A dedicated facility for home delivery of fresh and frozen groceries in Kobe, Japan, assures that orders are processed quickly and accurately. Automation is the differentiator.
David Maloney has been a journalist for more than 35 years and is currently the group editorial director for DC Velocity and Supply Chain Quarterly magazines. In this role, he is responsible for the editorial content of both brands of Agile Business Media. Dave joined DC Velocity in April of 2004. Prior to that, he was a senior editor for Modern Materials Handling magazine. Dave also has extensive experience as a broadcast journalist. Before writing for supply chain publications, he was a journalist, television producer and director in Pittsburgh. Dave combines a background of reporting on logistics with his video production experience to bring new opportunities to DC Velocity readers, including web videos highlighting top distribution and logistics facilities, webcasts and other cross-media projects. He continues to live and work in the Pittsburgh area.
The Japanese are known for their hard work and long hours on the job. That doesn't leave a lot of time for mundane tasks, such as shopping for the weekly groceries. And as people's lives grow increasingly busy, sales and home delivery of groceries is becoming one of the fastest-growing markets for e-commerce in the Land of the Rising Sun. That's where a home delivery service like the one offered by CO-OP Kobe makes life easier.
The Consumer Cooperative Kobe, or CO-OP Kobe, as it's popularly known, is part of a national co-op network in Japan, which itself is a member of a large international alliance of consumer cooperatives. CO-OP Kobe, located in the city of the same name in South Central Japan, focuses on retail stores and groceries. It operates 163 stores, most of which are comparable in size to convenience stores in the U.S. CO-OP Kobe also does a substantial business in home delivery of groceries and gifts.
CO-OP Kobe operates three logistics streams: store delivery, home delivery of food and consumer goods, and giftware. The giving of gifts is an important part of Japanese culture, and CO-OP handles gifts for both individual and corporate use through a separate distribution center and delivery service. Distribution of food, beverages, and clothing to CO-OP Kobe's stores is handled from two distribution centers. And finally, home delivery of food, beverages, and clothing is accomplished through three DCs, one in Western Kobe and two located in the Uozakihama district of the city. One of those is for dry (non-refrigerated) goods, while the other, known as the cold storage and fresh center, handles frozen foods, refrigerated products, and fresh produce. Goods from the two Uozakihama facilities eventually make their way to 25 "delivery centers," where they are split into truck routes for home delivery.
The Uozakihama cold storage distribution center, a highly automated 24,000-square-meter (258,000-square-foot) operation in a two-story building, was built in 2004, but it went through a major retrofit in 2014 with new technologies that have increased capacity and throughput, says CO-OP Section Manager Takashi Kusaka. Many of its former systems were replaced with innovative equipment provided by Daifuku Co. Ltd., including goods-to-person picking, pick-to-light systems, radio-frequency identification (RFID), and other automated systems to speed orders through the building. Some of these technologies are used in combinations that are not yet available to facilities in the United States.
The upgraded distribution center is one of the most advanced operations for home delivery in all of Japan. "We can now handle 43.6 billion yen of product here each year," reports Hiroki Tanaka, the facility manager. That translates to about US$385 million worth of products. Tanaka works for Mitsubishi Shokuhin, a third-party logistics company that specializes in food distribution. It manages the Kobe facility for CO-OP and is a logistics division of the giant Mitsubishi conglomerate.
THE COLD FACTS
Working in arctic-like conditions is not enjoyable for anyone. That's why machines perform much of the work in the freezer area, where frozen goods are stored at minus 25 degrees Celsius (minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit). Similar automated systems store refrigerated goods at appropriate temperatures.
Suppliers deliver their products each morning to the 12 receiving docks. (An exception is fruits and vegetables, which are picked in the morning and arrive in the afternoon.) Almost all items will remain in the building for only a short time half a day or less, as most products will ship out later the same day. After receipt, the automated systems take over nearly all processes.
