Distributor Hikes Productivity 300%

    Nov. 22, 2010
    KeHE Distributors, U.S. distributors of natural and specialty food products, worked with Intelligrated, a North American-owned automated material handling solutions provider, and system integrator Automation Dynamics to achieve 300% distribution center productivity gains.

    KeHE, which operates 13 DCs across the United States, instigated a centralization strategy that consolidated two of the company's Northeastern DCs into a new 312,000-square-foot DC in Allentown, Pa. Valued at $1.8 million, the new installation 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.