When global health care company Fresenius Kabi sought to expand its United States operations with a new product line, it followed its long-held strategy of manufacturing its products in the country or region where they are used. The German-based firm has three manufacturing sites in the U. S. to serve its hospital and clinic customers in the American market, so it was an easy decision to invest in expanding an existing site in Wilson, N.C. The Wilson site manufactures generic medicines in pre-filled syringes. The new operation is for the production of IV (intravenous) solutions that provide fluids and medicines for patients in clinics and hospitals. Automating processes at the Wilson site was important to assure safety, accuracy, and precise handling of the solutions.
"This facility is the most automated and integrated of our three production facilities operating in the US," says Wolfgang Salrein, vice president, expansion project, at Fresenius Kabi. "The new operation is capable of producing million units of standard solutions annually."
To provide space for the new operations, a rack-supported high-rise building was erected to house an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) from Stoecklin Logistics. The three-aisle system contains 10,200 pallet positions where finished goods are stored until ready to ship. Most products spend about a week in the temperature-monitored storage, during which time they naturally cool following their sterilization during the manufacturing processes.
A FLUID FLOW To begin the flow processes in Wilson, the chemical fluid mixtures are produced in the adjacent plant and are filled into the intravenous non-PVC bags. The bags are next automatically packed using robots with articulating arms. From there, additional robots palletize the cartons into neat, perfect stacks. A Stoecklin transfer car then picks up a stacked pallet and delivers it to one of the facility's stretch wrappers and then the load is conveyed to the automated storage and retrieval system. The Stoecklin control software works with the facility's SAP management system to assure that the status of each batch is carefully monitored throughout the product journey.
"What's really great about this system is the high-rise keeps everything consolidated in a vertical format, which is integrated to SAP and you have a track and trace system," adds Michael West, senior project engineer. He says the automation makes it much easier to find product when it is ready to ship. "You don't have a big floor plan where you have to go all over to actually find what you're looking for. It's all condensed and it is efficient," he says.
When ready for shipment, the three storage cranes working within the AS/RS retrieves the pallets and discharges them onto a takeaway conveyor for transport to a shipping area. Upon arrival, another transfer car delivers the pallets to staging lanes where the pallets are held temporarily until trucks are ready for loading.
The automation of the warehouse has reduced labor costs and nearly eliminated forklift traffic, while also providing gentle handling to maintain product integrity.
"If you can automate a process, you can get a more reliable and consistent product and you can eliminate some human error. This leads to a better-quality product for our customers and ultimately for the patients that use our products," explains Christi Mitchell, engineering and maintenance manager. "The entire team was impressed with the speed and the efficiency that the warehouse was put together by the Stoecklin team. They came in and it was amazing and fluid," she adds.
Situated at the crossroads of the Choctaw Nation in Durant, Oklahoma, Big Lots' 1.2 million square foot distribution center serves 235 stores within a network of more than 1,300 stores across 48 states. Big Lots is a large national discount retailer, providing everything from furniture to food, as well as household goods and seasonal décor.
The Durant facility serves stores in parts of 16 states, stretching from the Canadian to Mexican borders. Such a vast area makes it difficult to find reliable transportation. For years, Big Lots utilized multiple carriers, but the complexity as the chain grew resulted in products not being delivered to stores on time. This complicated retail operations, as products often were not available to sell in a timely manner.
"We have a long average distance to our stores, which made it very difficult to hit the appointment times consistently that our stores expect," explains Kory Shinlever, director of domestic transportation at Big Lots. "We also had issues with DC productivity we needed to solve because we had a lot of transportation partners supporting that store delivery. It made our trailer pool very complex."
Big Lots needed a partner who could replace that complex mix of transportation providers with one dedicated fleet. They found that partner in Ruan.
"The services we provide Big Lots out of the Durant facility are dedicated contract transportation, yard services, as well as brokerage services during times of surge or other nuances that they have within their network to support," says Jeremy Carmichael, vice president of operations at Ruan. "Our partnership with Big Lots is one of a similar culture. Being people-first and people-oriented, we believe in enduring partnerships. We believe that shared culture fosters a long-term relationship."
Big Lots has improved service dramatically since moving its store deliveries to Ruan. Trailers are always available at the Durant DC, something that was a problem before and slowed down distribution operations.
"It's a great partnership from senior management down to the local management here," says Edwin Boothe, Big Lots' director of distribution at the Durant DC. "Drivers are courteous, professional, and they do a good job with the store personnel. On-time percentage has been great. Service levels have improved since we've been with Ruan."
"The working relationship is amazing," adds Holly Valcik, Ruan's dedicated transportation manager who works onsite in Durant. "The team here at Big Lots has been amazing and very supportive. Anytime I have any questions or needs, they are there to support me."
"Our stores from the Durant distribution center now are serviced at the highest level they ever have been at this point," notes Shinlever. "That makes a huge difference to the stores because they're able to improve their productivity. The stores don't have associates waiting for the truck. And because of that, they're more efficient at the unload. They've improved not only their productivity, but they decreased their total detention costs."
He adds that productivity at the Durant DC has also improved since Ruan right sized the trailer pool with units now always available at the 40 outbound doors. Warehouse associates can finish their picking and not have products stacking up at the docks, as trailers can be loaded on time.
Shinlever says that with Ruan, they found a long-term partner. "We wanted a partner who would be able to solve solutions at scale, who could grow with us and also matched our own company culture - one of being able to succeed together and playing to win," he shares.
Bruce Muir, director of industry management at SICK, joins DC Velocity’s David Maloney to discuss track and trace technology for inbound and outbound pallets. Specifically, Muir shares about SICK’s unique Ident Gate System that automatically identifies delivered goods directly at the loading gate. The track and trace system detects the shipping labels as soon as the worker drives a loaded pallet through the gate without stopping. A visual loading and condition report then indicates to the personnel whether the details match.
Keith Moore, CEO of AutoScheduler.AI, speaks with DC Velocity's David Maloney about AutoScheduler.AI, a resource planning and optimization platform that works with a warehouse management system to orchestrate all activity within the warehouse. They specifically address the benefits of centralized distribution orchestration and how AutoScheduler.AI can significantly reduce costs, improve efficiencies, and provide a birds-eye view of all warehouse operations.
Max Campbell, national sales director at Arrow (a PartsASAP company), speaks with DC Velocity's David Maloney about new forklift clamps that can sense the load being carried. The clamps incorporate sophisticated technologies to automatically set calibration and pressure to assure precise handling without damage, even when driving over dock plates and rough surfaces.
Ron Roth, business development manager of Regal Rexnord, speaks with DC Velocity's David Maloney about last mile sortation – what it does and how it can revolutionize final mile fulfillment.
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