming the manufacturing industry where organizations must incorporate flexibility and agility into their supply chains to create value and sustainability. As customers want more custom products, quicker, manufacturers must ensure their assembly line is agile enough to meet these needs while keeping costs in check and speeding time to market. In a recent survey conducted by Grant Thorton for the National Association of Manufacturers, 48 percent of respondents say that customer demand drives their supply chain strategy, along with the need for speedy delivery and enhanced customer service.

Today’s manufacturers are measured by their superior products, excellent customer service and quick time to market. Lineside storage systems help manufacturers and assembly operations speed assembly and production to bring products to consumers as quickly and cost efficiently as possible. By storing smaller components in separate containers, workers can quickly and easily grab parts to complete their work on the assembly line.

Lineside storage systems often have sloping racks so that bins holding parts are easily visibility to workers. If the storage systems have sloping shelves containing boxes of parts, once a box is picked, the ones behind it will slide forward, ready for the next worker to pick from it. This simplifies stock replenishment and ensures you are picking the products stored first in, first, in case they have an expiration or use by date.

Manufacturers need to make sure that when the products arrive at the lineside assembly areas that they are labeled clearly and packaged well so that the contents can be easily identified. The less time it takes the assembler to visually recognize the part needed, select it, pick it and prepare to install it, the less time is wasted having to search for an item.

In an automotive assembly line, instead of individual parts delivered to the line, kits housed in totes, are brought to the workstations. These kits give workers the parts and tools necessary to complete the specific components they are building. Assemblies, such as steering wheels, can be delivered to lineside assembly areas to be installed into dashboards.

To transform your manufacturing operations and assembly areas, you need to better manage the materials in those areas – from where they come into the area, move through it and leave – which will improve productivity, quicken delivery schedules and enhance customer satisfaction. Employees will be less frustrated not having to search for a particular part to finish their assembly.

UNEX provides lineside storage solutions that improve your assembly line’s Pickability. When customization is high in your operations, having the ability to store additional SKUs in the assembly area means pickers don’t have to travel to find the right part, speeding fulfillment rates. Efficiencies and productivity are increased as well. Speedier part turnover means speedier lines and happier customers.

The post Speeding Up the Assembly Line appeared first on Carton Flow and Order Picking Solutions from UNEX.

source http://www.unex.com/speeding-assembly-line/

Shelf Track Wheel Bed: Free Infeed Guides!

UNEX Manufacturing, Inc., the trusted industry leader in providing innovative order picking solutions, announces a promotion for the UNEX Shelf Track solution, a durable carton flow system that drops easily into existing racks and shelves within warehouses, manufacturing plants and distribution centers. Five free infeed “shark fin” guides are included free for each level of Shelf Track wheel bed purchased. UNEX’s Shelf Track is guaranteed to decrease pick times and increase your operation’s efficiency when compared to unreliable plastic wheel rails.

 

“Our infeed guides provide a unique, easy to use solution to a very common storage problem,” said Brian C. Neuwirth, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at UNEX Manufacturing. “Each guide easily snaps in place along the width of the panels, providing a visual indicator for an SKU’s location, keeping inventory organized in its designated lane.  The guides prevent hang-ups in neighboring lanes from off-center products, allowing cartons and products to smoothly flow forward for faster order picking.”

Now through September 30, 2017, the UNEX Shelf Track promotion will include five infeed guide accessories added for no cost for each level of wheel bed purchased.

 

UNEX Shelf Track offers wheel beds with its patented Hex Hub wheel design to increase flexibility for slotting, providing 90% left to right bay usage. The wheel beds allow cartons to flow forward when the carton in front is removed, preventing the worker from having to reach into the rack to pull it forward, which can cause stress on the worker’s back. UNEX Shelf Track works well with seasonal merchandise when you get odd-sized boxes that you typically don’t store.

“If companies are using plastic wheel rails in their order picking operations, they’re familiar with wheel failures, rails bowing from being loaded over their capacity, and poor restart from imprinting,” said Neuwirth. “Our Shelf Track wheel beds, combined with the infeed guides, provides these companies with a superior solution that can stand up to the stresses of their storage environment.”

UNEX Shelf Track’s sturdy track is more durable for order picking operations than plastic wheel rails used by competitors. Often, the weight of cartons imprint onto cartons making dimples so that the product can’t flow forward.  As carton flow systems are used in many order picking processes, workers expect the pick face to always have product there. Plus, when working with products that have expiration dates, Shelf Track for carton flow facilitates first in/first out (FIFO) movements so that products are stored and picked in the right sequence.

To get more details or request a quote, click the button below!

The post Shelf Track Wheel Bed: Free Infeed Guides! appeared first on Carton Flow and Order Picking Solutions from UNEX.

source http://www.unex.com/shelf-track-free-infeed-guides/