Staying atop the retail industry isn’t easy in today’s commercial landscape. According to McKinsey & Company, e-commerce growth is driving retail growth, a situation further complicated by customers who view expedited shipping as part of the purchase, even if a longer shipping schedule would save money.
In short, customers know what they want, and they want it now.
To stay in front of growing e-commerce demand and turbocharge their distribution network, DICK’S Sporting Goods partnered with Bastian Solutions, a global material handling system integrator, and Cognex, the world’s leading provider of vision systems, software, sensors, and industrial barcode readers, to build a cutting-edge greenfield distribution and fulfillment center in Conklin, New York.
The 650,000 sq ft distribution center with warehouse and crossdocking capability offers direct-to-store shipments and feeds a 250,000 sq ft fulfillment center that uses a mix of high tech automation and human operators to process customer orders.
Before construction began, Bastian worked with DICK’S internal engineering department to evaluate a number of warehouse automation technologies, including robots, machine vision, and image-based barcode readers. They also reviewed/considered a slew of software programs to connect the automated systems. After careful consideration, DICK’S selected Bastian’s Exacta warehouse execution system (WES) software connected to the Manhattan associates warehouse management system (WMS) platform to provide control and visibility. For product tracking, barcode reading, and case dimensioning, DICK’S chose Cognex as their machine vision partner.
Partners in productivity
Bastian’s recommendation to use Cognex barcode scanners, scan tunnels, and dimensioners wasn’t based solely on how the products related to the needs of the new distribution center, but also on the consultation and responsiveness demonstrated by Cognex.
As cases enter the facility, eight receiving uptakes equipped with scan tunnels and transfer tables make decisions to divert cases for palletization and backstock storage, or send them upstream to the main receiving quarterback scanner. This scanner includes Cognex Dataman barcode readers with OCR capability to scan labels and text on all six sides of the pallet, as well as Cognex 3D-A1000 dimensioners, which also include a 2D camera for code reading. Tracking code and volume data is passed to the WMS, which determines a case’s next destination while verifying that there is sufficient space to accommodate the case.
"Partnering with Cognex to implement a transfer table solution in the distribution center has been a big win for the building. Not only are we able to reduce jams and number of cases passing through the quarterback scanner, it improves recirculation and accumulation conditions,” explained Eric Rudock, Supply Chain Senior Facilities Manager at DICK’S Sporting Goods. “Having a pallet staging process right next to the receiving uptakes allows cases to reach their final destination quicker and for us to reclaim square footage that otherwise would be occupied by a backstock divert and loop.”
From this point on, code scanners track product through the distribution center by verifying tracking codes against a separate product inventory database that resides between the WES and the supervisory WMS program. Cases passing through the receiving quarterback scanner use crossdock shipment, breakpack, semi-bulk, QA, or fulfillment center diverts. Once complete, cases are re-added to the conveyor and sent through the shipping quarterback scanner where they are diverted to the appropriate down lane, palletized, stretch wrapped, staged, and loaded into a trailer.
A fulfilling project
The DICK’S fulfillment center also uses a main quarterback scanner in conjunction with a double-sided shoe sorter to assign cases to their final destination. Cases arriving must be “ecommerce ready,” so they visit the VAS (value added service) area for hanger removal or polybagging before putaway and picking. At each floor of the Pick Mod, a Cognex DataMan barcode reader and 3D-A1000 dimensioner verify the case’s destination. H conveyors break each 45,000–square-foot floor into four quadrants where SKUs are diverted and stored in bin shelving or wire deck locations. Customer orders flow downstream to bag or box packout stations. Together, the combination of automated material handling and auto ID capability allows Conklin to process more than 7,500 orders per day.
“Cognex certainly helped us troubleshoot a problem we've been trying to resolve for a while during the engineering design phase of the fulfillment center,” explains Ruddock. “We challenged them to deliver an innovative solution to address putaway flexibility in the Pick Mod. The five-sided scan tunnels combined with the H transfer conveyor allow for more versatile putaway and picking functions.”
During the first two years of operation, DICK’S experienced product tracking read rates in excess of 99%, “which is much better compared to our previous laser scanners,” according to Ruddock. “And quite honestly, when we go live with a system it's always working. With Cognex we've never had scanner issues or needed to redesign or re-engineer stuff. The same was true for new installs at existing plants and greenfield installations. If something did go down, replacements were seamless.”
Just one year after it officially opened, the Conklin distribution center helped to contribute to the company’s 21% increase in e-commerce sales. Cognex, Bastian, and DICK’s expect to continue implementing new automation projects to add efficiency to both existing operations and new facilities.