Intelligrated Makes Supply & Demand Chain Executive List

Intelligrated, an automated material handling solutions provider, has been recognized on Supply & Demand Chain Executive’s list of 100 great supply chain projects for its work with Merrill Corporation. Implementing the Intelligrated Voice solution enabled the 3PL document management and communications company to minimize fulfillment errors while increasing throughput and operational efficiency.

Benefits included:

• 45% increase in throughput
• 65% reduction in picking errors, raising accuracy to 99.9%
• Nearly 50% reduction in staffing requirements in processes that use voice

The voice solution capitalizes on the experience level of individual workers, requiring fewer validation steps and offering more advanced functionality for experienced associates. Merrill also leveraged voice to implement new workflows to improve processes, including train picking, reverse picking and automated replenishment.

“When we demonstrate the capabilities of the system to potential clients, they are blown away by the voice technology and its role in all aspects of our distribution operations,” said Mike Zimny, director of operations, Merrill Corporation. “It’s often what helps really set us apart from other 3PLs.”

With more than 28 clients and 17,000 SKUs to manage, Merrill looked for an automated method to ensure fulfillment accuracy, increase throughput and continue to maintain the privacy and confidentiality demanded by its customer base. It chose Intelligrated for flexibility, implementation experience and ongoing support.

“The work with Merrill highlights the advanced configurability, ease of use and straightforward implementation of Intelligrated Voice solutions,” said Kevin Roach, executive vice president and general manager, Intelligrated Software. “This software-driven, device-agnostic approach provides the necessary flexibility for operations to choose best-fit hardware as operational requirements evolve. Recognition on the SDCE 100 validates the ongoing value this framework provides for complex, mission-critical fulfillment operations.”

The voice solution capitalizes on the experience level of individual workers, requiring fewer validation steps and offering more advanced functionality for experienced associates.

The SDCE 100 is an annual list of 100 great supply chain projects, which serves as a guide for supply chain executives who are looking for new opportunities to drive improvement in their own operations. These projects show how supply chain solution and service providers help their customers and clients achieve supply chain excellence and prepare their supply chains for success.