For a smaller operation like a warehouse under 200,000 square feet there are basic systems like voice picking and barcode scanning. For the larger operations, more expensive automation technologies can be useful, including AS/RS (advanced storage retrieval systems).

But any size operation can see immediate benefits from the installation of a warehouse management system (WMS) or upgrading to “smart” lift trucks that enable operators to track driver productivity.

Jim Burleigh, CEO of SmartTurn, a software as a service (SaaS) WMS provider, says the majority of beverage operations can start out with simple upgrades. “The number that can take advantage of AS/RS is really very small in beverage,” he says.

“This stuff is cool and sexy, but we can be talking about robotic non-invasive surgery when all the vast majority of the world really needs is aspirin.”

Instead, he says, basic voice picking and barcode scanning can bring smaller distributors immediate benefits when it comes to recording and tracking products and eliminating picking errors. “That’s where the biggest win is for folks in automation today,” says Burleigh. “I’m thinking of a beer distributor that isn’t quite 100,000 square feet, these guys are running on paper.

They need to realize that they can affordably and effectively apply the automation that is not as cool and cutting edge, but is now cheap enough and available enough that they can put it into a facility like that.”

Michael Bourgerie, director of business development for supply chain consulting firm Blue Horseshoe, agrees. “Everybody thinks WMS is a big boy technology, but it’s purely scalable,” he says. Adds Josh Holmes, account director, Blue Horseshoe, “From a small distributor perspective, the typical progression would usually be route accounting, WMS, hands-free (voice picking), and then some sort of additional potential automation device (conveyors, palletizers, pick-to-light operations). But the automation really is going to be reflective of the sort of volumes that an operation is requiring or what kind of through-put they need at the end of the day. A smaller operation has a lot harder time justifying a full-blown palletizer than one of the top 10 distributors.”

The level of automation a company needs also can depend on the complexity of the operation. “If you’re just a Coors distributor, then it’s not that complex,” says Bourgerie. “But if you’re a liquor and wine distributor who’s also carrying malt liquor and some beer, they can be a small distributor and have a lot of SKUs. So that complexity puts them in a little bit of a different category. Maybe then they do need some automation.”

Burke McCarthy, director, marketing & system sales for Retrotech, recommends first figuring out: 1) What does it cost to move a pallet around, store it and retrieve it? What is the cost of doing that with a forklift and a worker, as compared to having an automated system. And 2) What are the storage costs? Retrotech markets a high density AS/RS system called ACTIV. “It’s like a truckload sitting right in the rack in the order in which it needs to go on the truck,” he says.

Another option is deploying one of the new “smart” lift truck fleets. The Raymond Corp. offers iWarehouse in which the forklifts beam productivity information to the company’s central server. Crown Equipment’s InfoLink 2.5 is another option. The new interactive InfoLink interface helps busy managers quickly identify and prioritize issues around compliance, impacts and equipment. Color-coded opportunity indicators provide a view of whether conditions in each area are meeting established goals or require attention.

From Beverage World January 15, 2010