L’Oréal’s layer picking system increases accuracy and traceability

In the world today, speed, reliability and availability are mandatory for businesses to survive, leading the cosmetic giant, L’Oréal, to seek more efficient ways to respond to modern markets’ demands.

In particular, it recognized the importance of adapting to the supply chain’s changing environment and responded by automating its Walton, Ky.-based facility to meet the increasing demands of customers, ensuring future success.

When the Walton DC opened in 2009, it used an entirely manual order processing model to hand-pick 10 million pounds per year, while also using a three-shift operation staffed exclusively with a sub-contracted workforce.

L’Oréal made it a priority to diminish the facility’s operation hours from three shifts to two, and improving outbound order quality while providing a superior level of customer service. Even more prominently, L’Oréal wanted to maintain a premier standard in energy conservation and worker health and safety by decreasing the amount of manually lifted and picked items each year and reducing transportable waste.

L’Oréal chose an automated robotic solutions provider’s layer picking solution. This fully automated, robotic system could pick a near limitless variety of products, access a large volume of inventory with a single machine and create customer orders in any sequence desired.

They took the layer picking system a step further by also investing in a double gantry system that would offer 100% redundancy. In addition, it implemented a forward reserve cascading replenishment system for 6,000 pallets per month, which would reduce forklift travel within the 680,000-square-foot facility.

Since installing the layer pick system, L’Oréal’s flow of orders and productivity have become more efficient and consistent, compared to the manual system. The solution has decreased and reallocated existing resources to other operations within the facility, such as receiving, warehousing and shipping. Additionally, the ability to build taller outbound pallets has led to a decline in the average number of pallets per outbound shipment, creating additional benefits regarding wooden pallet costs, forklift pallet touches and transportation savings.

Along with the ergonomic and environmental benefits, the automation has also increased worker safety by decreasing the amount of manually lifted and picked items each year. And L’Oréal is continuing to benefit from the replenishment of 6,000 pallets per month, along with 100% accuracy and traceability at a faster rate, as it currently handles 1 million cases on a monthly basis.

Having achieved the quality and productivity expected, L’Oréal has embraced automation to the fullest level. Not only has the robotic layer picking solution in the Walton DC been successfully implemented, but L’Oréal intends to also continuously deploy additional technology within the facility.

Cimcorp Automation
(905) 643-9700