Keeping Track

M.R. Williams, Inc., out of Henderson, NC, is a convenience store supplier with a 35-year history, a 20-truck fleet, and the distinction of being one of the top 50 distributors in the country. They realized they needed to improve the warehouse picking process for better shipping efficiency. They knew it would be an advantage in both transport costs and customer service to be able to keep track of every tote and every item in the tote, from warehouse, to truck, to store check-in.

ScanOnline had helped M.R. Williams solve previous challenges, and were ready to assist again when Pete Richardson, Warehouse Project Manager, presented us his shipment verification situation.

And Pete had done his homework, taking a look at another company before making the decision to hand over the project to our scanning and wireless technology experts.

First up – the ability to trace an item from the warehouse shelf to the snack food aisle. To create the picking process needed for shipping, ScanOnline provided the equipment and installation of a custom wireless infrastructure, as well as service and troubleshooting support that is ongoing.

Pete was also in search of a system to tie reserve slots to pick slots. Through a specialized scanning solution from ScanOnline, the warehouse now has a system and the technology in place to cut down time spent in the pick process and that identifies the truck and slot for every tote packed.

Even single-pick items, such as a candy bar or a can of soup can now be placed in a slot and tracked every step of the way into the store. If questions arise from their customers, MRW can now tell them, by tote, where any item in their order awaits unpacking.

Another problem that continued to cost the company and signified a break down of the old system in place was keeping up with the totes themselves. Now not only can their customers check their order in by scanning and then letting MRW know what they received, they now also scan each tote through bar coding on its asset tag. The data retrieved then identifies for M.R. Williams how many totes the customer has, when they got them, and when they were returned.

“Our ScanOnline representative was quick to help us with the right solutions and help with problems. Lee Pickler is an excellent troubleshooter. We call, someone from ScanOnline is there any time we need them,” Pete tells us. “Their expertise, support and maintenance of equipment – they’ve been a real plus.”

You have challenges we have solutions. Our Wireless, Mobile, Device Management, Software and Security expertise will ensure peak performance and maximize your budget. Contact us for more.