Since its founding in 1985, Integrated Supply Network Inc., or ISN, has become the nation’s largest independent automotive tool and equipment distributor serving resellers and professional DIYers throughout North America and the U.K. ISN said it is committed to product and distribution excellence by delivering a breadth of products and making the unexpected … expected.
Integrated Supply Network faces growing demand
Integrated Supply Network has been growing at an exceptionally fast rate. With the growth of the business came the need to expand the size of its distribution centers.
In recent years, the typical ISN distribution center has seen a 10x increase in size to over 1 million sq. ft. The growth of these distribution centers has, in part, been responsible for decreased associate productivity. Since time and money were being wasted on long travel times in aisles, instead of valuable product picking.
Furthermore, ISN’s fulfillment model was evolving. A surge in small package shipments – which increased from 50% of all orders pre-pandemic to 80% now – placed further strain on associate productivity and distribution center throughput.
The productivity of existing warehouse associates was not the only challenge. Finding new associates and retaining them was also problematic for ISN, which has 655 employees. Skilled warehouse associates have always been in short supply.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the boom in e-commerce fueled increased competition within the talent pool and higher-than-expected staff turnover – their availability was even more limited.
Editor’s note: To learn more about this and other deployments, register now for our webinar on “Automated Fulfillment With Picking and Mobile Robots,” which will be on Wednesday, July 17, at 2:00 p.m. ET and watchable on demand after that.
Finding the right solution
Integrated Supply Network needed a solution that would allow it to significantly increase associate productivity, maintain the “pick and ship same day” philosophy and mitigate the risk of staff turnover. The company looked for a partner with technical competence to support it along with a commitment to quick deployment.
Having worked with Körber Supply Chain’s warehouse management system (WMS) successfully over the past 10 years, ISN turned to Körber and its autonomous mobile robot (AMR) partner, Locus Robotics, to drive continued improvements throughout the warehouse.
The AMR and associated software would allow the company to rapidly improve travel time in the warehouse, and achieve more efficient throughput. The deployment began at three customer locations, with 49 LocusBots deployed for the picking process.
Körber accelerates ISN transformation
Körber worked closely with Locus to integrate and deploy its robots in just under four months. In the new process, a scanned order prompts the AMR to move through the warehouse, taking the fastest path to the closest picking location – all without operator intervention.
Here, a picker uses information from the robot’s screen, including an image of the item to be picked, to find and pick the item required. The picker then scans and drops the item into the appropriate tote, leaving the robot to continue to the next pick location. When all picks are completed, the robot goes to the packing area, where orders are offloaded, before being instructed with the next picking command.
The bots have been an overwhelming success, according to Integrated Supply Network. They have increased efficiency, improved accuracy, enhanced the associate experience, and driven cost savings, it said.
The company is re-investing the cost savings into its workforce to improve employee satisfaction and raise associate wages. This in turn has helped to improve staff retention. ISN said it has realized a number of key benefits since deploying the AMRs:
- 266% improvement to picking speeds – 110 units are picked per hour, compared with the previous rate of 30
- Fast integration and deployment – four months to go live and realize value
- Increased picking quality and accuracy, while reducing associate training time
- Increased associate wages – the cost savings from integrating the bots allowed ISN to reinvest in its workforce
- Stabilized workforce – AMRs are augmenting the work of associates, not replacing them
Next steps for Integrated Supply Network
Integrated Supply Network is already experiencing the early successes of AMRs. Following a successful Phase 1, ISN plans to launch AMRs in two more sites in the near future.
In addition, the organization said it will expand AMR usage to the put-away process, helping to drive further efficiency in its warehouse operations.