by Alpine Supply Chain | Aug 21, 2019 | Warehouse Consulting, Warehouse Management
Are you curious about upgrading your warehouse through new conveyor simulation systems to improve throughput? Read Alpine Supply Chain’s input on the shifting “digital twin” technology and get smart with your own dynamic conveyor design.
“As warehouses and distribution centers continue to go high-tech, the tools used to design them are following suit with advances that make it easier for companies to predict how their operation will evolve to meet changing business demands over time. Conveyor simulation technology offers a case in point, shifting from a tool that simply shows how a conveyor system will work into one that can help companies plan the best system to meet peak service demands, ever-later order-cutoff times, and the staffing requirements to handle such changes. The software programs used to simulate conveyor system design today use advanced algorithms and data analytics to produce those results, and experts say the added use of sensors and Internet of Things technology is evolving to help produce real-time replicas of physical systems (think “digital twin” technology) that can provide organizations with even more productivity-enhancing data.
‘Today, a customer can expect to see a lot more [from conveyor simulation] than just ‘does the system work?’ explains Luther Webb, vice president, data science at material handling solutions provider Trew LLC. “[We have] more advanced modeling written in advanced code form. Today, [in a simulated design] the customer is looking at various formulas built into a model, and those formulas are interacting with each other.’
The end result is a dynamic model of conveyor technology that is helping organizations maximize throughput and minimize labor costs.”
by Alpine Supply Chain | Jul 29, 2019 | Supply Chain Consulting
MINNEAPOLIS – July 30 – HighJump, a global provider of supply chain solutions, today announces it is enabling online grocery delivery service Good Eggs with the connected, automated supply chain of the future. With HighJump, Good Eggs meets the unique needs of ecommerce grocery and capitalizes on the market’s rapid growth.
According to Nielsen, in as few as five to seven years, 70% of consumers will be grocery shopping online – leading to an estimated $100 billion in spend by 2024. To capitalize on this, grocers must continue adhering to stringent requirements for food, beverage and other perishable goods, while meeting consumer expectations for freshness, purchasing convenience and delivery speed. HighJump makes this possible.
Based in San Francisco, Good Eggs provides online grocery distribution from local farmers – spanning fresh produce, meal kits, everyday staples, wine, beer and spirits. As a result, Good Eggs’ inventory is constantly changing. Good Eggs partnered with Alpine Supply Chain Solutions, a leading supply chain consulting provider, to lead a WMS selection and ensure their new distribution center leveraged best practices to support their growth and evolving logistics needs.
“The HighJump Warehouse Management System (WMS) uniquely allows Good Eggs to adjust the system around specific processes – by product, by customer demand, and beyond. This guarantees the adaptability to meet today’s requirements, while seamlessly scaling with the rapid growth trajectory of online grocery,” said Michael Wohlwend, managing principal of Alpine Supply Chain Solutions.
“Online grocery is about more than delivering products – it’s about creating experiences,” said Bill Ryan, chief operating officer of North America at HighJump. “Whether a multichannel chain or niche, ecommerce player, HighJump allows grocers and the vendors they represent to be true to their brands – fulfilling online food orders how and when needed at the quality, consistency, and delivery options consumers expect.”
“At Good Eggs, we’re committed to providing an ‘absurdly fresh’ experience to our customers,” said Tess Furge, vice president of expansion & strategy at Good Eggs. “The HighJump WMS provides the flexibility for us to properly manage online food sales and refrigerated storage to assure we stay true to this commitment now and as we grow in this dynamic market.”
The HighJump WMS scales and adapts to the needs of small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs), global enterprises and third party logistics (3PL). Further information on the HighJump WMS is here.
About Good Eggs
Good Eggs is a pioneering online grocer and meal kit delivery service with a mission to reinvent your food system, for good. The Bay Area-based company is the only service that combines absurdly fresh local produce, meal kits for every occasion, grocery staples, and wine, beer, and spirits to wash it down. With same-day delivery across the Bay Area, Good Eggs is the simplest way to feed your family well all week long.