Palletized products are first conveyed to a six-aisle automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS). The system has four aisles for frozen goods with a capacity of 424 pallets. The two remaining aisles of the AS/RS handle refrigerated goods with 242 pallet storage positions.
Cases of products arriving from the pallet storage system and directly from the receiving docks replenish two automated miniload systems. The first, which handles frozen goods, comprises three aisles and can hold 2,400 cases. The second miniload system has 16 aisles with 9,984 storage locations to hold both refrigerated goods and fruits and vegetables in containers. It does double duty at CO-OP Kobe: from 4 a.m. until 3 p.m. it holds refrigerated goods, and then from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. it holds fresh goods, such as fruits, vegetables, and breads. Both miniloads feed goods-to-person processing stations where orders are filled. Cranes on the refrigerated miniload are also designed to handle two cases or cartons at a time for faster transfers.
COOL TOOLS
CO-OP Kobe serves about 450,000 households in Hyogo prefecture and part of the Osaka area as well. Customers place their orders once a week; about 45 percent of the average customer order value consists of frozen items. Incoming orders for the day are assigned to pick stations. Picking for frozen items begins at 8: 30 a.m., and picking for refrigerated products takes place in a separate area beginning at 9 a.m.
To begin the process, cranes working in the aisles of the miniloads gather products within the systems. These are transferred to conveyors that transport them to the picking areas, which are located on the second floor of the building. Upon arrival there, the conveyor transfers the containers to storage and retrieval (S/R) machines that pass along the back side of the picking zones. The S/R machines automatically unload the containers into flow racks that feed the pick faces.
Both the frozen and refrigerated picking areas were completely renovated during the recent upgrade. Changes included the elimination of one of the frozen picking lines and one of the refrigerated picking lines. Even with fewer picking lines, the new systems are much more productive, according to CO-OP's managers.
The three frozen and six refrigerated lines are equipped with Daifuku's unique "eye-navi" pick-to-light system and another new Daifuku technology called Seven-9, which uses RFID to confirm picks and works together with the eye-navi system to increase picking accuracy.
Here's how they work, using the frozen picking lines as an example. A plastic bag to contain the frozen selections is placed inside each delivery container before picking commences. The container is then placed on a conveyor that feeds the picking lines, which are broken into zones. Across from the conveyor are flow racks containing the frozen products. Workers stand between the racks and the conveyors.
As each container enters the pick area, a put-to-light display unit moves on a track behind it so that the container and display are traveling in concert. The system reads RFID tags attached to each display unit as it enters a zone. This causes lights and quantity displays to illuminate at a flow-rack position to indicate which frozen product should be picked from that zone, and in what quantity. The worker gathers the prescribed number of items and turns around to look at the containers rolling through his or her zone.
Some of the displays riding along behind the delivery containers will then illuminate with a quantity indicator, which tells the worker which containers require that product, and how many items to put into each one. There are two lamps on the display. One lamp indicates to the worker that the container requires a product in his or her zone, while the other lamp indicates to workers a little further down the line whether a product will be placed in the container in their zone, which allows them to have those items ready before the container arrives.
Workers also wear a battery and RFID reader on the waist, and an antenna in a fingerless glove that wraps around the hand. As the order picker gathers the items, the antenna reads the RFID tag on the shelf to ensure the correct item was picked. When he or she reaches into the container to deposit the required items, the wrist antenna gathers data from the tag on the display unit to confirm that the item has been placed into the correct container. So essentially, the RFID tag replaces the need to hit a confirmation button, as is commonly done with light-based systems.
The light-directed system is an effective choice here. While temperatures in the pick zones are not as cold as in the freezer, workers still must don hats and gloves. Using lights eliminates fumbling to press keys or cross off items on paper lists. Plus, it is faster and more accurate, and the light displays perform well in the cool environment.
