When Cutter & Buck decided to open a new distribution center in Grand Prairie, Texas, it planned to include an AutoStore system. The omnichannel retailer could have copied its first deployment with Kardex in Renton, Wash.
However, the strategic partners applied years of automation experience, performance data, and shared knowledge to build the facility round Cutter & Buck’s evolving fulfillment requirements and long-term plans.
“The opening of this facility represents much more than additional capacity – it reflects how Cutter & Buck is preparing our distribution network for the next stage of growth,” stated Joel Freet, CEO of Cutter & Buck. “Our experience in Renton gave us a clear understanding of what automation can make possible for our operation and our customers. With Kardex, we’ve been able to take what we’ve learned and apply it to a new facility designed around where our business is going next.”
Zurich-based Kardex Holding AG provides automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), integrated material handling systems, and order-fulfillment systems. The company, whose Kardex Remstar headquarters are in Westbrook, Maine, is a global AutoStore partner.
Editor’s note: Brian Quigley, director of North American consulting at Kardex, will discuss ASRS advances in a free webinar at noon EST tomorrow, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. Register now to attend.
Cutter & Buck collaboration with Kardex has grown
Cutter & Buck’s relationship with Kardex began with the modernization of its operation in Renton. It said its initial ASRS was designed to maximize available storage capacity within its existing distribution center, increasing efficiency, accuracy, and order throughput, while reducing reliance on seasonal labor.
The Renton system went live in July 2023 with more than 34,000 storage bins, 54 robots, and Kardex FulfillX warehouse execution system (WES) software.
As Cutter & Buck continued to grow, the AutoStore system evolved with the business. The need to accommodate additional SKUs led to an expansion including 9,962 more storage bins, additional ports, and infrastructure to support future growth and greater throughput flexibility.
Kardex said that progression – from initial implementation to expansion – gave the partners years of real-world operating experience to draw upon when developing the new Texas facility.
AutoStore experience transfers from Washington to Texas
Kardex designed and integrated Cutter & Buck’s second AutoStore goods-to-person (G2P) system for the Grand Prairie facility. It includes 50,502 storage bins, 32 AutoStore R5 Pro robots, and 13 ports. The FulfillX WES orchestrates ASRS operations and coordinates fulfillment workflows.
The system was designed for a target of 1,256 bin presentations per hour, with AutoStore simulation averaging 1,284 bin presentations per hour. Its modular architecture gives Cutter & Buck the ability to expand robots and ports independently as demand changes.
In addition, Kardex developed an integrated conveyor connecting AutoStore output with downstream processes, including embroidery, routing, print and apply, and shipping. The result is a connected flow designed around Cutter & Buck’s mix of blank and decorated apparel orders and the broader requirements of the new distribution operation, said the companies.
ASRS and communication help execute on business strategy
Not only did Cutter & Buck and Kardex learn as they expanded the AutoStore deployments, but the communications between them helped execute on larger business strategies.
“What makes Texas exciting is that we weren’t starting from assumptions,” said Scott Sumpter, executive director for distribution, enhancement, and logistics at Cutter & Buck. “We had years of experience operating AutoStore in Renton, Wash., and a much better understanding of how the system supports our people, our processes, and our customers. That experience allowed us to work with Kardex to take what we had learned, build on what worked, and design the Texas facility around what we’ll need as the business continues to grow.”
With each phase of ASRS deployment, the companies said they gained additional operating data, process knowledge, and practical experience that informed their next design decisions. Kardex said its partnership is increasingly focused not just on a single automation project, but also on how technology, software, and fulfillment strategy can improve alongside Cutter & Buck’s business.
“What makes this milestone particularly meaningful is everything that led to it,” said Fred Fox Jr., president of Kardex AS Solutions Americas. “We started by working with Cutter & Buck to solve a specific fulfillment challenge in Renton. As their business grew, we expanded that system together.”
“Now we’re taking years of shared experience and applying it to an entirely new operation in Texas,” he added. “That’s what a strategic automation partnership should look like – continuing to evolve the solution as the customer’s business evolves.”