Over the past two years, Good Eggs has added over 1,000 items across categories to its marketplace and expanded its delivery footprint throughout SF, East Bay, Marin, and the South Bay and Peninsula. As the company has grown, they remain steadfast in their mission. The majority of Good Eggs’ product & produce assortment is local, and every item carried must meet a strict list of sourcing standards. In addition to good food, the company provides good jobs. Every operations team member receives benefits, carries equity, and is paid 20 to 50% above industry average.
Good Eggs is privately owned. Investors include Benchmark, Index Ventures, Obvious Ventures, S2G Ventures and others. The company was awarded Best Grocery Delivery by San Francisco Magazine in 2019 and 2017, and was awarded Best Grocery Delivery by SF Weekly in 2019. For more information about Good Eggs visit https://about.goodeggs.com
About Alpine Supply Chain Solutions
Alpine Supply Chain Solutions, based in Chicago, IL is a supply chain consulting company driven to ensure their clients get the most value from their investments. Their approach to every project starts with the data and ends with a cost justifiable solution. With deep roots in industrial engineering, Alpine’s approach is unique. For more information please visit the company web site WWW.AlpineSupplyChainSolutions.com.
About HighJump
Today’s consumer has ever-higher expectations for purchasing convenience, delivery speed, choice and adaptability. More options for consumers spell greater complexity for the supply chain. It’s no longer enough to fulfill demand – you must anticipate it, predict it and make smarter, faster decisions.
With resources tight and competitive pressure relentless, staying ahead means selecting a technology partner with a proven track record of delivering efficiency and a lower cost of ownership. A partner whose flexible, extensible platform integrates quickly and smoothly with your existing systems. All backed by a team with unmatched transportation and logistics expertise – working to help you adapt, grow and succeed.
At HighJump, we’re integrating our proven solutions for the warehouse, transportation and logistics ecosystem with emerging technologies – from around our company and around the world – to build the supply chain of the future. Leveraging advanced cloud technology, we can help you ride the wave of data to achieve greater efficiency, uncover actionable insights, and stay ahead of the curve.
HighJump – Supply Chain of the Future: Learn more – https://www.highjump.com/
HighJump
1-800-328-3271 x 2717
Heather.Smith@highjump.com
by Alpine Supply Chain | Jul 10, 2019 | Warehouse Consulting, Warehouse Management
Founded in 1957, School Health Corporation is a leading national provider of supplies and services to health professionals in educational settings from pre-school to college. The company offers more than 20,000 products ranging from health supplies, sports medicine equipment and early childhood products to physical education, recreation and special needs aids.
The Challenge: Maximizing the Layout of a New Warehouse
With School Health’s success and growth, the company recognized that it had outgrown its primary warehouse facility. It committed to build a new, larger facility in suburban Chicago.
“While we are adept at warehouse operations and order fulfillment, our current team had never designed a warehouse from scratch before,” said Beth Reed, School Health’s project manager/training developer.
How should the company slot its product inventory for maximum efficiency and throughput? How best to handle seasonal spikes in demand for certain products that typically occur at the start of each new school year? How should it number and label its bins for optimal performance with its existing warehouse management software?
“It takes more than educated guesswork and spreadsheets to properly slot product inventory,” Reed said. “We wanted to do things right from the start, so we soon recognized that we needed to bring in outside expertise.”
The Solution: Engaging Experts in Inventory Slotting and Labeling
School Health worked with Alpine SupplyChain Solutions to help with warehouse location methodology and slotting plans. The project’s goals included minimizing the time and distance required to replenish key products; reducing workers’ bend-and-reach requirements for placing and picking products; and more efficiently organizing its inventory for greater throughput.
“The Alpine team asked great questions to understand our needs,” Reed said, “and they have access to cutting-edge tools that were fundamental to the project’s success.”
Alpine is a strategic partner with Optricity, a provider of software solutions for warehousing optimization. Its OptiSlot DC™ tool was used to analyze a variety of School Health’s unique factors, including product dimensions, weight and velocity, pick paths, material handling equipment like their conveyor system, pallet building, inventory seasonality requirements and more.
“In my role, I hadn’t previously spent a lot of time thinking about warehouse location address methodology,” Reed noted. “But working with Alpine made the entire project team appreciate the science involved in slotting our products. An optimally slotted warehouse supports efficiency and profitability. Just as important, it also minimizes the time and effort involved in key tasks like product putaway, or picking and order fulfillment, which our employees appreciate.”
