While some companies handle returns casually, that isn't an option at Penguin Publishing's Kirkwood, NY facility. After all, 35 million books passed through its new, semi-automated returns center last year.

Previously, all returns were moved by cart and manually sorted and staged on shelves. "We couldn't continue to operate that way," says Don Cox, director of engineering services.

Today, four types of conveyors—roller, accumulation, belt and gravity—route books through the facility. A pop-up sorter feeds four pods of three horizontal carousels each. Bar codes and inventory management software direct activities.

Penguin's $1.2 million expenditure for hardware, software and system integration (SJF Material Handling, 320-485-2824) paid for itself during its first year of operation, says Cox.

At 22 workstations, workers hand-sort books from cases and gaylords to one of three belt conveyor lines stacked three high. One line is for "mint" condition books, a second for "hurts," and the third for "trash." While hurts and trash go to another area of the center, mint books are scanned and a pop-up sorter sends each to one of 12 accumulation conveyors.

A second scan releases each book to gravity conveyors that feed the carousels. Putaway is in a tote in a location selected by the system's software. When totes are full, the system software instructs workers to remove and release them to a powered roller conveyor for delivery to the distribution center for restocking.