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In this first year of operation, a new conveyor system has helped Nintendo of America score big productivity gains and cut transportation costs.
Much of the responsibility for supporting this huge customer base falls to the company's distribution center in North Bend, Wash., just east of Seattle. This modern, 380,000 square-foot facility processes more than 20,000 orders a day. Its customers include the retail stores that sell the Nintendo products as well as a growing number of their consumers who order their video games and components online. The North Bend center is able to keep pace The new installation is considerably more efficient and productive than its predecessor. The old sorter, for example, could not handle packages smaller than 8" by 12." Consequently, there was a lot of "air" in many of the small orders. This, in turn, resulted in poor cube utilization of the trucks and airfreight containers, which translated to unnecessarily high transportation costs. Certain packages that were prone to rotate during the order-flow process had a no-read rate of 10%. On top of all this, the old operation was noisy. The new installation addresses all of these issues — and more. The Merge Effect The distribution center utilizes a series of merges to streamline order flow.
Small orders arrive in totes at the main packing stations. Belt conveyors running in parallel transport the small packages from the taping stations up an incline to gain elevation. The lines then move around an S-curve segment and onto an EZ Logic accumulating conveyor (190-SPEZ) prior to the first merge. Packages are released in a "slug" mode — that is, in condensed blocks with minimum space between them. They are combined into a single lane by means of a powered plow. A takeaway belt conveyor then moves the orders toward the second merge. A similar procedure takes place at the next merge, where the packages are combined with cartons being recirculated from the shipping area. In the third merge, the small packages are combined with larger cartons from a separate order-fulfillment area running on a parallel conveyor line. The combined large and small packages move onto an EZ Logic accumulating segment, which leads to an innovative gapping operation called Variable Gap Optimization (VGO). Based on technology provided by Serra Systems and integrated by R.H. Brown, VGO assures maximum throughput productivity and proper alignment of the packages as they move toward the sorter.
After going through the final merge and the VGO belts, the packages are inducted into the ProSort. This advanced sortation system from Hytrol quickly and accurately diverts the packages down one of nine shipping lanes, which are comprised of belt and gravity segments. Extendible conveyors then take the orders directly into the awaiting trucks for loading. The packages are scanned again while moving on the decline belt to the dock door. Package orientation is critical here to ensure both accurate scanning and a continuous flow of cartons into the trucks. Those comparatively few packages that cannot be read properly are diverted to a no-read gravity lane for hand processing. Operators place new labels on the packages and re-induct them onto the main line for recirculation and shipping. Multiple Advantages Realized
Just as importantly, the new system can handle any size package — not just the larger ones as before. Small orders now can be packaged according their actual size, and not forced into unnecessarily large cartons. The resulting improvement in shipping cube utilization has cut transportation costs by as much as 60 percent. The re-circulation rate is way down, too. Plus, the distribution center is a lot less noisy than before. "We feel that we've achieved quite a lot in just one year," sums up Danson. Nintendo's North Bend Distribution Center After packaging and labeling, orders move on parallel lines to the taping
stations and then up inclines toward the first merge. Powered plows combine the
Snapshot of the Operation Company: Nintendo of America
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with
the heavy market demand thanks in large part to a new conveyor and sortation
system installed in the summer of 2000. The installation is notable in a number
of respects. It effectively utilizes a series of merges to streamline product
flow throughout the facility. It incorporates advanced gapping technology and a
sortation system that can handle more than 145 packages a minute. And it
integrates a mix of proven Hytrol conveyor equipment, including the unique EZ
Logic accumulating system. R.H. Brown Co., a distributor of Hytrol equipment
based in Seattle, did the systems integration for the conveyor equipment. Serra
Systems was the integrator for the PLC control system from Allen-Bradley.
There
operators package the orders, affix bar codes labels, and place the cartons on
parallel conveyor lines moving to the taping stations.
The VGO process
specifies gaps between the packages based on length, lane destination, and
availability of the calculated space on the takeaway belts. A photo eye located
on the initial VGO belt records the package length. A scanner then records the
lane destination from the bar code. Based on this data, the system sets the
minimum gap required to optimize throughput and minimize the chances of
congestion.
"We've
realized a number of important benefits in a relatively short period of
time," says Jerry Danson, equipment manager for the North Bend center.
"The new sortation system can accommodate 145 cases a minute, which is a
big improvement over the 85 cases handled by the old sorter. Basically, the
ProSort takes cartons as fast as we can feed them so there are no backups
anywhere."
packages into a single lane and a belt takeaway conveyor transports the orders
to the next merge. At the second merge the small packages are combined with the
items being recirculated. These merged packages run in parallel with larger
packages and proceed through the final merge. EZ Logic conveyors and break belts
control the release of product through all of the merges. VGO technology
controls flow of packages prior to induction into sortation system. The ProSort
sorter diverts orders down one of nine shipping lanes or to a
"no-read" gravity lane.
