Grocery retailer uses order fulfillment software to improve the automation

Shortly after its new ambient distribution center was finalized, Foodstuffs, a grocery retailer, had a key priority: To introduce automation for high-volume, split-case items and small bulk picking. After all, the DC supports an improvement in accuracy and an increase in productivity and service levels. Key design initiatives included minimizing the site footprint to reduce travel time between picks and optimizing system flexibility to enable the efficient handling of various SKUs and order types.

A feature of the retailer’s order fulfillment systems is a two-level zone route pick module. Controlled by order fulfilment software, order totes travel through the pick module on a conveyor, automatically diverting only into zones where picks are required. Operators, equipped with voice-directed terminals, then batch pick individual items and small bulk packs from thousands of shelving and carton live storage locations into the order totes, which are transported through the system until all items required for an order have been picked.

Orders begin on the ground level of the picking module and are transported to the mezzanine level by an incline conveyor. When all of the items for an order have been picked, the order tote is pushed onto a take-away conveyor that transports the tote to a spiral conveyor, which returns the order tote to the ground floor. Next, the order tote is conveyed to the DC’s shipping area, where a 12-lane sorter automatically diverts the totes to the appropriate lane for palletizing and shipping.

The order fulfillment software optimizes operational processes from planning to order fulfilment and shipping within a single flexible, scalable and modular platform, and offers visibility and insight into system performance across a range of mobile devices. In addition, it also drives voice-directed picking and RF-directed replenishment, and enables automated conveyor routing technologies to facilitate the fulfilment of orders.

“The DC has been designed to accommodate growth in our business for several years. Now, we have the people, automation and the software in place to efficiently handle throughput of up to 1,000,000 cases per week or more during peak periods,” says Kris Lancaster, logistics operations manager for Foodstuffs. “As we ramp up order volume in the future, we expect the system to further increase our productivity.”

Dematic North America
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