The containers continue to pass through all zones until they reach the end of the line, where the displays drive an order-confirmation process designed to verify that the total number of items placed into the container is correct. The light displays direct three people to perform this process by showing one of three colors: red, yellow, or blue. Each worker is assigned to count items only in the containers displaying his or her assigned color; this eliminates any potential confusion about which container to check and helps to keep the line moving at the required speed. The display also shows the total quantity of items that should be in that delivery container. The workers count the items in the assigned containers, and if the count matches the display, they then push the confirmation button and the shipping containers continue along on a conveyor.
The delivery containers from the frozen picking area then pass to a packing area, where workers remove the bag liners and the items they contain, and then transfer them to thermo boxes with foil exteriors. Once the boxes reach the delivery center, items inside will be removed and packed into Styrofoam containers for home delivery. Refrigerated and fresh products, which are packed in the foam delivery containers at the warehouse, are delivered to an automatic stacker that places them in two rows up to 10-high on wheeled pallets. The pallets are then rolled directly into trucks destined for the delivery centers.
FAST AND FRESH
Fresh fruits and vegetables are also handled in the cold storage DC. Farmers pick fresh produce in the morning and ship it to the fresh produce processing area on the first floor, where it is washed, trimmed, and prepared by teams of workers. The fruits and vegetables sometimes in very small quantities, such as a handful of tangerines or one-half of a daikon radish are placed into plastic bags. These are put into plastic containers, which in turn are loaded into miniload storage containers. The goods then head to the refrigerated miniload, where they wait until they are picked for orders later that day.
All of the orders from the DC ship to the 25 delivery centers on either freezer or refrigerated trucks. The facility ships 220,000 containers daily from its 19 outbound docks; about 70,000 of those containers hold frozen goods. Once at the delivery centers, the containers will be sorted by delivery route and loaded onto delivery trucks. Customers receive deliveries once a week.
The new automated handling systems at CO-OP now provide fast fulfillment with a very high degree of accuracy. They also allow the cooperative to handle much greater capacity. "With our recent addition of the eye-navi and other systems, our productivity has increased and we are very happy with the results," says Mitsubishi Shokuhin's Tanaka. "This center has a much higher throughput than other centers," he adds.
As home delivery of groceries continues to grow in popularity in Japan, CO-OP will be ready to grow along with it. Even with the efficient new equipment, business volume is growing so fast that the distribution center plans to add one more picking line and expand the AS/RS this year.
Senior Editor Toby Gooley contributed to this report.
E-commerce activity remains robust, but a growing number of consumers are reintegrating physical stores into their shopping journeys in 2024, emphasizing the need for retailers to focus on omnichannel business strategies. That’s according to an e-commerce study from Ryder System, Inc., released this week.
Ryder surveyed more than 1,300 consumers for its 2024 E-Commerce Consumer Study and found that 61% of consumers shop in-store “because they enjoy the experience,” a 21% increase compared to results from Ryder’s 2023 survey on the same subject. The current survey also found that 35% shop in-store because they don’t want to wait for online orders in the mail (up 4% from last year), and 15% say they shop in-store to avoid package theft (up 8% from last year).
“Retail and e-commerce continue to evolve,” Jeff Wolpov, Ryder’s senior vice president of e-commerce, said in a statement announcing the survey’s findings. “The emergence of e-commerce and growth of omnichannel fulfillment, particularly over the past four years, has altered consumer expectations and behavior dramatically and will continue to do so as time and technology allow.
“This latest study demonstrates that, while consumers maintain a robust
appetite for e-commerce, they are simultaneously embracing in-person shopping, presenting an impetus for merchants to refine their omnichannel strategies.”
Other findings include:
• Apparel and cosmetics shoppers show growing attraction to buying in-store. When purchasing apparel and cosmetics, shoppers are more inclined to make purchases in a physical location than they were last year, according to Ryder. Forty-one percent of shoppers who buy cosmetics said they prefer to do so either in a brand’s physical retail location or a department/convenience store (+9%). As for apparel shoppers, 54% said they prefer to buy clothing in those same brick-and-mortar locations (+9%).
