Reduced fulfillment costs

The breadth of product sizes and high order volume means Northern Tool’s fulfillment centres need speed and flexibility in order fulfillment.

The efficiencies enabled by the solution have allowed Northern Tool to meet growing demand while reducing fulfillment costs.

The solution from Swisslog comprises an AutoStore system with 62 robots serving 23,175 tote bins and equipped with six Carousel picking ports.

In addition, the system has three conveyor decant ports, is integrated with a Packsize custom packaging system, and is powered by Swisslog’s SynQ software.

The system has brought many benefits, including cutting labour costs by nearly half. Temporary staff was right-sized and full-time staff overtime was nearly eliminated. Resources were reallocated to avoid job loss.

Meanwhile throughput numbers are meeting all expectations daily, and reliability has been high. Operations run seven days with nearly zero employee overtime.

Weight-based audits deliver peace of mind without the time costs of a manual audit and dimensional (DIM) weight and dunnage costs have been nearly eliminated.

Sustainability is enhanced because less material is required for each carton and the need for packing materials is eliminated and shipping costs have been reduced due to right-size shipping containers. 

Designed with growth in mind Northern Tool’s AutoStore system, empowered by Swisslog, was designed to grow with the company. The current AutoStore system is at 75-80% storage capacity to accommodate growth in the current system.

For more information, visit www.swisslog.com