Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies - July 2008 - (Page 59)

100 GREAT SUPPLY CHAIN PARTNERS on destination with semi-automated carton taping According to Wojewuczki, FORTE consultants worked collaboratively with his project team to improve key operations and processes. “Our warehouse uses an automated slotting system that identifies fastmoving items and places them at strategic points in the warehouse, avoiding congestion by having all of the fast movers in one area,” he says. “We now pick items directly to the shipping container in a zone-pick process, with multiple workers picking portions of the same order.” (Prior to picking an order, the WMS uses cartonization technology to “pre-cube” the order and determine how many shipping containers will be needed, and which SKUs will be placed in which containers.) The cartons are routed to only the zones where a pick must be made. After the picking process is complete, there is only a minimal amount of labor required—after a quick stop at a semiautomated case seal station, each box is automatically sorted to the correct dock door and loaded into a waiting trailer. Vera Bradley now uses FORTE’s automation director warehouse control system to facilitate integration of the material handling system with the WMS and ERP. The facility and its systems were designed for future expandability, fully adaptable to business needs for up to five years. “Our business continues to prosper, with revenues growing at a steady rate,” he says. “With FORTE’s assistance, we have transformed our supply chain from a constraint to an enabler of our growth strategy.” Vera Bradley’s productivity has improved. Warehouse throughput has grown more than threefold—from 40,000 units per day to over 140,000. At the same time, labor requirements have grown much more slowly than the volume increases. Vera Bradley’s achievements include: • Order fulfillment times reduced from two days to as little as 30 minutes • Peak order processing increased from 1,500 to 3,000 orders per day • Visibility of in-process order status available at the item level • Picking accuracy improved from 89 to 99.5 percent • Reduced training time for seasonal and temporary help • Labor productivity increased by 25 percent. Wojewuczki says the company expects the system to pay for itself in under two years. “FORTE contributed significantly to the design and implementation of the systems and processes needed for us to achieve these results,” he says. “We liked their expertise, experience, creativity and fit with our culture. The project scope and time frame were aggressive and ambitious. We encountered the inevitable challenges associated with implementing new ERP and WMS business systems while designing and implementing sophisticated new material handling systems and processes. FORTE steadfastly worked alongside our team to overcome the complexities associated with our implementation. FORTE met our high expectations from the outset and continues to be a partner in successfully meeting our supply chain objectives.” Resource Link FORTE, www.forte-industries.com Legal Notice If you purchased Air Cargo Shipping Services within, to or from either the United States or Canada from January 1, 2000 to September 11, 2006, your rights could be affected by a Settlement What are the Settlements about? Plaintiffs claim that Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Lufthansa Cargo AG and Swiss International Air Lines Ltd., along with numerous other air cargo carriers, conspired to fix the prices of air cargo shipping services in violation of U.S. antitrust laws and Canadian competition law. The Settlements provide an $85 million U.S. Fund to pay valid class member claims, and $5.338 million USD Canadian Fund that Canadian Class Counsel will request to have held in trust for future benefit of the Canadian classes. Who is a Class Member? You are a class member if you purchased air cargo shipping services, from ANY cargo carrier, for shipments within, to or from either the United States or Canada. This also includes services purchased through freight forwarders. All you need to know is in the Notice of Proposed Settlement, including information on who is or is not a class member. How do I get Payment in the U.S. Settlement? You must file a Claim Form. To obtain a Claim Form, and for information on deadlines, call the number below or visit www.aircargosettlement.com. What are my rights? If you do NOT want to take part in the U.S. Settlement or the Canadian Settlement, you have the right to “opt out.” To “opt out” of the U.S. or Canadian Settlements, you must do so by November 12, 2008. Class members have the right to object to the U.S. or Canadian Settlements. If you object, you must do so by November 12, 2008. You may speak to your own attorney at your own expense for help. For more information on how to “opt out” or object, visit www.aircargosettlement.com or call the number below. Final Approval Hearings to consider approval of the U.S. and Canadian Settlements and requests by the lawyers for attorneys’ fees and costs will be held at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York on December 12, 2008; the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on January 28, 2009; the Québec Superior Court on March 9-10, 2009; and at the Supreme Court of British Columbia on February 27, 2009. For more information on the locations and times of the Hearings, visit www.aircargosettlement.com, or call the number below. This is a Summary, where can I get more information? You can get complete Settlement information, including a copy of the full Notice of Proposed Settlement and U.S. Claim Form, and register to receive updates about the administration of the Canadian Settlement, by visiting www.aircargosettlement.com, calling the number below, or writing to Air Cargo Settlement, c/o The Garden City Group, Inc., P.O. Box 9162, Dublin, OH 43017-4162, USA. 1.866.249.1588 + 1.941.906.4822 www.AirCargoSettlement.com GLOBAL LOGISTICS & SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES 59 http://www.forte-industries.com http://www.aircargosettlement.com http://www.aircargosettlement.com http://www.aircargosettlement.com http://www.aircargosettlement.com http://www.AirCargoSettlement.com

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Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies - July 2008 Contents Editorial GL&SCS Exclusive Fastforward Up Front Introduction Menlo Worldwide & Electrolux PathGuide Technologies & Tile City Servigistics & Juniper Networks Transplace & Rock-Tenn ClearOrbit & Blue Bell Creameries Cadec Global & Northwest Food Products Transportation CaseStack & Greystar Products NGC & Parigi Group Supply Chain Consultants & Constar TransGroup Worldwide & Surgiquip Terra Technology & Campbell Soup Baxter Planning Systems & SGI Cadre Technologies & Kansas City SmartPort TransportGistics & FMC Technologies DSC Logistics & Tree of Life FORTE & Vera Bradley Penske Logistics & Eaton Cardinal Logistics & Weyerhaeuser JPMorgan & Black & Decker Opinion Opinion Industry Voices

Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies - July 2008

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