Material Handling Information - Case Studies - O.C.Tanner
Case Studies - Consumer Products Application
O.C.Tanner
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Application
O.C. Tanner Company Award Distribution Center (ADC) --
Salt Lake City, UT.
Mass customization of 4,000 merchandise items and jewelry.
Ships 2.5 million awards every year to more than 10,000 customers worldwide.
Key Customer Benefits
Production up 17% with fewer workers.
Production per direct labor hour increased 120%.
Order cycle time cut 70%.
Distance material travels from receipt to shipping reduced 90%.
Inventory accuracy better than 99% with returns less than 25%.
Material Flow Requirements
Consolidate four warehouses while increasing capacity 25-30%
Eliminate non-value-added steps in manufacturing and distribution processes
Improve direct labor productivity 100%
Achieve near 100% inventory accuracy.
Material Flow Hardware
Two-aisle mini load automated storage buffer with 5,060 storage locations.
Two-aisle unit load automated storage buffer with 1,438 storage locations.
Conveyor system to transport merchandise from the automated buffers to assembly work cells and from work cells to packing, consolidation, and shipping.
Computer Control System
Real-time inventory control system with interface to O.C. Tanner's host computer.
Material Flow Process
Input
Incoming merchandise is received on the first floor and its bar code scanned into the inventory control computer.
Lift trucks deliver pallet loads of larger items to the unit load input station.
Workers fill totes with smaller items for the mini load.
Output
Orders picked for Just-In-Time manufacturing.
Workers pick orders from end-of-aisle workstations on the second floor as directed by the inventory control system.
A low-profile shuttle cart with automatic safety gates at the unit load gives workers easy access to the pallet from three sides, while protecting them from the edge of the mezzanine.
Picked orders are sent via load-sensing conveyors to assembly work cells.
Bar code readers divert cartons and totes to the appropriate manufacturing cell.
At each cell, workers attach customized emblems to the items.
Completed orders are returned to the conveyor, which transports them back to the first floor for consolidation and shipping.
