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Chelsea
& Scott
Hytrol Distributor: Conveyor Solutions
No more backlog with Hytrol conveyor system
 Chelsea
& Scott, a.k.a. One Step Ahead, located in Lake Bluff, Illinois, was founded
in 1988. The company is a
distributor of toys, clothing, and accessories for children infant through eight
years old. The company uses a
105,000 sq. ft. distribution facility to fill orders.
About 150 workers are employed here.
Prior
to the installation of the Hytrol system, the facility used gravity lines.
Workers picked into totes, then manually pushed the totes to the packers.
After packing, the orders were pushed to the case sealer, then to
outbound scanning, and finally to shipping.
This method caused backlogs on the entire line, especially in the
shipping area. Boxes would pile up
there before being loaded on outbound trucks.
The
firm realized the issues in their system and, with their increased business,
knew a solution had to be found. They
wanted to eliminate slowdown in the movement of the product going out the door
and provide a smooth flow in the entire operation.
They wanted a system that would make better use of the manpower in the
operation, allowing all employees to be productive.
They wanted a system which would handle current as well as future needs.
They did not want to make another investment in the near future.
Finally, they wanted a way to automatically move the used totes back to
the pick location to begin the process again.
 Conveyor
Solutions, a Hytrol distributor located in Schaumburg, Illinois, lived up to
their name by providing the perfect system to handle Chelsea & Scott’s
needs.
“We
no longer have to push the totes through the entire facility to get the order
out the door,” says David Kizer, director of distribution for Chelsea &
Scott. “The pick tote can be
placed on the conveyor in the back of the warehouse and move all the way to the
pack station without intervention. The
highest payback may be at the outbound scanning area.
Before, this area was continually jammed with product.
We had two or more people working in close quarters and always behind on
the scanning/weighing process. Now,
a single employee can run this area comfortably with minimal lifting of
product.”
How the System works:
Order
sheets are taken to the picking area to the proper zone.
Orders are picked into totes, several at a time, until the order is
completed. The tote is then placed
on the outbound conveyor  which
takes it to the packers. The
packers scan the order sheet in the tote and each item on
the
sheet is displayed on their PC. All
items are then scanned and verification is made that the order is complete.
The products are then placed in the appropriate size shipping box, the
shipping label attached, and the box is placed on the outbound conveyor.
Once the box is taped, it is moved along the line through a series of
photo eyes that determine to which outbound ramp it will be sent. This is
determined by workload. The box is
then weighed and scanned a final time to create a shipping manifest.
The scanned boxes are placed on a takeaway conveyor where the boxes are
sorted based on the shipping carrier.
System Hy-lites
Facility Size: 105,000 sq.ft.
Employees: 150
Product handled: Toys,
clothing and accessories for infants to eight years old.
Throughput: 5,000-6,000
cases a day
Types of Conveyors: ACC, ABA, ABEZ, & LRC as well as
gravity roller & skatewheel
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