Maruwa Unyu Kikan Co., Ltd. (Construction of a Warehousing/Distribution Center)
Mr. Manabu Yagi (Drug Logistics Division, Azcom Yoshikawa MK, Co-Distribution Section Chief)
Challenges
- Smooth transition from retail store delivery model to a category-based delivery system.
- Reduce the work required at the store (display work).
- Resolve the complexities of the store operation caused by increase in the number of SKUs being delivered.
- Raise the level of sophistication and functionality by introducing automation and advanced equipment.
Results
- Achieved efficiently categorized deliveries by using a combination of primary sorting and digital sorting.
- Minimized number of individual boxes and material by using collapsible totes for categorized goods.
- Dramatically improved efficiency by adopting a 5-color digital sort system.
- Improved center functionality by upgrading sorters to handle 10,000 cases per hour.
BackgroundEvaluate categorized delivery to solve complex operations involved in shipping to 700 retail drug stores.
Background
Evaluate categorized delivery to solve complex operations involved in shipping to 700 retail drug stores.
The Yoshikawa Co-Distribution Center consists of two distribution centers and one newly launched transfer center that functions in part as a transit/rerouting center. It is one of the country’s largest distribution complexes with an average throughput of 1.5 million units per day for 700 stores in the Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa and Chiba regions. The new system involved a transfer center No. 2 (1st floor about 2,000m2, 2nd floor about 4,000m2) in which a new system was built and introduced. Customer drug stores requested that the product be categorized upon delivery, a task normally done at distribution centers that would have to be incorporated into the operations of a transfer center. Since the operation went from a ship-to-store to a ship-to-category model, not only was the amount of material shipped to stores reduced, but the effort to put away in the stores was greatly decreased.
Reasons We Chose Toyo Kanetsu Solutions:Toyo Kanetsu proposed a 5-color digital assort system that fully embodied the essence of our system and met our requirements.
Reasons We Chose Toyo Kanetsu Solutions:
Toyo Kanetsu proposed a 5-color digital assort system that fully embodied the essence of our system and met our requirements.
While fulfilling the requests of customers, we also streamlined our logistics operations. The Toyo Kanetsu solution most closely matched our intentions. Because of their deep experience, Toyo Kanetsu was able to fully understand and grasp what type of system would ideally suit our needs and part of that was the 5-color digitial assort system. Compared to other companies, the Toyo Kanetsu solution was not only more efficient, the cost performance was unequalled. In addition to the creativity of the 5-color assorting system, Toyo Kanetsu had other innovative ideas that our own team did not think of. Their ability to design-in productivity into an application was a boon for us.
Benefits:With the increase in productivity derived from moving to a ship-to-category model, we were able to achieve a throughput of 10,000 cases per hour.
Benefits:
With the increase in productivity derived from moving to a ship-to-category model, we were able to achieve a throughput of 10,000 cases per hour.
This ship-by-category type of transfer center (TC type 2) has been thoroughly built and implemented. We further use label automation to reduce the labor involved. By far the largest improvement in the system has been the digital sorting system with a sorter than has the capability to sort 10,000 cases per hour. The high-speed digital sorting system runs in 16 zones, with each zone representing from 104 pick on average and a maximum of 1664 simultaneously for immensely improved efficiency. The essence of the 5-color digital sorting system is that 5 people enter a zone and pick according to the colored lamp. Being able to work at pace with the equipment improved picking efficiency but also impacted employee motivation for the better. The upgrades in our warehousing operation also made it possible for us to accept goods-in from large vendors that could not be handled adequately in the past, and helped to reduce the number of shipments that go directly to stores. Our logistics operation has reduced our environmental impact considerably.
What’s Next?Development and improvements to also handle returns.
What’s Next?
Development and improvements to also handle returns.
Our fundamental intralogistics philosophy is to provide downstream logistical support to facilitate opening of new stores. We have indeed achieved that goal with this transfer center and our delivery by category that supports downstream processes. In addition to the conventional "arterial logistics" that mainly deliver products, we also aim for "venous logistics" that supports returns. In our main branch shipping operations, we have a delivery error rate of less than 1/100,000, and would like to utilize the expertise of Toyo Kanetsu to also handle returns. We will indeed engage with Toyo Kanetsu at that time. Just as we have been able to support our customers with cost effective logistics services, we believe that solutions developed by Toyo Kanetsu will be a win across the board.
* Source: Based on an interview conducted October, 2010. Data, organizational departments and personal names appear as they were at time of interview.
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