When MJ Holding, the largest North American distributor of trading cards and novelties to retail stores, found they were conducting business out of five buildings, they knew it was time to make a change to their warehouse operations. Conveyor Solutions, Inc. (CSI) was brought in to assist with consolidating operations into a new 360,000-square-foot facility. And, CSI tapped Alpine Supply Chain Solutions to help define the facility’s storage methodology and workflows.

With a footprint that spans 8,000 retail stores in the United States and Canada, including chains like Target and Walmart, MJ Holding releases around 550 new products each year. With such a comprehensive inventory, Alpine started with a thorough analysis of its data. All retail and e-commerce sales were analyzed and storage type analysis (STA) was performed to help design the best layout possible for picking operations. A sensitivity analysis of the top 5% of inventory items was also completed to uncover additional efficiencies for the operation.

The data found that 35% of MJ Holding’s inventory moved too slowly, and 5% of it moved too quickly for the planned case flow picking setup, which could lead to significant replenishment issues down the line. With this information in hand, Alpine developed a three-level pick module separated into 12 zones, ensuring each employee is able to get a full day’s worth of work completed.

The new layout led to:

• The ability to pick the equivalent order volume in 57% of the original time
• A 43% reduction in labor for peak one-day order file
• The ability to handle 30,000 orders a day, instead of 12,000

Alpine’s data analysis spotted a trend in MJ Holding’s growing e-commerce activity, which helped them move forward with implementing an e-commerce platform to foster their interaction directly with consumers. The best part? The platform went live in the fall of 2019, so when the pandemic hit in March 2020, they were well-positioned to meet growing demand without batting an eye.

For the full story, check out Inbound Logistics’ feature. If you’re looking for assistance in your warehouse, reach out! We’re here to ensure you get the most out of your supply chain investments.