DOTS, the retailer of extreme-value trend merchandise for women, is certainly accustomed to change. The store's offerings change frequently with the latest styles and seasons. But with over 300 stores in 22 states and aggressive plans to expand even more, DOTS needed a change in its distribution center as well.

For years, DOTS' 110,000 square foot distribution center in Solon, Ohio had used a pick-to-light system, but it eventually became outdated and inefficient.

Often, the system lost track of order trays. Data updates were slow, impeding picking. And the entire system often had to be restarted.

The situation called for a new pick-to-light system (AL Systems, 973-586-8500, www.alsysinc.com). Within six months, DOTS saw significant improvements in quality and a 20% bump in productivity. Furthermore, the system keeps precise track of the picking trays as they move on the conveyor between stations. The system's response time to a new order is almost four times faster than before.

Once merchandise is received, sorted by style and color and checked for quality, each item's stock keeping unit (SKU) is manually entered into an inventory database.

When items are allocated for a particular store, the SKUs are transferred to the pick-to-light system and assigned to one of three picking areas: bulky items, smaller clothing articles and accessories, and reserve stock of frequently replenished goods.

Picking trays, which relate to specific store locations, carry cartons to various picking stations where needed SKUs are located. When a carton is fully picked, the carton's bar code label is scanned to verify its contents. The pick-to-light system then automatically generates a new label to be affixed to the next available carton. Because of this system, DOTS is able to track the quantity and accuracy of picked items for each store location.

"The pick-to-light system records more historical data, allowing us to have improved quality performance and productivity tracking. Now if our quality control department finds a mistake with an order, we can locate which pick station made that mistake. This is especially important since a carton passes through so many pick stations," says Little.

As Little states, "at this point, DOTS is poised for unlimited growth in the number of its stores and merchandise."