Medline: How the system works

Medline Industries Inc.
Libertyville, Ill.
Size: 600,000 square feet
Products: Medical surgical supplies
Throughput: 20,000 lines per day
SKUs: 32,000 SKUs on-hand
Shifts per day/Days per week: 3 shifts per day/
5 days per week
Employees: 144 employees

At its 600,000-square-foot distribution center north of Chicago, Medline has installed a high-density mobile robotic storage and picking solution for goods-to-person picking and value-added services. Other areas of the facility use conventional processes, such as case picking to pallet and voice-enabled pick to cart.

Receiving process: Pallets are unloaded at the receiving dock (1) and staged (2) for a piece count. Once verified, the new inventory is scanned into the warehouse management system (WMS). The WMS creates license plate bar code labels, which are applied to the pallets. They are ready for storage.

Putaway process: The WMS directs the putaway process into pallet rack in the reserve storage and case picking area (3). Storage is located above the case picking levels in the pallet rack. Typically, this is done on a first-in/first-out basis. When the license plate bar code is scanned, the system directs the lift truck operator to a storage location. Putaway is confirmed by scanning the location bar code label. The inventory is now available in the WMS.

Replenishment: Medline uses a replenishment tool to replenish an estimated 400 items per day in the AutoStore robotic picking system (4). The WMS prints out bar code labels for the replenishment. Team members pick the cases to a pallet that is delivered to an induction area. There, an experienced team member scans the case bar code label and decants the items into the storage and picking tote. Those totes are then inducted for putaway into the mobile robotic system.

Slotting: To ensure efficiency, Medline also uses reslotting to evaluate the velocity at which specific SKUs are moving through the facility in the reserve storage area and in a two-level, split case picking module (7). The fastest-moving items are placed into the most accessible pick locations. Slotting is done monthly for case items and weekly for split case items.

Picking: There are a variety of picking methodologies, based on the characteristics of the order.

Mixed or full pallet case picking: LTL orders are shipped as full or mixed pallets. Order selectors are directed by voice to the right location in the reserve storage and case picking area (3), where cases are picked to a pallet. Once the order is complete, the pallet is delivered to shipping (5). There, a “follow the leader” module supports the marrying up with SKUs that have been picked in another zone. Once all items are on the pallet, it is stretch-wrapped and any required shipping documentation is printed out for the order.
Parcel case picking: During the parcel picking process, associates are directed by voice and pick cases (3) to two pallets at a time. Once the pallets are as full as possible, they are delivered to shipping (5). Some cases will be labeled for shipment; to optimize parcel shipping rates, some cases will be conveyed to parcel shipment processing (6) for post-picking services required for distribution.

Split case picking mezzanine: Some split case orders are picked in a two-level, split case picking mezzanine (7). Order selectors are directed by voice to a pick location. After reading back a check digit, they are told how many items to pick to one of 16 orders on the cart. Once the orders are complete, the cart is delivered to a packing station (8). Some items will be conveyed to a print-and-apply station, where they are labeled and ready for shipment. Others are delivered to a pack station, where they are put in the right sized shipping box and any required dunnage is added before labels are applied.

AutoStore pick: The WMS drops orders to the AutoStore (4) software system about half an hour before picking begins. With that information, the mobile robots pull totes required for that wave, and deliver them to a conveyor. Once an order selector logs into a workstation, totes are presented to the order selector. A light shows the bin location in the tote that contains the item required and the number to be picked is displayed on an LED.

The order selector may also perform value-added services, such as placing loose items in a plastic bag, capturing a serial number or placing protective liners in a tote destined for an operating room. Once the items are picked, the order selector presses a button to confirm the pick. The donor is automatically conveyed (9) back to the storage area, where a robot puts it away. Once all the items in an order tote have been picked, it automatically exits the workstation and is conveyed (9) to one of six pack stations (8). Any order that will be shipped in that tote goes to a print-and-apply station. Otherwise, the contents are placed in a shipping container and sent to the right shipping location. For instance, it may be married up with an LTL order, sent to the banding station in parcel shipment processing (6), or delivered directly to shipping (5).

Shipping: Once orders are picked and packed, they are sorted or delivered by lift truck to the right dock door in the shipping area (5) and loaded onto a truck.

System Suppliers
Mobile robotic order fulfillment: Swisslog
WMS: Catalyst by Aptean
Labor management system: Tom Zosel & Associates (TZA)
Conveyor: Intelligrated
Mobile computing and ring scanning: Motorola Solutions
Voice recognition: Lucas Systems
Lift trucks: Raymond and Associated Material Handling
Batteries: EnerSys
Mezzanines: Wildeck
Racking: Unarco
Wire Decking: Worldwide Material Handling
Powered trailer loader: Caljan Rite-Hite