SUCCESS STORIES
Empire Candle is a full service manufacturer of candles, wax melts, and home fragrance accessories. Their core values are quality and tradition, and they have been delivering high quality candles and fragrance innovations for over 60 years. When the company faced storage challenges that threatened their operational efficiencies, they reached out to Alpine Supply Chain Solutions with the goal of extending their stay in their current facility and optimizing storage to leverage existing assets more effectively.
Empire Candle’s primary issue was storage challenges that would shorten the time in which they would be able to stay in their current facility. The company wanted to maximize the space that they had but they were concerned about compromising product integrity. They also needed to make room for growing inventory, and were unsure if they needed to begin immediate expansion. Empire Candle’s stringent requirement of stacking pallets only two high to prevent product damage posed a unique challenge. The goal was to develop a solution that allowed for higher stacking while protecting the delicate nature of the candles.
Alpine’s primary objectives included increasing storage density to accommodate growing inventory and identifying pick and reserve rack types, along with optimal quantities. Alpine also focused on maximizing the use of available space without compromising product integrity and optimizing the existing layout to accommodate growth. They also needed to determine how long Empire Candle could stay in its current facility.
The implementation of the storage type analysis and facility design recommendations led to significant improvements for Empire Candle, including increased storage density from pushback racking and pallet opening height optimization. Also, the adjusted layout and aisle configurations maximized clear height, providing additional space without compromising safety. Aisle orientation, staging space optimization, and specialized equipment for layer picking improved overall operational efficiency. Finally, the combined efforts resulted in Empire Candle being able to stay in their current warehouse for several more years without the immediate need for expansion.
