The company did not have to purchase another warehouse.
Now, about 70 percent of the time that the product is in a staging area, it is no more than 6 metres (20 feet) from the shipping truck – translating into less wear and tear on the forklifts, which helps maintain superior performance levels and extend lifespan.
Flow racks are only 9 metres (30 feet) from the staging area resulting in operators being able to load an entire truck in ½ the time it took before.
Inventory Manager - Columbus Vegetable Oils
Columbus Vegetable Oils processes and packages more than 100 different shortening and oils within its 30,658-square-metre (330,000-square-foot) warehouse in Des Plaines, Illinois.
Business accelerated shortly after the company moves to its current location, which strained the warehouse's capacity and threatened to negatively impact warehouse flow. Product rotation is critical, and the company found it difficult to find space to rotate and store over 5,000 different SKU’s. The company has 18 docks and ships 30-40 truckloads of product a day. Product was stacked on pallets and placed directly on the floor. Operators were already struggling to manoeuvre around pallets. Space around the loading docks was limited, which inhibited the company from properly staging products for easy transition onto waiting trucks.
Crown worked closely with Rack Builders, Inc. and Mallard Manufacturing to create a warehouse design that increased staging areas closer to the docks, translating into less forklift movement. With a new racking system and staging area, Columbus Oils is now able to meet its growing capacity needs.