The challenge: designing a leading edge fulfillment system
The distribution operation is critical to the company’s promise to pick up and deliver exactly what the customer ordered — on time and complete. When Corporate Express opened their distribution center in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, they worked with Dematic to design an order fulfillment system based on innovative technologies, namely voice directed picking.
The solution: going paperless
With voice directed picking, operators wear a portable, belt-mounted speech recognition device and a head set. The terminal communicates to the host computer via standard RF. This highly effective paperless picking method eliminates pick lists. Voice directed picking increases productivity and is ergonomically sound. Operators simply listen, speak and scan.
Accuracy is assured when operators verify the pick by repeating the carton identifier. A hand scanner is also employed to verify picks. Real-time notification of empty pick locations assures quick replenishment.
The results are in
Corporate Express North America has realized faster order fulfillment rates, improved accuracy and increased productivity with the Dematic system. Voice directed picking, working in concert with zone routing software and the conveyor network, provides a powerful and accurate solution order selection.
Each business day Corporate Express North America processes orders for several million dollars of office supplies. That's hundreds of thousands of items each day, and 85% of the line items are less than full case. To process these orders, Corporate Express North America uses a network of regional distribution centers. All of the distribution centers use Dematic order fulfillment systems.
Learn more on the Corporate Express website
"I’ve installed all sorts of automation throughout my career and this is the most bullet-proof that I’ve been through. It’s a lot less complicated; the ramp up time to get employees up to speed is significantly less. So it’s allowed us to bring the system up quicker and enjoy the benefits a lot sooner."
– Tim Beauchamp, Senior Vice President of Distribution Operations, Corporate Express
