Briefing: Breakthru Beverage improves growth strategy with automation technology

Breakthru Beverage Illinois realized simply having a larger, centralized warehouse is not enough. Today’s modern facilities are required to process increasingly complex tasks and provide reliability and flexibility to meet future needs. To maximize its real estate investment, Breakthru Beverage looked to automation technology.

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Breakthru Beverage Illinois Invests with Savanna.NET®

Challenge: Better inventory control during high peak times

Like many companies in the beverage industry, Breakthru Beverage Illinois needed to expand to support the increased demand. Understanding that it needed to invest for long-term growth, Breakthru Beverage decided to build a new facility in Cicero, Ill. After realizing that they could be limited in their ability to service customers during high peak times using conventional warehouse processes, Breakthru decided to look at automation technology to run their facility. Breakthru needed a solution that would provide them with full control over material flow and inventory while optimizing productivity and accuracy in order picking to meet the needs of customers.

“With the growth of our business we started to see that we could be limited in our ability to service our customers during our high peak times.”

Solution: Savanna.NET® powers the AS/RS

Breakthru Beverage selected Westfalia Technologies, Inc. to automate its new, state-of-the-art warehouse. Westfalia installed a high-density Automated Storage and Retrieval System (AS/RS), designed to store up to 10 pallets deep while maintaining a balance of inventory and movements across the system. Bringing the solution together is Westfalia’s Savanna.NET® Warehouse Execution System (WES). Built with Microsoft C# and .NET technology, Savanna.NET® powers the AS/RS, allowing Breakthru Beverage to direct and optimize all internal material flow and order picking. Savanna.NET® gives Breakthru Beverage complete insight into the inventory and its movement. Within the WES, a dashboard tool instantly provides operators with data on pallet movement and allows them to take action– they can re-warehouse pallets, send them to a different location, or send them to pick modules. In addition, Savanna.NET® can talk with Breakthru Beverage’s other systems to automate requests for replenishments.

“Savanna.NET® pretty much takes all the pallets and keeps track of them as they come into the system on the conveyors. It reads the barcode and decides where it needs to go within the warehouse. It keeps track of pallets by date, LPN, SKU, and is pretty user friendly. ” Justin Soltis, WMS manager, Breakthru Beverage Illinois

System Features:

  • Technology:

    Savanna.NET® Warehouse Execution System

  • Functionality:

    • Top 780 SKU’s are stored and picked (736 dedicated pick/64 cluster pick)
    • 5 high storage in 42’ clear traditional building (2,470 pallet positions/1,300,0000 C’s capacity)
    • 3 tandem cranes (200 pallet moves per hour)
    • 8 integrated pick-to-belt modules
    • 1.3 million cases stored in a 110,000 square foot system

System Benefits:

  • Gained full control over material flow and inventory
  • Optimized order picking productivity and accuracy rates
  • Maximized overall efficiency and productivity
  • Improved space utilization
  • Increased throughput of the material handling system
  • Reduced product damage
  • Boosted truck loading productivity and efficiency
  • Positioned itself for future growth and flexibility

Our Mission: To deliver unparalleled warehousing solutions by earning the trust of our customers, understanding their business needs and honoring the commitments we make.