Smart Labeling for a Smart Warehouse
At the same time School Health engaged Alpine SupplyChain Solutions, it also reached out to ID Label.
“Since we were investing in doing things right in our new warehouse we decided we should upgrade from in-house rack labels that wouldn’t perform to the requirements of our new environment,” Reed said.
After seeing an ad, School Health requested sample labels and product information. Due to the seasonal velocity of some of their products, the team knew they needed flexibility in how rack slots were labeled. Magnet-backed labels were an option, but they can occasionally be knocked to the ground from daily encounters with forklifts and other traffic.
“ID Label did a site visit and showed us their removable label, Clean Release™. We immediately knew it was the perfect solution for our flexibility needs,” Reed said.
Clean Release features an innovative adhesive that makes these labels fully removable and repositionable without any scraping or leftover residue, yet they can remain fully in place for years at a time.
“Now we can easily adjust and move our location labels to match our slotting strategy,” Reed said. “As an added bonus, ID Label was able to match our corporate color, so our rack labels are a colorful extension of our corporate brand!”
Optricity and ID Label Collaboration
Additionally, Optricity and ID Label have teamed to ensure that the design and barcode symbology used in ID Label’s custom-manufactured labels complement Optricity’s data logic and slotting algorithms for maximum operational efficiency and scanning accuracy.
Advice for Others
When asked what advice she might offer to industry colleagues facing a similar project, Reed recommended the following:
-Start your planning early. You will need more time than you think.
-Be inclusive and engage key personnel to tap your company’s internal knowledge.
-Engage knowledgeable consultants and vendors. Leverage their expertise to fast-track large projects.
-Track, measure and manage. Build a timeline and document your milestones. Know that issues and obstacles will arise along the way.
-Run a dress rehearsal (or three!) before going live.
”Finding the right experts to work with was definitely a key to the success of this important project,” Reed concluded.
#SupplyChainSolutions
by Alpine Supply Chain | May 2, 2019 | Warehouse Consulting, Warehouse Management
This week I gave a presentation at the Warehouse Education Research Council (WERC) Conference, with Bob Moran, President of First Logistics, “True Story: WMS Selection in 90 Days and Go-Live in Five Months, and Under Budget.”
If you weren’t able to see the presentation in person, I’m happy to send it to you as an example of the selection and implementation process you can expect when you work with us. Just send me a message in the blue “Contact Us” form below.
We’re happy to help with any of your supply chain projects, including strategic planning, system integrations, distribution network analysis, transportation optimization and lean training for warehouse and VAS.
Let us know how we can help.
#WMS #WERC #SupplyChainSolutions
More About Bob Moran:
Bob joined First Logistics as a partner in April 2015. His experience as an entrepreneur and corporate CEO make him the ideal company President. Thirty plus years in the logistics industry give him unique qualifications to lead our company’s strategic growth initiatives.
As a recognized industry leader, Bob has earned the International Warehouse and Logistics Association (IWLA) professional designation of CWLP (Certified Warehouse Logistics Professional). Bob has also been teaching warehousing courses within the industry since 1992. Recognized by the IWLA as the recipient of the 2009 Distinguished Service and Leadership Award, Bob’s commitment to the industry is absolute.
by Alpine Supply Chain | Apr 9, 2019 | Warehouse Consulting, Warehouse Management
You may ask yourself why would weak warehouse leaders be on the rise?
It’s not that Strong Warehouse Leaders are not great leaders, however weak leaders are open to a different expectations.
Think about this, People love Jokes. With a joke there is a expectation and a response. Regardless if the Joke is a good or bad joke, there is the element of surprise and a response. Now let’s take that same concept to a Warehouse. With a warehouse there are expectations and responses.
Receive, Store, Pick, and Ship
On a daily basis we receive products and ship products.
In some warehouses these quantities on a daily basis may be a surprise and some maybe scared about the fluctuating volumes.
It’s those leaders that are open to new expectations and responses. Where a Strong Leader is expected to have all the answers, however with the amount of data now available, Weak leaders will take the data and look at new ways. This is why we are seeing a shift to “Weak” leaders. Typically Strong leaders already have the answer.
Don’t be afraid and follow the new ideas. This can seem to be a daunting task, but remember to rely on the power of the data and people.
