CooperVision, the fourth largest contact lens manufacturer in the world, ships to over 35,000 optical shops in the U.S. alone. With 11 million lenses in stock, the demands for inventory control and picking accuracy are high.

"Orders that print out by 3:30 p.m. go out that day," says Joe Stannard, vice president, logistics. "That's where a horizontal carousel system and its software come in to play at this distribution center in Rochester, N.Y."

Installing this carousel system "provided us with labor efficiency, plus a return on investment (ROI) in less than 18 months," he adds.

"We run 24 hours a day here," he continues. "The carousels have performed with zero downtime."

Four bottom-drive horizontal carousels hold 16,000 SKUs (stockkeeping units) in 9,800 totes. In all, the system holds some 850,000 contact lenses at one time.

The 4 carousels are arranged in 2 pods of 2 carousels each. Each pod's outer carousel has 42 bins while its inner carousel has 40 bins. Bins measure 28 inches wide by 12 inches deep by 97 inches high and have 15 shelves each.

A single operator at the carousels can pick between 250 and 600 lines an hour, filling 1,500 orders per day, with an average of 3 lines per order. Over two shifts or 16 hours of picking, only two operators are required now. Prior to installing the carousels, it took six people to attain the same pick rate.

The remaining hours of each day are used for replenishing the system. "Restocking time is greatly improved," says Stannard. "The software's inventory tracking and reporting capabilities have helped in this area."

Orders are downloaded from CooperVision's order entry system and are sorted into batches. The software optimizes the batches to minimize carousel rotation.

An operator initiates picking with the use of a hand-held radio frequency transmitter. The carousels position themselves and a lighttree indicates the position and quantity of the SKU to be picked. Orders are picked into assigned totes as indicated by a sortbar.

As an operator completes each pick, he or she activates the hand-held RF transmitter to complete the task and light the lighttree for the next pick. When all the picks in the batch are complete, the totes are passed to another operator who scans each item. The computer software checks each item number against the order and rejects any inconsistencies. Completed orders are placed in a tote, put on a conveyor, and sent to shipping.

Through use of this carousel system, CooperVision has improved its picking efficiencies. The distribution center is positioned for growth, while it maintains high customer satisfaction.

White Systems, an FKI Logistex company
908-272-6700
www.whitesystems.com