Case Study: Fulfillment Center Process Adjustment
As a result of optimized processes, better space planning, and other improvements put in place, Copernica was able this year to implement an order fulfillment process that was exponentially more efficient than we've ever known.
- Justin Sewell, Board Member, Copernica
INDUSTRY
Third-Party Logistics/Fulfillment
PROBLEM/OPPORTUNITY
Copernica, a small high-touch fulfillment business had difficulty keeping errors and order-processing lead-times low as the order volumes increased.
SOLUTION
After a thorough review of existing order picking and shipping processes, Triact recommended relatively minor process changes that, when implemented, resulted in more than 80% fewer errors and eliminated multi-day fulfillment backlogs during peak season while lowering operating costs:
- Establish dedicated picking area with replenishment from bulk storage
- Segregate warehouse zones by client-type and product velocity
- Eliminate expensive multi-part packing slip / label forms and add barcode to packing slip for order validation and shipping label printing.
SOLUTION FEATURES
- No additional software was required, despite initial interest in WMS-type applications.
TECHNOLOGY
- Barcode font for packing slips
- Barcode scanners (hand-held keyboard-wedges) at shipping stations
CHALLENGES
Copernica was constrained by operating in a building where they had outgrown the storage capacity and were using two separate warehousing areas with a significant traffic pinch-point between them. This was overcome by segregating activities to minimize traffic between the areas.
