THE CHALLENGE
Consistently meeting customer demand while maximizing productivity
THE SOLUTION
Dynamic low-touch logistics
Overcoming the limitations of time and space.
A global online fashion retailer had strict criteria for modernizing its fulfillment center. There could be no single point of failure. SLAs must be consistently met. The cost of order fulfillment and returns had to be reduced. Delivering on these required modular autonomous robotics, intelligent logistics software and sector-specific expertise to enable a more dynamic way of handling eCommerce logistics.
Everything in their highly-automated fulfillment center is integrated, interconnected and intelligent. Every source is connected to every destination. Dynamic buffering and process decoupling deliver a system with structural, process and orchestration agility.
Redundancy is built in at every step of the workflow, so there is no single point of failure.
The self-driving, self-adjusting system leaves linear logistics behind with:
- Dynamic induction — Cartons go straight to the shuttle system for top-off. Pre-sorted goods and returns go to putaway for top-off. Every inbound module is connected to every decanting station, return station and induction station as well as to all storage locations. This interconnectedness accelerates processing of both orders and returns.
- Dynamic returns handling — Returns expected to be resold within five days are inducted into a modern pocket sorter and stored in a dynamic pocket buffer. Fully-automated induct stations use patent-pending pocket mechanisms that automatically open and close for faster putaway and one-touch picking when returns are resold.
- Dynamic storage — A pocket buffer has an innovative sortation and allocation matrix that makes it possible to change order and line item sequence based on virtually any criteria. A shuttle system flexibly handles totes, cartons and trays, which can be stored single, double, or even multi-deep.
- Dynamic picking — Preemptive picking and top-off for prime stock and returns enables one-touch picking from the auto-pockets and two-touch picking from the shuttles. A combination of manual and robotic picking stations enable flexible handling of goods.
- Dynamic packing — Decoupling of induct and packing, order close and checking ensures pack stations have a continuous supply of complete orders. Pocketable parcels can be packed anywhere, which accelerates throughput.
- Dynamic pocket-into-packing — Single-item orders are automatically bagged, dropped into chutes and sequenced to outbound destinations. This is another no-touch innovation that increases speed and lowers costs.
- Dynamic sorting — All pocketable parcels go through an allocation matrix that sorts by carrier instead of by order. Centralized order pooling shortens lead time by enabling fast access to completed orders.
Built for today and tomorrow.
Dynamic low-touch logistics allow this online retailer to meet aggressive SLAs while protecting profitability today. Tomorrow? They’ll be ready, because all of their core digitalization solutions have elemental expandability. Robots and workstations are easily integrated into the existing system. The same is true for shuttles. Add aisles, drop shuttles in and they self-configure, so the online retailer can easily expand to meet tomorrow’s eCommerce needs.
