Collaborative mobile robots help Crocs meet unprecedented demand

For several years Crocs, a global footwear company, has been a leader in the casual shoe industry as well as a household name to many. In October 2019, Crocs opened its Dayton, Ohio-based DC, which is not only 40% larger than its previous operation, but was also expected to deliver 50% more throughput.

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the company’s e-commerce volume skyrocketed unexpectedly as Crocs quickly became the go-to comfort essential for staying at home as well as a popular shoe option for healthcare workers on the front lines. To fulfill its surging e-commerce demand, the company realized it needed a second DC quickly.

Crocs leadership sought out recommendations from Sedlak Management Consultants, and they designed a 550,000-square-foot, pop-up warehouse, which would allow Crocs to immediately solve its fulfillment challenges. The warehouse plan included a recommendation to bring in automation, and the consulting firm advised that a wall-to-wall fulfillment solution would be the perfect fit.

Upon finalizing a solution in August 2020, the Crocs team needed to quickly hire and train 400 associates for this pop-up facility. In addition, Crocs brought 83 collaborative mobile robots. Of these robots, called Chucks, 32 were seasonal rentals for the holiday peak season. Knowing that time was very valuable ahead of the holidays, go-live occurred in early October 2020 and the site ramped from first pick to full volume in just two days—reaching 100% system utilization by the end of the second day.

During Q4 2020, Crocs warehouse associates picked roughly 3 million units with the mobile robots, increased throughput by 182% and exceeded designed rates by 25%. By 2021, Crocs had surpassed 5 million units. The mobile robots eliminated the need for associates to push or pull heavy carts and have allowed them to cut walking time in half. A week after implementation, the site adopted dynamic zoning into their operation, a software enhancement that further reduced total associate travel by 1 mile per day.

Additionally, training time for new associates decreased from one week to one day, saving Crocs 32 hours of training time for each new associate. The automated fulfillment system was designed, developed and deployed in less than three months, ensuring the Crocs team was able to meet the heightened demand ahead of holiday peak.