KeHE DC sees 300 percent productivity gain with automated material handling system
KeHE, which operates 13 DCs across the US, instigated a centralization strategy that consolidated two of the company’s Northeastern DCs into a new 312,000-sq.-ft. DC in Allentown, PA, forming a single, high-efficiency operation. According to KeHE Vice President of Distribution Operations Craig Turner, the DCs were operating at maximum capacity and were unable to accommodate increasing demand. The challenge was to redesign the Allentown facility to reduce the number of touches, meet increased order throughput and efficiency and build in reserve capacity for future growth.
The Allentown installation, valued at $1.8 million, is a hybrid system of horizontal pick carousels, a pick- and put-to-light carton flow module and a conveyor system to route product through the various pick and pack zones. The system optimizes cubing and vertical space to achieve a dense pick, minimized footprint and increased picking accuracy while maximizing the efficiency of the existing labor pool.