Compartmented bins cut storage square footage in half

A major manufacturer of construction and mining equipment looked to improve storage efficiency and inventory control within its 700,000-square-foot master parts distribution center. By replacing steel shelving, drawers, corrugate containers, wooden boxes and pigeon-hole cubbies with a series of compartmented bins, the company created a more organized, clean and efficient storage space.

The DC is responsible for providing parts and responsive customer service worldwide. The site operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days per year to keep up with demand. One of the biggest hindrances to the efficiency of the operation was the 150,000-square-foot small parts storage area. The facility had been using a disjointed variety of storage options with many of its SKUs contained on shelves in cardboard boxes.

The corrugated boxes posed several problems for the manufacturer. The boxes were dusty, and in the humid climate they became soggy and weak. Not able to be cleaned, the boxes left the area looking dirty and ragged. Labels tended to peel off, making it difficult for the company’s order pickers to identify parts. Possibly the biggest issue was the great variety of box sizes, resulting in a lot of wasted space.

The one-piece design of the new six-compartment bins (Akro-Mils, akro-mils.com) provided a clean and organized look. The one-piece molded part gave uniformity to the storage space with a combination of 12-inch deep and 18-inch deep bins housing a variety of part sizes. For larger parts, the supplier’s super-sized bins offered sturdy construction and large storage capacity.
Another major benefit of the bins was the enormous savings in freight versus standard bins. The shipment of the 33,000 new bins and 33,000 super-sized bins required 7.5 truckloads to fulfill. This would have required 14 truckloads for a comparable single-compartment bin. The supplier was able to begin shipping the order eight days after it was received.

Existing shelving units were removed and replaced with uniform shelving packed with labeled and organized blue bins. The formerly 150,000 square feet of storage space had been consolidated and reduced by half. “This has greatly reduced travel time for pickers,” says an operations manager at the facility. “The new bar coding system we implemented with the new bins also allows pickers to locate parts faster within the smaller footprint. We’re now using the extra capacity for additional racking to store larger parts.”