Tupperware's Hemingway, S.C. distribution center needed more storage capacity, throughput and efficiency. And, it needed to make those gains most cost effectively.

The company supplies millions of food storage, preparation and serving items to retailers. Its high-volume distribution operation demands high-density storage and staging equipment to keep order fulfillment running smoothly.

The answer was an 80-foot deep tote flow system with nine levels. The new system adds 2,250 tote lanes to the existing flow system. It increases storage capacity by about 60,000 totes, or about 30% of previous DC capacity.

In addition, warehouse efficiency in-creased 25% as throughput climbed too. The new storage and staging system also helps to manage peaks in order fulfillment and reduces lead times required of the company's manufacturing facilities.

The system also increases pick selectivity, first-in/first-out stock rotation and maximizes storage density. It conveys totes without hang-ups—not an easy task considering that totes in deep-flow systems are prone to hang-ups, especially when they are too heavy, light or damaged.

Getting to this point presented several challenges. The new tote flow system needed to fully integrate with other storage and staging equipment in the facility. It also needed to be compatible with pre-existing skate-wheel flow-rail components.

A complex frame line and beam system comprises the main structure, which stands nine levels high. The storage levels are of varying heights and widths.

As it turned out, some special manufacturing of components was necessary with installation of flow rails adding still more customization. However, costs of the new system were kept to a minimum by using pre-existing components in the design.