Fulfillment/Logistics Trends
Most Read
Most E-mailed
E-mail Article
Print Article
Case Study: Green is the Theme for Pharmaceutical Distributor
Exactech increases productivity, reduces energy costs and improves the work environment at distribution center
The initial diagnosis was for good news and more good news. Kevin Godwin had just learned that his company could increase its productivity, reduce energy costs and improve the work environment at its distribution center. And as the director of customer operations for Exactech, Inc., the Gainesville, Fla.-based manufacturer and distributor of orthopedic implant devices and surgical instrumentation to hospitals and physicians, this was just what the doctor ordered.
For Exactech, the mission was simple: improve its labor-intensive handpicking system to fulfill orders faster and more efficiently, all while establishing an energy-saving, "eco-friendly" workplace for its more than 200 employees.
The initial plan was for TriFactor, LLC, a material handling systems integrator based in Lakeland, Fla., its senior design engineer and project manager Larry Boroff, systems sales engineer Brad Radcliffe and their team to install the new system in Exactech's 12,000-square-foot warehouse. But it soon became apparent to both companies that the best course of action would be to shift the project to a larger facility.
"We had established during our needs analysis that there was not sufficient warehouse space for hand-picking," explains Boroff. "We also determined that a shift of the operation to Exactech's 25,000-square-foot facility, which it acquired in 2005, was needed so that the distribution operation could be totally reengineered and yet still be efficient in a relatively small space."
Adds Boroff: "To achieve this objective, it was necessary for Exactech to change the way it handled distribution, particularly with accuracy and speed driving the process. As a result, the larger facility would allow for more automation, which was needed to eliminate as many 'human touches' as possible."
For Exactech, the mission was simple: improve its labor-intensive handpicking system to fulfill orders faster and more efficiently, all while establishing an energy-saving, "eco-friendly" workplace for its more than 200 employees.
The initial plan was for TriFactor, LLC, a material handling systems integrator based in Lakeland, Fla., its senior design engineer and project manager Larry Boroff, systems sales engineer Brad Radcliffe and their team to install the new system in Exactech's 12,000-square-foot warehouse. But it soon became apparent to both companies that the best course of action would be to shift the project to a larger facility.
"We had established during our needs analysis that there was not sufficient warehouse space for hand-picking," explains Boroff. "We also determined that a shift of the operation to Exactech's 25,000-square-foot facility, which it acquired in 2005, was needed so that the distribution operation could be totally reengineered and yet still be efficient in a relatively small space."
Adds Boroff: "To achieve this objective, it was necessary for Exactech to change the way it handled distribution, particularly with accuracy and speed driving the process. As a result, the larger facility would allow for more automation, which was needed to eliminate as many 'human touches' as possible."
RSS Feeds