• More customers prefer returning online purchases in physical stores. Fifty-five percent of shoppers (+15%) now say they would rather return online purchases in-store–the first time since early 2020 the preference to Buy Online Return In-Store (BORIS) has outweighed returning via mail, according to the survey. Forty percent of shoppers said they often make additional purchases when picking up or returning online purchases in-store (+2%).
• Consumers are extremely reliant on mobile devices when shopping in-store. This year’s survey reveals that 77% of consumers search for items on their mobile devices while in a store, Ryder said. Sixty-nine percent said they compare prices with items in nearby stores, 58% check availability at other stores, 31% want to learn more about a product, and 17% want to see other items frequently purchased with a product they’re considering.
Ryder said the findings also underscore the importance of investing in technology solutions that allow companies to provide customers with flexible purchasing options.
“Omnichannel strength is not a fad; it is a strategic necessity for e-commerce and retail businesses to stay competitive and achieve sustainable success in 2024 and beyond,” Wolpov also said. “The findings from this year’s study underscore what we know our customers are experiencing, which is the positive impact of integrating supply chain technology solutions across their sales channels, enabling them to provide their customers with flexible, convenient options to personalize their experience and heighten customer satisfaction.”
Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.
Meanwhile, TIA today announced that insider Christopher Burroughs would fill Reinke’s shoes as president & CEO. Burroughs has been with TIA for 13 years, most recently as its vice president of Government Affairs for the past six years, during which time he oversaw all legislative and regulatory efforts before Congress and the federal agencies.
Before her four years leading TIA, Reinke spent two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation and 16 years with CSX Corporation.
National nonprofit Wreaths Across America (WAA) kicked off its 2024 season this week with a call for volunteers. The group, which honors U.S. military veterans through a range of civic outreach programs, is seeking trucking companies and professional drivers to help deliver wreaths to cemeteries across the country for its annual wreath-laying ceremony, December 14.
“Wreaths Across America relies on the transportation industry to move the mission. The Honor Fleet, composed of dedicated carriers, professional drivers, and other transportation partners, guarantees the delivery of millions of sponsored veterans’ wreaths to their destination each year,” Courtney George, WAA’s director of trucking and industry relations, said in a statement Tuesday. “Transportation partners benefit from driver retention and recruitment, employee engagement, positive brand exposure, and the opportunity to give back to their community’s veterans and military families.”
WAA delivers wreaths to more than 4,500 locations nationwide, and as of this week had added more than 20 loads to be delivered this season. The wreaths are donated by sponsors from across the country, delivered by truckers, and laid at the graves of veterans by WAA volunteers.
Wreaths Across America
Transportation companies interested in joining the Honor Fleet can visit the WAA website to find an open lane or contact the WAA transportation team at trucking@wreathsacrossamerica.org for more information.
Krish Nathan is the Americas CEO for SDI Element Logic, a provider of turnkey automation solutions and sortation systems. Nathan joined SDI Industries in 2000 and honed his project management and engineering expertise in developing and delivering complex material handling solutions. In 2014, he was appointed CEO, and in 2022, he led the search for a strategic partner that could expand SDI’s capabilities. This culminated in the acquisition of SDI by Element Logic, with SDI becoming the Americas branch of the company.
A native of the U.K., Nathan received his bachelor’s degree in manufacturing engineering from Coventry University and has studied executive leadership at Cranfield University.
Q: How would you describe the current state of the supply chain industry?
A: We see the supply chain industry as very dynamic and exciting, both from a growth perspective and from an innovation perspective. The pandemic hangover is still impacting decisions to nearshore, and that has resulted in a spike in business for us in both the USA and Mexico. Adding new technology to our portfolio has been a significant contributor to our continued expansion.
Q: Distributors were making huge tech investments during the pandemic simply to keep up with soaring consumer demand. How have things changed since then?
