Customers shopping for imaging equipment and supplies at B & H Photo-Video-Pro Audio previously faced the inconvenience of buying products sight unseen. If customers didn't like a product, they were forced to go through the process of returning and reordering.

B & H rectified the situation by installing a completely new system for handling merchandise. The system uses powered conveyors and vertical lifts to deliver products from the basement stock room to the sales associates on the shop's selling floor. This process gives customers the opportunity to see and even test the product before buying it from the Brooklyn superstore.

After the customer chooses a product, the sales associate enters its designated code into a terminal. A slip containing the product description and bar code prints in the stock room below the sales floor.

A stock room employee removes the item from stock and places it in a tote. A printed bar code is placed in the tote's outside pocket, and the tote is put on a conveyor and sent to one of four vertical lifts.

Once a tote reaches the sales floor it automatically exits the lift onto an under-counter conveyor system. A scanner positioned at each salesperson's station reads the bar code as the tote passes by. When a tote reaches the right salesperson, a low-profile right-angle-transfer device diverts the tote onto a small slide, which delivers it to the salesperson's feet.

If the customer accepts the product after examining it, the salesperson prints a new bar code, puts it in the tote pocket and places the tote back on the under-counter conveyor. It carries the tote to another lift. A scan of the bar code activates the lift to bring the tote up to another conveyor hanging from the ceiling. This elevated conveyor transports the tote to the pick-up counter where the customer retrieves the merchandise.

If the customer rejects the product, the salesperson prints a different bar code, which routes the product back to the stock room.

The system cuts back on returns and general dissatisfaction. It also saves customers a lot of time, which improves business for B & H.