Lantis Eyewear has a much clearer vision of its distribution operations since opening a new DC. Prior to moving to the new building in Secaucus, N.J., Lantis, a leading provider of sunglasses and prescription frames, leased space at three nearby locations.

'We encountered difficulty in meeting our demand,' explains Emile Lemay, senior vice president of operations. 'We were fractionalized and wanted to consolidate our distribution.'

Besides being spread out, the former facilities had limited capacities and fulfillment capabilities that were especially noticeable at peak order times. The design of the materials handling systems (Gross & Associates) in the new building has solved those problems.

It provides plenty of room for current business and future growth. The new DC also boasts improved handling efficiencies, shortened order turnaround time and greater accuracies. Lantis is now better able to meet shipment schedules even at its crucial peak seasonal demands, which occur during the first half of the year. Additionally, there is now space for extensive value-added services and returns processing.

'Everything for our customers can now be done from here,' says Lemay.

The new building features both pick-to-light and put-to-light systems, which greatly increase pick rates over the paper-based systems used in the former DCs and allows orders to be processed quickly, most within 24 hours.

Better processing also allows Lantis to give smaller accounts the same attention as previously reserved only for larger customers. That is where the put-to-light comes into play. Items are brought from the value-added (VA) areas and then divided into individual orders using the 630 staging locations within the order fulfillment module. Shipping cartons are placed within the locations to gather products for each order. Lights direct the work to be performed. Once an order is complete, it is pushed off onto a takeaway conveyor.

The pick-to-light system is used to gather products for large customers (such as mass retailers Wal-Mart and Target), drugstore chains, supermarkets and optical shops.

Product is stored in flow racks arranged in zones within a three-level module. Order cartons are scanned as they are conveyed through each zone. This prompts lights to illuminate next to location slots containing products for that order. The items are removed from the slots and placed into the order carton.

The systems give Lantis flexibility, plenty of capacity and much lower costs than other high-demand sorting systems, such as a tilt tray or cross belt.

A major portion of the new DC is devoted to assembling point-of-purchase displays—the racks that hold dozens of pairs of sunglasses at mass retailers. This was a function that previously had been outsourced. Bringing this process in-house has allowed Lantis to get product to market more quickly, which is essential in the short product lifecycles found in the fashion eyewear business.

'When we outsourced it was an inventory nightmare, trying to know what was actually going out the door,' says Lemay. 'Now we have the floor space to stage our displays and a consistent staff to build them. Displays are a big cost for us. This area will save us $250,000 this year alone.'

Display racks are erected and labels and mirrors are attached within the dedicated assembly area. Workers then carefully place sunglasses onto the open rack slots. Once filled, the rack is surrounded by corrugated packaging and shipped as a full unit, loaded with product that is ready for sale upon arrival at the store.

Besides assembly, the facility has also increased other VA services it offers customers. Private label ticketing is a major focus, as almost all Lantis products receive some branding. Extensive private labeling is also why 'Lantis' is not seen as a brand name on the company's eyewear.

About 14,000 dozen pairs of sunglasses and other eyewear are ticketed each day. Associates in work cells place the necessary tickets onto the eyewear by hand before the items are taken to the picking or put-to-light modules.

As is common to fashion-oriented businesses, Lantis faces its share of returns. The Secaucus facility will process some 4 million returned items this year.

Eyewear is sorted upon arrival and inserted into wash baskets. The baskets then go through industrial washers to clean off dirt, marks and fingerprints. Each pair is then inspected and cleaned further by hand. Many pairs are returned to stock, while others may be sold off to close-out retailers or discarded.

Lantis is strongly influenced by its seasonal fulfillment needs. The materials handling was designed to meet peak demands, such as added packing stations and adequate conveyor accumulation.

Possessing extra capacity, however, does underutilize the building's potential during the rest of the year. Lantis is working to take full advantage of its facility by seeking a partner with holiday peak distribution needs, which would be the opposite to Lantis' peak season (see story - Wanted: DC Roommate).

With efficient returns, value-added services and fast fulfillment capabilities, Lantis has built a facility in Secaucus that has already met the company's objectives, and promises to offer even more as inventory and demands increase. The company will also soon switch to radio frequency data communication based putaway and picking of its case units.

Click on the icon to read how another eye care company, CIBA, distributes products efficiently.