A: The consumer demand for e-commerce certainly appears to have cooled since the pandemic high, but our clients continue to see steady growth. Growth, combined with low unemployment and high labor costs, continues to make automation a good investment for many companies.
Q: Robotics are still in high demand for material handling applications. What are some of the benefits of these systems?
A: As an organization, we are investing heavily in software that will allow Element Logic to offer solutions for robotic picking that are hardware-agnostic. We have had success deploying unit picking for order fulfillment solutions and unit placing of items onto tray-based sorters.
From a benefit point of view, we’ve seen the consistency of a given operation improve. For example, the placement accuracy of a product onto a tray is far higher from a robotic arm than from a person. In order fulfillment applications, two of the biggest benefits are reliability and hours of operation. The robots don't call in sick, and they are happy to work 22 hours a day!
Q: SDI Element Logic offers a wide range of automated solutions, including automated storage and sortation equipment. What criteria should distributors use to determine what type of system is right for them?
A: There are a significant number of factors to consider when thinking about automation. In my experience, automation pays for itself in three key ways: It saves space, it increases the efficiency of labor, and it improves accuracy. So evaluating which of these will be [most] beneficial and quantifying the associated savings will lead to a “right sized” investment in technology.
Another important factor to consider is product mix. With a small SKU (stock-keeping unit) base, often automation doesn’t make sense. And with a huge SKU base, there will be products that don’t lend themselves to automation.
With any significant investment, you need to partner with an organization that has deep experience with the technologies that are being considered and … in-depth knowledge of the process that is being automated.
Q: How can a goods-to-person system reduce the amount of labor needed to fill orders?
A: In most order picking operations, there is a considerable amount of walking between pick faces to find the SKUs associated with a given order or set of orders. Goods-to-person eliminates the walking and allows the operator to just pick. I have seen studies that [show] that 75% of the time [required] to assemble an order in a manual picking environment is walking or “non-picking” time. So eliminating walking will reduce the amount of labor needed.
The goods-to-person approach also fits perfectly with robotic picking, so even the actual picking aspect of order assembly can be automated in some instances. For these reasons, [automation offers] a significant opportunity to reduce the labor needed to fulfill a customer order.
Q: If you could pick one thing a company should do to improve its distribution center operations, what would it be?
A: Evaluate. Evaluate the opportunities for improving by considering automation. In my experience, the challenge most companies have is recognizing that automation is an alternative. The barrier to entry is far lower than most people think!
Toyota Material Handling and its nationwide network of dealers showcased their commitment to improving their local communities during the company’s annual “Lift the Community Day.” Since 2021, Toyota associates have participated in an annual day-long philanthropic event held near Toyota’s Columbus, Indiana, headquarters. This year, the initiative expanded to include participation from Toyota’s dealers, increasing the impact on communities throughout the U.S. A total of 324 Toyota associates completed 2,300 hours of community service during this year’s event.
The PMMI Foundation, the charitable arm of PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, awarded nearly $200,000 in scholarships to students pursuing careers in the packaging and processing industry. Each year, the PMMI Foundation provides academic scholarships to students studying packaging, food processing, and engineering to underscore its commitment to the future of the packaging and processing industry.
Truck leasing and fleet management services provider Fleet Advantage hosted its “Kids Around the Corner Foundation” back-to-school backpack drive in July. During the event, company associates assembled 200 backpacks filled with essential school supplies for high school-age students. The backpacks were then delivered to Henderson Behavioral Health’s Youth & Family Services location in Tamarac, Florida.
For the past seven years, third-party logistics service specialist ODW Logistics has provided logistics support for the Pelotonia Ride Weekend, a campaign to raise funds for cancer research at The Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center–Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. As in the past, ODW provided inventory management services and transportation for the riders’ bicycles at this year’s event. In all, some 7,000 riders and 3,000 volunteers participated in the ride weekend.