Machines | How to Manage Heavy Equipment Parts Inventory with ASRS

With 20 plus years of experience parts distribution for tractors and utility vehicles, the 60,000 square foot parts center has steadily grown to over 78,000 SKUs. To help streamline floor space and productivity, six Horizontal Carousels and 4 Vertical Lift Modules were implemented. Using Horizontal Carousels, workers induct up to eight orders into a batch and with the click of a button the carousels spin to position for the first pick. Pick to light technology directs the worker to the exact bin location of the desired SKU and displays the quality to pick. The worker picks the specified quantity and distributes the quantity among the eight orders as directed by the put lights. The carousel organizes picks so the next pick is always ready for the worker, to eliminate wasted wait time. The worker picks round robin until all parts required from the Horizontal Carousels have been picked. The mezzanine at the old facility was three floors high and occupied 9,000 square feet. The entire carousel picking zone occupies 2,600 square feet; a 71% floor space savings. With the Shuttle Vertical Lift Modules, batches of orders are created for the worker to pick from four Vertical Lift Modules and distribute the SKUs among orders. The entire Vertical Lift zone now occupies 620 square feet freeing up just under 3,000 square feet of floor space; an 83% floor space savings. With storage automation, the Parts Distribution Center has increased picking productivity while saving 71% of their Floor Space in the Horizontal Carousel Zone, 83% of their Floor Space in the Vertical Lift zone and improved worker ergonomics. This floor space saving has given the parts distribution center the capacity to sustain their growth for the next 5 to 8 years. For more information on how to manage your heavy equipment parts inventory better with automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), call us today at 1-800-803-1083, send us a message at info@southwestsolutions.com, or visit us on the web at www.southwestsolutions.com/lift.