We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » The right fit
applications

The right fit

January 30, 2020
Diane Rand
No Comments

With its new Cranbury, N.J., distribution facility set to open, third-party logistics service provider Distribution Management Group Inc. (DMG) was looking for a fast and flexible material handling system. At the new site, the company would be responsible for sorting, packing, and shipping products for its clients in the footwear industry, and it needed equipment that could reliably process 100 shoeboxes per minute. With the clock ticking, DMG turned to one of its long-time suppliers, Baltimore, Maryland-based systems integrator Conveyor Handling Co. (CHC), for help finding the right system.

CHC was a logical choice for the job. It has been designing solutions for manufacturing companies, e-commerce and retail distributors, and others since its inception in 1975. Despite this deep expertise, it faced an interesting challenge with the DMG project: finding a sortation system that could handle the client's high product volumes.

Technically it was possible, just not in the way DMG had imagined, the company realized.

"[DMG] originally wanted us to design a distribution center modeled after its existing facilities," explained Rich Rittermann, vice president of operations at CHC, in a release. "In this instance, an employee would push a cart up and down each aisle, picking shoes as they went; when the cart was full, they'd move it to a central sorting area, where other workers would start pulling boxes off the different carts and packing them until each order was filled. There was nothing wrong with their process, except that I knew it would be too labor-intensive and eventually become unmanageable at the volumes they were anticipating. They needed an automatic sortation system, and it was my job to convince them of that."

Rittermann had previous experience with automated sortation systems, but the combination of high product volumes and the need to sort color, size, and style combinations by the hundreds led him to consult with Interroll, a material handling solutions provider that happened to be working on a shoe distribution center in Mexico. After careful consideration, the companies agreed that Interroll's horizontal cross-belt sorter would be the right fit for DMG's distribution center.

 FAST AND ACCURATE

Interroll cross-belt sorter
Enlarge
Interroll's sorter uses a pneumatically actuated plate and drive wheel mechanism instead of a motor on each carrier to transfer goods to the appropriate chute. The company says this reduces electricity costs and simplifies maintenance.

Unlike traditional crossbelt sorters, Interroll's solution uses a pneumatically actuated plate and drive wheel mechanism—rather than a motor on each carrier—to transfer goods to the appropriate chute. According to the company, this reduces electricity costs and simplifies maintenance to increase reliability. It also makes the sorter versatile; the gentle motion means it can be used with delicate products like eggs and yogurt, and still be powerful enough to move heavy sacks of grain or animal feed, Interroll says.

The system is both smart and accurate, with automatic recirculation of "no reads" and overflow products—a particularly important feature in e-tail, where system demands are unpredictable. The horizontal crossbelt sorter is also "smart" about floor space, according to the manufacturer. The unit features a modular design that's both compact and easy to reconfigure based on changing needs, Interroll says. In this particular application, CHC double-stacked the conveyor, maximizing the system's throughput without increasing its footprint.

As for the results, CHC's leaders say they consider the project a success. "I was very pleased with the cooperation between Interroll, DMG, and the CHC installation team and project managers," Rittermann said in the statement. "It was a big step forward for our customer. It's using [the new sorter] every day and is shipping out 15,000 to 30,000 pairs of shoes each day, with capacity for much more."

Material Handling Conveyors
KEYWORDS Conveyor Handling Corp. Distribution Management Group Interroll
  • Related Articles

    The right forklift for the job

    How the right delivery solution offered one company hidden benefits

    Add 90° right turns or 30° diversions with the new MDR High Speed Electric Transfer and Diverter modules from Hilmot

Diane Rand has several years of magazine editing and production experience. She previously worked as a production editor for Logistics Management and Supply Chain Management Review. She joined the editorial staff in 2015. She is responsible for managing digital, editorial, and production projects for DC Velocity and its sister magazine, Supply Chain Quarterly.

Recent Articles by Diane Rand

How are retailers meeting omnichannel demands in a Covid world?

Films/adhesives manufacturer develops new pandemic-era order-scheduling playbook

Looking to drive down freight costs? Software may be the key

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Cold chain giant Lineage Logistics buys its own rail operator

  • Outlook 2021: What’s in store for logistics supply chain?

  • Cushman & Wakefield Brokers Sale of 170 Acres plus Lease for 1MSF Build-to-Suit for Home Improvement Retailer in Commerce City, CO.

  • Thriving in the long haul: interview with Colin Yankee

  • Capacity challenges will continue in 2021

Now Playing on DCV-TV

2mw 01 18 21 thumb

LTL Carriers Using Yield Management Techniques to Identify New Accessorial Charges

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
As we head into 2021, shippers are not too optimistic about negotiating rates with their carriers. The reason for this, as highlighted in the three CODE RED Webcasts we've hosted with our friends from CSCMP and NASSTRAC, is that in today's transportation marketplace, shippers are operating in uncharted waters. With...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Proven Benefits: A Compendium of Slotting Optimization Success Snapshots

  • Bridging Information Gaps in Dock and Yard Operations

  • How Intelligent Sensor Solutions Turn Data Into Action

  • Order picking Solutions: Understanding Your Options

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing