To pick or not to pick used to be the question at RC Willey's Salt Lake City distribution center (DC). The DC annually ships 3.1 million refrigerators, DVD players, and other products to retailers in Nevada, Utah and Idaho.

Each day, pick tickets for items were printed then sorted by hand to maximize orderpicker efficiency in the 860,000 square foot facility. Not only was the sorting process not efficient, but neither were the routes set out for orderpickers.

Making matters worse, RC Willey often receives "will-call orders." These receive priority over normal picking tasks, occurring when a customer arrives at the DC to pick up an item. These special orders, along with instructions on where to locate the items, were announced over a radio but not assigned to a particular person. As a result, either no one responded, assuming another worker had picked the order, or everyone responded, abandoning current tasks.

In short, the picking operation at RC Willey was random at best. A way needed to be found to improve not only picking but improve inventory control and shipping accuracy. A customizable warehouse management system (WMS) now accurately directs all tasks, including receiving, putaway, cycle counts, picking and shipping.

Before long, RC Willey saw results. Productivity increased 10%. Shipping accuracy is now nearly 100%. Meanwhile, overall inventory accuracy has improved as pick times for "will-call orders" has dropped.

When new inventory arrives at the DC, a bar coded lot label is applied to the products and scanned for the WMS, which assigns a storage location. Once an order is placed, the WMS directs a picker to the item.

Picked items are directed to a specific shipping dock, one of 103, where it is inspected. If the item is damaged, the WMS allows it to be unpicked. With the WMS tracking the specifics for the database, the damaged item is either moved to a rework area for repair or to a location where it will be held for a scratch or dent sale later.

When a high-priority order such as a "will-call order" is placed, the WMS interrupts current picking instructions and directs a worker to pick the special order instead, significantly reducing the time required to fill the order. The system then removes the items from inventory.

RC Willey now has much better control over not only its picking operations but the inventory in the DC. A new employee incentive pay system has also been instituted, using data collected from the WMS.