Last year, Rolf C. Hagen (USA) Corp. announced a radical change to its business model. The pet supply company abandoned its traditional two-step distribution method in favor of selling directly to pet stores.

Before the switch, the majority of orders leaving Hagen's distribution center in Mansfield, Mass., went out full truckload, headed for distributors and wholesalers. Today, at least 80% of Hagen's orders of assorted pet supplies go out in frequent shipments sent directly to small retailers.

This dramatic shift in order size and volume required a rapid upgrade (Abel Womack, 800-554-2887, www.abelwomack.com) of Hagen's 310,000 square foot East Coast DC.

Approximately 2,000 feet of conveyor now connect a new small-item picking and shipping area, complete with a multi-level pick module, packing and checking stations, and an automated shipping sorter.

The productivity increase has been phenomenal. Warehouse manager Chris Castelli reports a 400% increase in order lines pulled per day with only a 25% increase in picking labor.

Saving travel time with the conveyor, says Castelli, is what makes filling Hagen's current order volume possible. “Without the conveyor,” he says, “I would need four times as many employees to get all the work done.”

The network of conveyor quickly and smoothly connects the various processes in the DC. Roller conveyor carries totes through the pick module and transports cartons from packing stations to the shipping sorter. Spiral conveyor moves totes between pick module levels. Belt conveyor carries trash from pickers to the shredder.

The conveyor has been easy to maintain, says Castelli, and it contributes to an employee-friendly environment. In the old days, he says, the DC had a picking area where employees snaked up and down aisles filling orders. “There's a lot less walking now,” he says.