by Noelle Abarelli | Nov 8, 2022 | Alpine News Blog
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.
by Alpine Supply Chain | Mar 26, 2020 | Warehouse Consulting
Do you have questions about keeping your employees safe and your warehouse productive in this uncertain time? Join Alpine’s Brenda Stoltz, an expert in strategic leadership, operations management and HR programs, for a WERC webinar, “Grow Your Safety Culture: How to Engage Warehouse Employees & Leaders” on Tuesday, March 31 at 2pm EST.
When it comes to safety in the warehouse, compliance is simply not enough. Rather, employees — and leadership — must be committed to not only keeping themselves safe, but also to ensuring the safety of those around them. Topics include best practices in structuring a team and techniques to gain support for, and increase interest in, safety.
Webinar participants also discover the benefits (both expected and unexpected) of a team dedicated to safety; techniques to get hourly employees to buy-in; and how to instill recommended routines that keep everyone informed and invested. Stoltz will also overview ways to establish peer-to-peer accountability — the single-most effective way to generate a safety-conscious culture.
Brenda will also share tips that leading companies are doing today to maintain operations, as well as to protect and communicate with employees and customers. She will share best practices and methods for facilities management, cleaning procedures, crisis planning and employee and customer communications.
Register here for this free webinar.
by Alpine Supply Chain | Mar 26, 2020 | Warehouse Consulting
Do you have questions about keeping your employees safe and your warehouse productive in this uncertain time? Join Alpine’s Brenda Stoltz, an expert in strategic leadership, operations management and HR programs, for a WERC webinar, “Grow Your Safety Culture: How to Engage Warehouse Employees & Leaders” on Tuesday, March 31 at 2pm EST.
When it comes to safety in the warehouse, compliance is simply not enough. Rather, employees — and leadership — must be committed to not only keeping themselves safe, but also to ensuring the safety of those around them. Topics include best practices in structuring a team and techniques to gain support for, and increase interest in, safety.
Webinar participants also discover the benefits (both expected and unexpected) of a team dedicated to safety; techniques to get hourly employees to buy-in; and how to instill recommended routines that keep everyone informed and invested. Stoltz will also overview ways to establish peer-to-peer accountability — the single-most effective way to generate a safety-conscious culture.
Brenda will also share tips that leading companies are doing today to maintain operations, as well as to protect and communicate with employees and customers. She will share best practices and methods for facilities management, cleaning procedures, crisis planning and employee and customer communications.
Register here for this free webinar.
by Alpine Supply Chain | Dec 11, 2019 | Warehouse Management
Business Intelligence is all the rage these days, and Alpine now offers a WMS Advanced Reporting solution that can give you data for days, including:
-Key Performance Indicator (KPI) analysis
-Financial performance tracking
-On-time and In-Full performance
-Function-specific cycle times
To determine if your operation could benefit from an advanced reporting solution, reflecton these questions:
- Do I rely on base GUI screens for business insights into my WMS?
- Do I have to export data from my WMS into Excel and run macros and pivot tables in order to get the information I need?
- Are my supervisors spending unnecessary time after every shift calculating UPH metrics or other necessary KPIs?
- Can I quickly provide my team with easy-to-read visuals that quickly show how effectively each team member is performing?
- Are there parts of your operation that fall into the “black box” category, leaving you guessing why the WMS is behaving in a given manner?
If you answered any of the above questions with a less-than-favorable response, it maybe time to step up your business intelligence (BI) game!
If you want more in-depth, actionable data from your JDA, see our white paper, “Operational Efficiencies Realized Through Business Intelligence” to learn how need-based reporting can breathe life into a stagnant WMS.
by Alpine Supply Chain | Oct 28, 2019 | Warehouse Consulting
Alpine Managing Principal, Michael Wohlwend, teamed up with Kevin Coleman of DSC Logistics, and Charlie Piper of Saddle Creek Logistics to discuss lessons that you can leverage for your successful third-party logistics partnerships during the October 10th Warehouse Education Research Council (WERC) webinar. Whether public warehouse or contract logistics, use these tactics for more effective 3PL collaboration!
Click below to watch the webinar now.
About DSC Logistics:
When Dry Storage Corporation was founded in 1960, we provided our customers space to store their products and a promise to meet their changing needs by, in the words of our founder, Jim McIlrath, “doing a better job tomorrow than we did today.” Ann McIlrath Drake, Jim’s daughter, joined in 1994 as CEO, and her vision unified our organization from a public warehousing company of 22 acquired affiliates to “one great company: DSC Logistics.” Under Ann’s leadership, we established our strong reputation for strategic collaboration, providing integrated supply chain solutions to many of the world’s leading companies.
About Saddle Creek Logistics:
Saddle Creek is an asset-based third-party logistics provider based in Lakeland, Florida. We specialize in designing and delivering omnichannel logistics solutions for manufacturers, retailers and ecommerce companies.Our approach is solution based and data driven, using the most advanced operational methods and sophisticated technologies.
